Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu was a very refreshing near-future sci-fi novel. I really enjoyed the opening of the book and the backdrop of Chinese Culture and history. This gave me new perspective and was novel compared to the tired backdrops of near-future sci-fi, which tend to be western with some superficial Chinese and/or Japanese culture spiked into the mix. As an engineer myself I found Cixin Liu’s descriptions of technology to not be too distasteful, he takes his liberties (especially with the Sophons), but in general tries not to depart too far from possibility except where it makes for a good plot device. This book definitely made me question whether humanity even deserves to continue on this planet, a problem the main characters struggle with. I have not quite come to a conclusion, but I do know that I will read the sequel The Dark Forest.