History Literature / ThreeBodyProblem

** By the third book, [[spoiler: they have mastered human deception by feeding human false science to hamper human's technological boom, embracing their culture only to deceive and enslave them later, and refuse to give them the means to escape dark forest strike.]]

** Not that cheap as readers calculated that accelerate one Photoid will consume energy that equals the output of a star.

* ApocalypseHow: [[spoiler: The end of (most) life on earth is narrowly averted when the Trisolarans call of their invasion just in time for humanity not to have to eat itself. Then later played straight on a 'Total Extinction' scale when the Solar System is converted to two dimensions. The universe itself is implied to be on the way to a universal, metaphysical annihilation if galactic warfare is allowed to continue.]]

** Not that cheap as it is calculated that accelerate one Photoid will consume energy equals the output of a star.

** Then invoked quite explicitly in the sequel; the sophons can eavesdrop on any spoken or written communication anywhere in the world. The four people tasked with resisting the Trisolarians have to put their plans into effect without explaining the meaning of their orders or giving instructions which make their plan obvious, or the Trisolarians will simply counter them. [[spoiler: Three of the four fail in relatively short order, but the fourth succeeds.]]

** By the third book, [[spoiler: they have mastered human deception by feeding human false science to hamper human's technological boom, embracing their culture only to deceive and enslave them later, and does not give them the means to escape dark forest strike.]]

** [[spoiler: They have mastered lightspeed in the third book and can reach Earth in a few years, but invasion is narrowly averted by the dark forest broadcast.]]

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Inverted. [[spoiler: Due to dimensional warfare, the universe will keep being reduced to lower dimensions. So higher civilizations must be able project itself to lower dimensions to survive.]]
* BizarreAlienBiology: Downplayed; the narrative is careful to say that no one knows what Trisolarans look like, only that they have the unusual ability to enter a state of suspended animation at will. And readers still know nothing about that after reading the following two books.
* BoringButPractical: Photoid, projectile used by many civilizations to carry out dark forest strike. It's very destructive and also very cheap and boring because it's just a bullet thrown at a speed approaching lightspeed.
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: [[spoiler: Singer's role in Solar System's destruction,]] reinforcing the hypothesis that most dark forest strikes are economical and mundane.

* CuteAndPsycho: [[spoiler: Sophon]] by the third book, however it depends on who is controlling her.
* FlatWorld: [[spoiler: Solar System by the third book, reduced to 2D and killing everyone on it. Also the eventual fate of the universe due to dimensional warfare.]]

* GoodIsImpotent: The Resetters, [[spoiler: they seek to return the universe to its original state before beung damaged by the endless warfare. They broadcast a message in every possible language encouraging people to return mass from bubble universe to greater universe to avoid open universe where the universe will keep expanding forever and dies instead of being restarted. Whether they will succeed it's left open.]]

** Then played completely straight in the sequel; the sophons can eavesdrop on any spoken or written communication anywhere in the world. The four people tasked with resisting the Trisolarians have to put their plans into effect without explaining the meaning of their orders or giving instructions which make their plan obvious, or the Trisolarians will simply counter them. [[spoiler: Three of the four fail in relatively short order, but the fourth succeeds.]]

* YearOutsideHourInside: The area inside the wake of a light-speed jump slows down the speed of light considerably, so anyone within will feel time like this. This is how one can signal to the rest of the universe that your planet/solar system is "safe." [[spoiler:Cheng Xin gets trapped in one, spending 12 days in one while millions of years pass outside.]]

'''The Three Body Problem''' (三体) is a science fiction novel by Chinese author Cixin Liu. First serialized in 2006, it was published as a novel in 2008, and quickly became one of the most popular science fiction novels in China. An English translation by Ken Liu was published in 2014 and also became a breakout success, garnering a [[UsefulNotes/NebulaAward Nebula]] nomination in 2014 and winning the 2015 Best Novel [[HugoAward Hugo]]. There are two sequels, ''The Dark Forest'' (黑暗森林) and ''Death's End'' (死神永生), collectively known as the ''Remembrance of Earth's Past'' (地球往事) trilogy. The second book has been translated and published in 2015, and the third translation has been published in 2016.

* [[spoiler:[[SmallSecludedWorld Small, Secluded Universe]]: Universe 647, the gift universe from Yun Tianming that Cheng Xin and Guan Yifan spend some time in toward the end of the book.]]

** A computer made out 30 million people was made in the game, which the Trisolarans actually did for real.

* GoodIsImpotent: The Resetters, [[spoiler: they seek to return the Universe into its original state before damaged by the endless warfare. They broadcasted a message in every possible language encouraging people to return mass from bubble universe to greater universe to avoid open universe where the universe will keep expanding forever and dies instead of being restarted. Whether they will succeed it's left open.]]

* RingWorldPlanet: Many of these types of cities are build behind the shadows of the solar system's gas giants during the Bunker Era to protect against a Dark Forest strike.

* WeAreStrugglingTogether: Both ETO factions spend considerable resources hunting each other. [[spoiler: The Trisolarians engage in a bit of this as well]].

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: And disposable too due to the massive time span of the series.

* CuteAndPsycho: [[spoiler: Sophon]] by the third book, however it depends on who is controlling her.

* PunyEarthlings: The Trisolarians view humans as this.
** [[spoiler: Strangely, averted by Singer from a greater civilization who sees humanity as greater threat despite not very advanced technologically. He put a little bit of extra measure to destroy the Solar System instead of using the cheapest photoid projectile.]]

* MagicalComputer: The sophons, SufficientlyAdvanced computers packed into a space the size of a proton.

