The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu (FIRST HALF)

About this event

**We will discuss the first half of this reading on August 23rd, then the rest of the book September 20th.** The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu is a sweeping, mind-bending hard sci-fi novel. It brilliantly blends Chinese history, complex astrophysics, and philosophy. While some readers may find the pacing slow and the characters detached, its monumental, terrifying scope makes it an unforgettable and genre-defining read. The story spans two distinct eras: the turbulent Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and the present day. It follows Ye Wenjie, an astrophysicist who, after experiencing profound tragedy, makes a fateful decision to contact an alien civilization. When this alien race—the Trisolarans—decides to invade a dying Earth, humanity is forced into a desperate, existential countdown. Unlike conventional alien invasion stories featuring explosions and space battles, Liu focuses heavily on scientists and great thinkers. The battlefield is in the laboratory, and the narrative questions what humanity is capable of sacrificing to ensure its survival. Overall, if you are a fan of "golden age" hard science fiction in the vein of Arthur C. Clarke or Isaac Asimov, The Three-Body Problem is an absolute must-read. It requires some patience with the pacing and science, but it ultimately pays off with a dizzying, intellectually stimulating experience that will fundamentally reshape how you look at the universe. \- \- **\- = and we bring snacks to share\! = \- \- \-** *The above summary review was generated by a G AI text search, which also provided the following information on water usage for G AI summaries:* For a traditional text-based search, Google estimates the footprint is just about 0.0003 liters (roughly 1/10th of a teaspoon) per query. However, if you use the AI-powered Google Gemini, the water used to generate the answer and cool the data centers jumps to about 0.26 milliliters (about 5 drops). The water is used primarily for evaporative cooling…