Three-Body Problem

What Hacker News says

1. BLKNSLVROct 2026
   Assuming sarcasm.

   The Three Body Trilogy was absolutely packed with fantastic and original ideas, and explained/presented in ways that flowed well with the story. That's how I found it anyway. I very much enjoyed all three Three Body Problem books. Also very much enjoyed Blindsight.

   If not sarcasm, I feel sorry for your not being able to extract joy from any of those books, and hope there are others that tickle your fancy that maybe the HN readership might like to know about. Going by your email address, I'd guess that maybe Accelerando might do it?

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2. eitallyOct 2026
   It may not be the most prescient or innovative sci fi series, but I read The Three Body Problem a few years ago and it's really stuck with me. Specifically the description of how humanity reached an inflection point in math & physics research that almost immediately unlocked novel innovations in applied science ... which then made space exploration & settlement practical. Moreover, that the antagonist society in the series decided their absolute best bet at avoiding complete annihilation was to hamstring humankind's scientific research -- and that's it.

   It feels like frontier models are starting to approach an asymptote where what you suggest could become reality, and we'll begin seeing not just AI research but AI-designed & led applications of that research into fundamental parts of our society & culture. For better and for worse.

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3. hn92726819Aug 2026
   Spoiler alert if you haven't read it.

   This happens in The Three Body Problem as well. A second ship is sent after the first and surpasses it. It's a great series.

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4. azuanrbApr 2026
   One of the last physical books I owned was The Three-Body Problem trilogy in a single volume. It was massive, heavy and honestly beautiful. I loved it.

   Then I switched to the Kobo Libra Colour. The weight and portability make a huge difference. Having my entire library with me means I am no longer stuck with whatever I decided to bring before leaving home.

   The color display is not amazing, but it is good enough for comics. I have been reading things like Attack on Titan and Spider-Man on it. Reading tech books has been great too, especially those with graphs and images.

   If I had to sum it up in one word, versatile.

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5. dtagamesDec 2025
   Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, himself a programmer.
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6. ashtavakraDec 2025
   I consolidated the comments for my reference later. Someone else might also find it useful:

   # Fiction Books Recommended for Programmers (HN Thread 46128404)

   ## Adrian Tchaikovsky - *Children of Time* — Science Fiction (Evolution, Space Opera) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25499718-children-of-tim...

   ## Rick Cook — Wizardry Series - *Wizard’s Bane* — Fantasy, Programming/Magic Mashup https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112616.Wizard_s_Bane - *Wizardry Series (overview)* https://www.goodreads.com/series/43084-wiz

   ## James P. Hogan - *Inherit the Stars* — Hard Science Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/743568.Inherit_the_Stars - *Code of the Lifemaker* — Sci-Fi, Artificial Life https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/296722.Code_of_the_Lifem... - *The Two Faces of Tomorrow* — AI, Hard Science Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/218017.The_Two_Faces_of_...

   ## D. F. Jones — Colossus Trilogy - *Colossus* — AI, Classic Sci-Fi Thriller https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/806105.Colossus - *The Fall of Colossus* — AI, Sci-Fi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/806106.The_Fall_of_Colos... - *Colossus and the Crab* — AI, Sci-Fi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/806107.Colossus_and_the_...

   ## Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner) - *A Logic Named Joe* — Golden-Age Sci-Fi, AI Precursor https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16179042-a-logic-named-j...

   ## David Gerrold - *When H.A.R.L.I.E. Was One* — AI, Classic Science Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/865672.When_H_A_R_L_I_E_...

   ## William Gibson / Bruce Sterling - *Neuromancer* — Cyberpunk https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6088007-neuromancer - *The Difference Engine* — Steampunk https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16781.The_Difference_Eng...

   ## Neal Stephenson - *Snow Crash* — Cyberpunk https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/830.Snow_Crash - *Cryptonomicon* — Techno-thriller, Cyber-history https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/816.Cryptonomicon - *Anathem* — Philosophical Science Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2845024-anathem - *The Diamond Age* — Nanopunk https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/827.The_Diamond_Age

   ## Fred Saberhagen - *Octagon* — AI, Techno-thriller https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1891958.Octagon

   ## Lois McMaster Bujold — Vorkosigan Saga - *Series Overview* — Space Opera https://www.goodreads.com/series/40946-vorkosigan-saga

   ## Richard Powers - *Galatea 2.2* — Literary Fiction, AI https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45104.Galatea_2_2

   ## Scott Meyer - *Off to Be the Wizard* — Comic Fantasy with Computing Themes https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18616975-off-to-be-the-w...

   ## Daniel Suarez - *Daemon* — Cyber-thriller, AI https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6665844-daemon

   ## Thomas J. Ryan - *The Adolescence of P-1* — AI, Classic Sci-Fi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/218059.The_Adolescence_o...

   ## Ernest Cline - *Ready Player One* — Sci-Fi, Gaming, Pop-Culture Adventure https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9969571-ready-player-one

   ## Dennis E. Taylor - *We Are Legion (We Are Bob)* — Humorous Sci-Fi, AI, Space Opera https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29475817-we-are-legion-w...

   ## Ted Chiang - *Stories of Your Life and Others* — Speculative Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223380.Stories_of_Your_L... - *Exhalation* — Speculative Fiction, Philosophy, AI https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41160292-exhalation - *The Lifecycle of Software Objects* — AI, Digital Consciousness https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9166173-the-lifecycle-of...

   ## Charles Stross - *Laundry Files Series* — Math-based Magic, Techno-Fantasy https://www.goodreads.com/series/50764-laundry-files

   ## Ken Liu - *The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories* — Speculative Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11289614-the-paper-menag... - *The Hidden Girl and Other Stories* — Speculative Fiction, AI, VR https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51008178-the-hidden-girl...

   ## Ellen Ullman - *The Bug* — Tech Industry Literary Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/703.The_Bug

   ## Cory Doctorow - *Radicalized* — Techno-sociopolitical Speculative Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40604122-radicalized

   ## qntm (Sam Hughes) - *Valuable Humans in Transit and Other Stories* — Speculative Fiction, Computing Themes https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56516939-valuable-humans...

   ## Roger Williams - *The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect* — AI, Post-Singularity SF https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/258140.The_Metamorphosis...

   ## Greg Bear - *Eon* — Hard Science Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/924843.Eon

   ## Vernor Vinge - *A Deepness in the Sky* — Hard Sci-Fi, Space Opera https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/175303.A_Deepness_in_the...

   ## Terry Pratchett - *Going Postal* — Comic Fantasy, Satire of Bureaucracy & Tech https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64222.Going_Postal

   ## Bruce Bethke - *Headcrash* — Cyber-satire https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213465.Headcrash

   ## Mary Shelley - *Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus* — Classic Gothic Sci-Fi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35031085-frankenstein

   ## Douglas Adams - *The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy* — Comic Sci-Fi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11.The_Hitchhiker_s_Guid...

   ## Jorge Luis Borges - *The Library of Babel* — Metaphysical Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7844213-the-library-of-b...

   ## Greg Egan - *Permutation City* — Simulation Theory, Hard Sci-Fi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/156784.Permutation_City

   ## Cixin Liu - *The Three-Body Problem* — Hard Sci-Fi, First Contact https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20518872-the-three-body-...

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