* CrapsackWorld: Trisolaris, with its extremely unpredictable environment. The second and third book reveals that the whole universe is also this.

'''The Three Body Problem''' (三体) is a science fiction novel by Chinese author Cixin Liu. First serialized in 2006, it was published as a novel in 2008, and quickly became one of the most popular science fiction novels in China. An English translation by Ken Liu was published in 2014 and also became a breakout success, garnering a [[UsefulNotes/NebulaAward Nebula]] nomination in 2014 and winning the 2015 Best Novel [[HugoAward Hugo]]. There are two sequels, ''The Dark Forest'' (黑暗森林) and ''Death's End'' (死神永生), collectively known as the ''Remembrance of Earth's Past'' (地球往事) trilogy. The second book has been translated and published in 2015, and the third translation has been published in September 2016.

* BizarreAlienBiology: Downplayed; the narrative is careful to say that no one knows what Trisolarans look like, only that they have the unusual ability to enter a state of suspended animation at will. And readers still know nothing about that after reading the following two books.

* FlatWorld: [[spoiler: Solar System by the third book, reduced to 2D killing everyone on it. Also the eventual fate of the universe due to dimensional warfare.]]

* FlatWorld: [[Solar System by the third book, reduced to 2D killing everyone on it. Also the eventual fate of the universe due to dimensional warfare.]]

* CuteAndPsycho : [[spoiler: Sophon]] by the third book, however it depends on who is controlling her.

'''The Three Body Problem''' (三体) is a science fiction novel by Chinese author Cixin Liu. First serialized in 2006, it was published as a novel in 2008, and quickly became one of the most popular science fiction novels in China. An English translation by Ken Liu was published in 2014 and also became a breakout success, garnering a [[UsefulNotes/NebulaAward Nebula]] nomination in 2014 and winning the 2015 Best Novel [[HugoAward Hugo]]. There are two sequels, ''The Dark Forest'' (黑暗森林) and ''Death's End'' (死神永生), collectively known as the ''Remembrance of Earth's Past'' (地球往事) trilogy. The second book has been translated and published in 2015, and the third translation is coming in 2016.

* CrapsackWorld: Trisolaris, with its extremely unpredictable environment.

** A computer made out 30 million people was made in the game, which the Trisolarans actually did for real

'''The Three Body Problem''' (三体) is a science fiction novel by Chinese author Cixin Liu. First serialized in 2006, it was published as a novel in 2008, and quickly became one of the most popular science fiction novels in China. An English translation by Ken Liu was published in 2014 and also became a breakout success, garnering a [[UsefulNotes/NebulaAward Nebula]] nomination in 2014 and winning the 2015 Best Novel [[HugoAward Hugo]]. There are two sequels, ''The Dark Forest'' (黑暗森林) and ''Death's End'' (死神永生).

* AliensAreBastards: The Trisolarans' history bred everything out of their culture except the desperate need to survive at all costs...though there seem to be individual exceptions.

* BizarreAlienBiology: Downplayed; the narrative is careful to say that no one knows what Trisolarans look like, only that they have the unusual ability to enter a state of suspended animation at will.
** And readers still know nothing about that after reading the following two books.

* ScienceFictionWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: Strongly averted; [[spoiler: the Trisolarians correctly estimate that in the time it will take them to reach Earth, Earth will have far surpassed Trisolarian technology and will easily crush the invasion force...unless stopped by - ]]

'''The Three Body Problem''' (三体) is a science fiction novel by Cixin Liu. First serialized in 2006, it was published as a novel in 2008, and quickly became one of the most popular science fiction novels in China. An English translation by Ken Liu was published in 2014 and also became a breakout success, garnering a [[UsefulNotes/NebulaAward Nebula]] nomination in 2014 and winning the 2015 Best Novel [[HugoAward Hugo]]. There are two sequels, ''The Dark Forest'' (黑暗森林) and ''Death's End'' (死神永生).

Many years into the past, Wenjie Ye having a problem: though a brilliant physicist, she was branded a political dissident back during the Cultural Revolution, and was exiled to a lonely military station called Red Coast. However, Red Coast is no simple military base, with goals far beyond the scopes of the earth, and Ye's personal struggles will have lasting impacts on Red Coast, on history, and on the fate of the whole world.

Miao Wang has a problem: all the foremost physicists in his speciality, nanomaterials, are killing themselves, leaving behind extremely cryptic suicide notes. He's assigned to join a mysterious secret society that may have some answers, but keeps getting distracted by a revolutionary new MMORPG called "Three Body"... and also by the mysterious numbers that appear only in his vision, counting down to a date about fifty days away.

Wenjie Ye once had a problem: though a brilliant physicist, she was branded a political dissident back during the Cultural Revolution, and was exiled to a lonely military station called Red Coast. [[spoiler:When a signal from a dying world came through one night, Wenjie saw her chance to either improve humanity or exact her revenge on it... she invited the aliens to Earth.]]

Officer "Big" Shi... actually, he doesn't have any problems. Problems have him.

'''The Three Body Problem''' is a science fiction novel by Cixin Liu. First serialized in 2006, it was published as a novel in 2008, and quickly became one of the most popular science fiction novels in China. An English translation by Ken Liu was published in 2014 and also became a breakout success, garnering a [[UsefulNotes/NebulaAward Nebula]] nomination in 2014 and winning the 2015 Best Novel [[HugoAward Hugo]]. There are two sequels.

* MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness: Easily a 5. The work is on par with anything written by ArthurCClarke or CarlSagan; fortunately Cixin Liu's writing and Ken Liu's translation make understanding the [[BuffySpeak quantummy things]] manageable.