English translations of Chinese popular fiction are still a rarity in the west, almost as much so as a science fiction novel becoming a runaway bestseller in China. So when the Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy by Cixin Liu was picked up for translation it was a little hard to contain my excitement. My feelings after reading the first installment are that the accolades have been well earned. The Three-Body Problem (Tor, $25.99) opens in the 1960s with the persecution of intellectuals during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, then brings us into the near future in which Chinese scientists are lauded and their greatest enemy is an insoluble physics problem that might be leading to their deaths. From Communist experiments yielding unexpected alien contact to virtual reality games that posit astrophysics questions to their players, Liu constructs a compelling story and allegory for Chinese Communism’s most troubling aspects. An engrossing read for fans of thoughtful literary fiction or hard SciFi alike.