The Three-Body Problem

Why it’s on the list: The first volume of Liu Cixin’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy, in which a secret project during China’s Cultural Revolution makes contact with an alien civilisation living around three chaotic suns.

Where I heard about it

• Mitt Romney — named as a science-fiction favourite in Romney — A Reckoning.
• Replies to @moseskagan — named, as “Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem,” in the answers to his question “What historical fiction should I read next?” (the thread, April 2025). Full list: What historical fiction should I… (tweet).
• The a16z infrastructure team — on the a16z Infra Reading List, A tier under Sci-fi, “Very good books,” listed with the Remembrance of Earth’s Past series.

Connections

• Romney — A Reckoning — where this book is cited.
• What historical fiction should I… (tweet) — recommendation #2: named in this crowd-sourced thread.