I love the sci-fi aspect of this story and found it very compelling.
The audiobook is narrated by Rosalind Chao. She is the same actress in the Netflix Series. I loved having her renarrate this story it really brought another layer to this book.

This was definitely a case of "it's me and not you" - because I struggled with this one. Maybe it was the audio aspect, but I wanted to enjoy this one. But right from the start, I was a bit lost. I kept waiting for the alien connection. I found the questions about physics interesting but, again, I kept trying tie to the religious aspects the story brought up and why this would be some of the conclusions they came to.

I did try this as 2 different audios - and I really liked the new one with the sound effects and great narrator. It did add to the story and keep it entertaining, even as I struggled to pull it all together. I wish I'd loved it. If Sci-fi is your thing, then you'll probably love it! It was just not my thing.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

After recently reading a book that didn’t have near enough science given the premise of the book (Zero Stars, Do Not Recommended), this one more than makes up for it. If you don’t have at least a passing interest in physics, this book is really not for you.

The basic idea of this book is good, but it is just SO SLOW, and introduces a lot of characters without giving us a reason why we should care about them. And a few things are major plot points for several chapters, then seemingly dropped and barely referred to after that.

Like the dude with the count down. He’s freaking out because this ~50 day count down appears, but only for him, and this goes on for several days while he investigates the cause and origin, and then once he’s done his investigation, we essentially never get back to that.

And the three body game which gave the intro to the alien culture, the problems they have with their planet, etc just moves way too slowly. Did we really need to see all those various civilizations as the technology there advanced? Did the human “computer” with soldiers and flags for logic gates really need to be described in such detail? I don’t think so.

An aside, as a software developer, I really don’t think that a computer where humans act as the logic gates, the RAM, and the hard drive would ever actually work. If bits of your computer need to eat, sleep, and take bathroom breaks, how is it supposed to perform complex calculations.

The last bit of the book does partly make up for how slow the rest of it is. We finally understand about Trisolaris, and get lots of the complicated physics explained and see where this major conflict is going. However, I don’t think I’m going to continue with the series as it really didn’t hook me enough.

I’ve read and re-read The Three-Body Problem, listened to the original audiobook recording, as well as checked out the Netflix series so I don’t feel the need to re-review the book itself as I’m clearly a fan of the series!

This version read by Rosalind Chao, star of the Netflix show, is a significant improvement over the previous audio recording. Chao is expressive and has a great understanding of the story. I will definitely be recommending this version from now on.

“To effectively contain a civilization’s development and disarm it across such a long span of time, there is only one way: kill its science.”

It all starts with a scientist, a virtual reality video games, an old Chinese research station and potential extraterrestrial life.

I did things backward with this one and watched the Netflix show before listening to this audiobook, normally I wouldn’t recommend this but I think in this case it helped me keep up with the plot better.

This is a great read and I enjoyed the narration for the audiobook but to be honest, there is a lot of jumping around between timelines and sometimes the names can be hard to keep up with, I believe reading the actual book might lead to a better comprehension.

This is what I would call hard sci-fi a lot of it I will not pretend I understood but I was enjoyed it and I am very much intrigued to continue on this journey.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and the author Liu Cixin for the advanced listening copy. All my opinions are my own.

I was really intrigued by the video game aspect and the aliens but it took so long to get to the aliens! This book wasn’t what I was expecting, it was slower in the beginning but it got interesting once we got to the video game part and the three body problem. I listened to it as an audiobook which may have been why at times I had a hard time keeping track of where we were in time since it jumped around a little. The Trisolarans were interesting and I loved when we finally got to the point of learning more about their civilization and I wish we had gotten more about them but I guess I’ll have to read the next book! This was also a book that really made me consider how small we are compared to the rest of the universe, and the Trisolaran society made me think about how important joy and art are in order to make life meaningful on this little blue dot.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy of this audiobook!

4.5 stars

This is the first book of a trilogy.

Note: I initially read a hard copy of this book and recently listened to the audiobook, which became available on Netgalley. I especially appreciated hearing the pronunciation of Chinese names and words. The book is narrated by Rosalind Chao, who does a fine job.

