The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

*some spoilers ahead*

If you, like me, had never heard of this book until Netflix aired the eponymous series, it's ok. Sometimes we watch the movie/tv show/whatever and then read the book, even though it feels weird. 

Three-Body Problem is a concept in classical mechanics that describes the motion of three masses that orbit each other in space. The problem is that there is no solution to always accurately describe their motion (thanks wikipedia). 

So now imagine there is a planet, called Trisolaris, with three suns. The positions of the suns are unpredicable and can result in times of stability or chaos, depending on how close each of the suns gets to the planet. In fact, multiple civilizations have evolved and died out on Trisolaris. Some exist for relatively short periods of time, some long enough to get to the stone age, or the industrial age, before a chaotic period begins and destroys all of civilization.

But this book is less about Trisolaris and its inhabitants and more about earth and its inhabitants. What if there was a group of people who knew about Trisolaris? What if they wanted to help the Trisolarins find a new planet to inhabit? Much like the political climate today, there are some who would say, "bring 'em here! I don't care if humanity is destroyed in the process!" and others who would try to solve the three-body problem so they could stay where they are.

But part of the problem is that someone has already invited them to earth. And even though the journey is 450 years out, the toothpaste is out of the tube, as they say. But 450 years is a lot of time for Earth's civilization to evolve and improve while the Trisolarins remain static in their journey. So the Trisolarins invent a unique solution to stall scientific progress on earth. And this is where the story begins, with the suicide of several notable scientists, and a task force created to understand why.

This book blends a lot of scientific principles in a fairly easy to read story. It also deals with issues related to China's cultural revolution, environmental preservation, and scientific progress. While it's not my favorite sci-fi book I've read this year, I'll be picking up the second part of this trilogy to see what happens next.