Ye Wenjie, a young
astrophysicist, suffered during the Chinese Cultural Revolution
seeing her physicist father killed by an out of control group of
young students. For awhile she buries herself in the forests as part
of the Construction Corps, sawing down irreplaceable old trees. This
experience like the Cultural Revolution convinces Ye Wenjie that
humanity is not redeemable.
Her father's past as
a famous physicist follows her into the Construction Corps. Before
she is convicted, she's whisked away to a remote antenna station to
serve as a technician. She intends to spend the rest of her life
there, but events push her into the forefront of a new revolution,
one to discredit science.
The book moves back
and forth between Ye Wenjie's experiences and Wang Maio's. Wang is an
applied physicist working on nanomaterial. He is drawn into the
investigation of why so many famous scientists are committing
suicide. At first he doesn't see how he fits the mold, but as the
investigation progresses he gets caught up in the three body problem.
This is one of the
best science fiction books I have ever read. The background relies
heavily on physics which makes it fascinating. The author does an
excellent job of weaving real concepts into his story. If you enjoy
physics, this is a must read.
Wang and Ye are good
characters. Wang grows as he faces the looming catastrophe. Ye is an
enclosed woman who hides deep secrets. However, my favorite character
was Da Shi. Unlike the scientists, he is a pragmatic observer who
doesn't worry about theory. He looks at life. His common sense is one
of the most refreshing parts of the book.
I highly recommend
this book. It's the first book in a trilogy. The other two books are
not available yet. If you like reading really good science fiction,
you'll love this book.
I reviewed this book
for the Amazon Vine Program.
No comments:
Post a Comment