The story begins during the early years of China's 'Cultural Revolution.' Ye Wenjie, a young astrophysicist, sees her father - a physics professor - tortured and murdered by a group of young Red Guards. Like many educated citizens Ye Wenjie is labeled a 'counter-revolutionary' and sent to cut trees for the Construction Corps before being recruited to work at a secret facility called Red Coast Base.

At first Ye Wenjie has limited access to the base's surreptitious activities but in time her abilities and intelligence give her wide access to the installation. Over time Ye Wenjie makes some startling discoveries and engages in some questionable behavior. (To say more would lead to spoiler territory.) Some years later, when the Cultural Revolution wanes, Ye Wenjie is allowed to return home and become a university professor.

In current times an applied physicist named Wang Miao - who's developed a very strong nanomaterial - is recruited by a committee composed of military officers/police. They ask Wang to help investigate a rash of physicist suicides. Wang reluctantly agrees and is assisted by a suspended cop called Da Shi - a disheveled, abrasive, pushy, off-putting guy. As things turn out though, Da Shi's ability to think outside the box is useful and his common sense is comforting....so I developed quite a liking for the fellow.

While Wang Miao is looking into the physicist suicides he develops peculiar/frightening 'vision problems' and starts to play an immersive computer game called "Three Body." The game is set on Trisolaris, a distant planet inhabited by extraterrestrials. Trisolaris has a very unstable environment. During 'chaotic periods' (extremely hot or cold) most Trisolarans are dehydrated, rolled up, and stored in dehydratories. During 'stable periods' (mild weather) the Trisolarans are rehydrated and go about their business. Still, there are frequent 'crashes' when the entire Trisolaran civilization is destroyed and has to start over.

The shifts between chaotic and stable periods on Trisolaris are completely random and abrupt. Thus the player's goal is to discover why they happen and to predict long-term stable periods. Wang determines that the chaos occurs because the planet has three suns....thus the 'three-body problem.' [Note: On the internet the three-body problem is defined as follows: "the problem of taking an initial set of data that specifies the positions, masses and velocities of three bodies for some particular point in time and then determining the motions of the three bodies, in accordance with Newton's laws of motion and universal gravitation."] In essence it's almost impossible to accurately predict the motion of Trisolaris' three suns.....but Wang Miao thinks he can do it.

As the story continues to unfold it turns out that Ye Wenjie's experiences at Red Coast Base, the physicist suicides, Wang Miao's nanomaterial research, and the three-body game are all connected. And they have something to do with the fact that humans have managed to contact an alien civilization. (Again, more information would be a spoiler.)

The story addresses an interesting topic: how would people react if they knew there were other intelligent beings in the universe? And what would happen if the other beings were on their way here? (I've always thought extraterrestrials - if they found out about Earth - might come here, wipe us out, and move in. But maybe that's just me....LOL)

There's a lot of physics jargon in the book and some fancy shenanigans with protons that stretch suspension of disbelief to the max...even for sci-fi. In the end, though, I enjoyed the book very much. China provides a great (and unusual) background for a science fiction book and the story is riveting, with interesting characters. Highly recommended to fans of science fiction.

I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.

The story is being adapted for a series on Netflix.

Thanks to Netgalley, Cixin Liu, and Macmillan Audio for a copy of the audiobook.

This newly narrated edition of The Three-Body Problem brings Liu Cixin’s mind-bending sci-fi masterpiece vividly to life, thanks to Rosalind Chao’s grounded, emotionally intelligent performance. Her narration feels particularly resonant given her portrayal of Ye Wenjie in the Netflix adaptation, though even without that context, her voice carries the gravity and depth necessary to guide listeners through the novel’s layered shifts—from political trauma to interstellar contact.

The novel opens with Ye Wenjie’s tragic backstory during the Cultural Revolution—an intense, emotionally gripping start—but her storyline recedes for much of the book, giving way to scientist Wang Miao’s investigation into mysterious suicides, a countdown only he can see, and a deeply strange virtual reality game. Ye returns later in the story, and her role in shaping humanity’s fate becomes devastatingly clear. Though I wished her presence remained more consistent throughout, the structure cleverly mirrors how buried traumas and secret ideologies can quietly steer the course of history.

