Book Length: 721 pages

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, Aliens

Series: Remembrance of Earth’s Past #3

Read Start Date: January 6, 2024

Read Finish Date: March 15, 2024

Goodreads’ Synopsis: With The Three-Body Problem, English-speaking readers got their first chance to experience the multiple-award-winning and bestselling Three-Body Trilogy by China’s most beloved science fiction author, Cixin Liu. Three-Body was released to great acclaim including coverage in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. It was also named a finalist for the Nebula Award, making it the first translated novel to be nominated for a major SF award since Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities in 1976.

Now this epic trilogy concludes with Death’s End. Half a century after the Doomsday Battle, the uneasy balance of Dark Forest Deterrence keeps the Trisolaran invaders at bay. Earth enjoys unprecedented prosperity due to the infusion of Trisolaran knowledge. With human science advancing daily and the Trisolarans adopting Earth culture, it seems that the two civilizations will soon be able to co-exist peacefully as equals without the terrible threat of mutually assured annihilation. But the peace has also made humanity complacent.

Cheng Xin, an aerospace engineer from the early 21st century, awakens from hibernation in this new age. She brings with her knowledge of a long-forgotten program dating from the beginning of the Trisolar Crisis, and her very presence may upset the delicate balance between two worlds. Will humanity reach for the stars or die in its cradle?

My Review: Death’s End, the final book in Cixin Liu’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy, picks up where the second book, The Dark Forest, left off. Decades after the Wallfacer project exposed humanity’s vulnerabilities to the Trisolaran fleet, a precarious peace reigns. The “Dark Forest” doctrine—every civilization is a hunter in a cosmic jungle—keeps the Trisolarans at bay, but tensions simmer. Earth thrives under a technological boom fueled by Trisolaran knowledge but with the constant threat of invasion looming. But this is only the beginning of the story.

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, so I will just say that the novel explores the evolution of human society and technology over thousands of years as humanity confronts the challenges posed by the Trisolarans and other cosmic forces. The narrative spans vast distances and periods, from the distant reaches of space to the inner workings of subatomic particles. Readers encounter different dimensions, space cities, new civilizations, and humanity’s last hope.

This book is an epic saga in and of itself, at over 700 pages. Cheng Xin is a central character introduced in the third novel. She is a scientist from the 21st century who becomes a key figure in humanity’s response to the Trisolaran threat, and not to put it lightly, in humanity’s destiny. Like the other novels in this series, the pacing is somewhat slow and delves into scientific concepts too advanced for this reader. Whether science fiction or humanity’s science future, I cannot say. Nevertheless, I found it intriguing and awe-inspiring and…just wow. This series is phenomenal and should be on everyone’s reading list.

Although I am sad that I have finished this wonderful series, I found 3 other books written by the same author at the library, so my journey is not over yet! Stay tuned for more from Cixin Liu!

Other Books In the Series:

See my review of The Three-Body Problem by clicking here.

See my review of The Dark Forest by clicking here.

Book Length: 512 pages

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, Aliens

Series: Remembrance of Earth’s Past #2

Read Start Date: December 2, 2023

Read Finish Date: December 26, 2023

Goodreads’ Synopsis: In The Dark Forest, Earth is reeling from the revelation of a coming alien invasion — four centuries in the future. The aliens’ human collaborators have been defeated but the presence of the sophons, the subatomic particles that allow Trisolaris instant access to all human information, means that Earth’s defense plans are exposed to the enemy. Only the human mind remains a secret.

This is the motivation for the Wallfacer Project, a daring plan that grants four men enormous resources to design secret strategies hidden through deceit and misdirection from Earth and Trisolaris alike. Three of the Wallfacers are influential statesmen and scientists but the fourth is a total unknown. Luo Ji, an unambitious Chinese astronomer and sociologist, is baffled by his new status. All he knows is that he’s the one Wallfacer that Trisolaris wants dead.

My Review: The storyline continues from the events of The Three-Body Problem, where humanity becomes aware of an alien civilization known as the Trisolarans, who are planning to invade Earth and takes readers from the present to 200+ years in the future. The story introduces readers to a range of compelling characters, each grappling with the existential challenges posed by the Trisolaran threat. As humanity unites in its efforts to confront the impending invasion, The Dark Forest weaves a complex tapestry of political intrigue, technological innovation, and interpersonal relationships against the backdrop of an impending cosmic catastrophe.

Like the first book, this book is also a slow burn, and when I finally reached the ending, where the title of the book is explained, I got chills. I still get chills just thinking about it. What I love about this series is that even though it is fiction, I can see its events taking place. I don’t want to say too much and risk giving away the plot points, which should unfold naturally.

Therefore, I will leave you with this. This series is phenomenal and should be on everyone’s reading list.

Other Books In the Series:

Book Length: 472 pages

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction, Aliens

Series: Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1

Read Start Date: October 7, 2023

Read Finish Date: November 5, 2023

Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads: Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion.

My Review: The Three-Body Problem is the first book in the Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy. The story begins during China’s Cultural Revolution, a tumultuous period in the mid-20th century marked by political upheaval and ideological fervor. The protagonist, Ye Wenjie, witnesses her father’s public execution during this time, which profoundly shapes her outlook on humanity. Subsequently, she became involved in a secretive government project called Red Coast, aimed at using advanced technology to make contact with extraterrestrial civilizations.

The narrative then shifts to present-day China, where a nanomaterials researcher named Wang Miao gets involved in a mysterious conspiracy. Scientists around the world are facing unexplained suicides, and bizarre occurrences are disrupting the fabric of reality. Wang discovers a virtual reality game called Three-Body Problem, where players are immersed in a world that mirrors the challenges faced by an alien civilization on the fictional planet Trisolaris.

As a lawyer, I know almost nothing about complex science theories, physics, astronomy, etc. Due to my ignorance, I have no idea whether the science explored in this novel is real, based upon actual theories, made up by the author to suit the story or some mixture of all three. Nevertheless, I found it to be utterly fascinating, and the message of the story (I won’t give away the ending) stayed with me — even now, I think about what would happen if this were to really happen in real life.

I have never read a book by a Chinese author before, so I really liked branching out and reading something from a culture I don’t know much about. The book had a slow-burn feel, with a big reveal at the end of the book. I just checked out the second book at the library and can’t wait to delve into it.