One of the audiobook’s most immersive strengths is its subtle but effective sound design. Audio effects are used sparingly and strategically, particularly during the Three-Body game sequences, which become increasingly rich and disorienting as the novel progresses. These sequences, both intellectually puzzling and existentially eerie, reminded me strongly of Sword Art Online—a series I’ve long loved. Both stories feature protagonists dropped into high-stakes simulated environments, where solving the “game” means understanding forces that operate far beyond human norms. In SAO, players navigate a virtual world with real consequences for their bodies and lives. In The Three-Body Problem, the simulation becomes a kind of alien language and philosophy lesson, revealing the bleak truths of a civilization desperate for survival.

The similarities go deeper than the surface premise: both works examine how humans respond to systems they don’t control, how knowledge can become weaponized, and how immersive technology can reshape identity, morality, and society. Like Kirito in SAO, Wang Miao moves from confusion to understanding to defiance—but unlike SAO’s fantasy-action tone, Three-Body leans into slow-burn dread and philosophical depth.

By the novel’s end, the alien race is fully revealed—creative, unnerving, and shaped by the brutal physics of their unstable world. The science grows complex, but the narrative threads are strong enough to carry listeners through the big ideas. And while the story ends on an open note, it’s far from unsatisfying. Humanity knows it’s not alone—and it’s preparing to fight back.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. Chao’s narration, the production quality, and the cerebral, slow-building plot worked together to create an absorbing experience. Fans of speculative fiction, virtual worlds, and philosophical sci-fi—especially those who appreciate Sword Art Online’s blend of game logic and real-world stakes—will find a lot to enjoy here. I’m definitely considering continuing the series.

Thanks to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for this ALC. This is my honest review.

Let me first thank NetGalley for the early listen!

Then let's get into it. This book has been on my TBR forever! The synopsis? Sounds great. And that is where I went wrong.

This book is SMART. Know at least your basics: know a little about China, late 1960s. Know about physics and science-y stuff.

I feel like I'm not smart enough for this book. I got most of it, but I am not a tech-science-nerd (kudos to my nerds!). A LOT of it went over my head. I was searching Wiki pages to just get a gist of some things!

Also, I read the synopsis. I was expecting Independence Day set in China action. BAM! KA-CHOW!

Instead, we got a lot of motives and in-depth examples of how people's mindsets came to be. It was an interesting look at people, humanity, human nature, and really provokes the bigger question of should we let others save us? Should we save ourselves? And CAN we save ourselves?

Lastly, the narrator was very well-spoken and clear and concise, even at a faster rate of speed. I'd be interested to see how the show ties back into this book and with the narrator being from the TV show, it could be a very nice tie-in!

In the end, this was a study of humans and humanity. But I am curious about the oncoming invasion...

I don't normally read science fiction, I can't count on one hand all of the book I have read in this genre. But with all the hype and the TV show, I thought I would give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It kept my attention throughout and wasn't too difficult to follow. I will definitely be recommending this to my patrons who are science fiction readers. Thank you, Net Galley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

This is the best type of science fiction, one that puts science front and center and unabashedly celebrates everything about it. Every point brought up is eventually explained. What a tremendous way to start the trilogy.

The narrator was very good. I would recommend this audiobook to all public libraries. Patrons will have renewed interested in this title due to the Netflix series.

While I did not find the audiobook narrator enthralling necessarily, the content of the book more than makes up for it. Part of this could be attributed to the translation of the work, or the tone of the book being rather flat. However, this title will likely experience a rise in popularity with the upcoming Netflix series, and having it on the shelf and accessible via audio will be important for libraries.

This was an interesting story, and quite complex. Although the pace was slower than I usually like, the author kept me in suspense and I wanted to keep going. The premise is interesting and very creepy.

You could tell the book was a translation but I liked the way it came across in English, the writing was poetic and evocative and enhanced the eerie mood.

This new version of the audio by Rosalind Chao is very well done; her pronunciation is brilliant and her diction is exceptional.