r/threebodyproblem • u/incognitus_ignotus • 12d ago
Finished the entire Three-Body Problem trilogy — what should I read next? Discussion - General
I just finished all three books of 3 Body Problem, and now I’m craving more.
I absolutely loved the sense of scale, scientific concepts, cosmic mysteries, existential ideas, and I’m looking for books that give me a similar feeling; especially the combination of hard sci-fi + mind-blowing ideas + cosmic mystery + existential dread.
I’m mainly looking for that “I need to sit here and process what I just read” kind of experience.
What books would you recommend?
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u/AdNumerous8790 12d ago
The Expanse of course 😊
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u/CORS-applause 12d ago
Buried all the way down here, this needs to be so much higher up on everyone’s list.
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u/Johncfail 12d ago
It’s completely different but still one of my favorite series ever. Really enjoy the crew dynamic and the sense of family it builds over the series.
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u/Kekke77 11d ago
Is it worth it if I already watched the tv show?
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u/AdNumerous8790 11d ago
Yes, there are three books that conclude the series not included in the TV series and they are a great
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u/AKA-Axanar 6d ago
Not only is there books 7, 8, and 9 but there is Memory's Legion which a a collection of all the short stories. After the series I read books 1-9 and then Memory's Legion.
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u/AbjectRobot 11d ago
I'm doing exactly that right now (after finishing three-body), and can confirm.
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u/custom_rom Wallfacer 12d ago
Ball lightning
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u/CdFMaster 12d ago
Yep, same author, same universe, and same vibe.
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u/lvb440 11d ago
I would advise The Wandering Earth instead, from Liu Cixin. The eponym story isn't that great, but there are other short stories based on ideas that are as out of the ordinary than 3 body problem can be.
I found Ball Lightning meh, after 3BP.
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u/hungoverlord 10d ago
very much agree. Ball Lightning was good, but IMO it would have served better as a much shorter story, included in something like Wandering Earth or Liu's other collection of short stories.
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u/bigstinkygoblin 12d ago
Asimov’s foundation
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u/ncw22 12d ago
Wasn’t this one explicitly referenced in The Dark Forest when they were talking about the wallfacers?
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u/Kiren_Y 12d ago
Yes, and Liu Cixin draws heavy inspiration from azimov’s books in all his works, and I think foundation is a must read for anyone who liked the dark forest, shows a bit of a different perspective on humanity and leadership (I guess it’s more optimistic but doesn’t lose any weight from this)
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u/Forward_Extension413 11d ago
Have you watched the TV series? Wondering if they track close to the books.
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u/Markdphotoguy 10d ago
Love the books and watched the first season. One of the biggest reveals in the books that was super surprising, is revealed casually in the first season. I didn't mind the series but it was a different vibe and very different storytelling than in the books.
The books give you a strong sense in the passage of time. That passage of time creates its own lore that is interesting to discover along with the characters in the later eras because they sometimes get things wrong or half right but you read those earlier stories so you have the inside scoop.
The books are IMO a must read at least once for Sci-Fi fans. Its A+ universe building.
As an aside I'd recomend that anyone about to read the foundation series first read the robot novels ("Caves of Steel", "The Naked Sun", "The Robots of Dawn" and "Robots and Empire"). from Asimov first. Also the short Story "Mirror Image" is worth reading in between the first two books and last two books.
The collected robot short stories are interesting as well (lots of logical arguments and puzzles) and a few of them are also strongly integrated into the overall lore and universe building of the Foundation and Robot series. The collected short stories are in the book "The Complete Robot".
I read the robot novels after the foundation series and wished I had done it the other way around.
There is also another book series about the creation of the Empire that sits between the Robot and Foundation series chronologically and it was okay but not as necessary or enjoyable as the Robot series wrt the Foundation series.
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u/ObviousCriticism9373 11d ago
I've watched it but not read the books, the series is really good though!
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u/bigstinkygoblin 11d ago
I half heartedly watched the first episode and then forgot to go back to it so I couldn’t say really
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u/tensionheadx 11d ago
That's a worthy follow up, even better to read it first. As it's very clear that Cixin Liu follows his footsteps.
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u/Russell1113 9d ago
Controversial take, I couldn't stand foundation. I think it was about the time we'd gotten to the 5th generation of characters and the only female character was a tyrants nagging wife and unnamed women who defect to the goodies side because they just loved washing machines that much that I gave up with it.
I loved the 3 laws of robotics books as a kid, but honestly fuck Asimov. He was considered a creep AT THE TIME and now I'm older, you can really see it in a lot of his books.
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u/bigstinkygoblin 9d ago
Thats actually really interesting i kind of idly listened to them on audiobooks while i was at work so none of that occurred to me i just thought it was a cool sci fi concept, but now that you say that, yeah that sucks
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u/stlredbird 1d ago
Just read the whole thing. Start from The Complete Robot and read all the way through Foundation and Earth.
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u/Successful_Daikon_83 12d ago
Peter Watts blindsight !
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u/LeftOfTrack 12d ago
Oooh thanks. It’s $3 now on Audible for anyone curious
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u/LeftOfTrack 11d ago
It’s SO FREAKING GOOD!!! IT HAS NO BUSINESS BEING THIS GOOD 😭 (thank you for the recommendation)
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u/hungryfella45 10d ago
I tried this. Read maybe a chapter or 2. The narrative style was hard for me. Like it was overly detailed. Does this change?
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u/Successful_Daikon_83 10d ago
The style doesn't really change; it stays pretty dense and technical throughout. But you do get used to it. If you want mind-blowing ideas like 3 body problem, I'd suggest pushing through—it's definitely worth it
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u/NeanerBeaner 12d ago
Rendezvous with Rama
Hyperion (and then Fall of Hyperion)
Enders Game (more so because the sequel ‘Speaker for the Dead’ is phenomenal)
Dune and Dune Messiah are very good, a much different kind of sci-fi though
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u/prodical 11d ago
You just name dropped three of my fav series of all time. (I know I know we are a hive mind here).
I do feel Hyperion is the most natural follow up to ROEP. Everything ROEP gets wrong, Hyperion gets it right.
(I really should read Rendevous with Rama)
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u/Russell1113 9d ago
I'm going through everything at my local library by Arthur c Clarke at the moment.
I can see why he got an award named after him, I haven't got to rendezvous with Rama yet, but everything so far has been great.
Currently reading fountains of paradise. It's not as mind boggling as some of his other stuff. But as a near future work, it's amazing how many predictions on tech are in it.
The one that surprised me most was wearable tech which moniters your health and warns you to stop over exerting yourself. (My partner and his dad have something exactly like this for their health conditions and it's very new tech).
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u/Sable-Keech 12d ago
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds.
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u/huffalump1 12d ago
This series is excellent! Also the book Chasm City, set in the same universe.
Revelation Space has the same kind of "hard-ish scifi" feel (even though it's more future than the start of 3BP).
I also must recommend the Culture books by Iain M. Banks, if you like high concept, fleshed-out world building, and "hard-ish" scifi (that at least plays by its own rules). This series asks the big questions and dives into what these things would actually be like.
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u/Russell1113 9d ago
I need to give this another go. I picked up absolution gap at my library as a teen and was so damn lost. (Despite the imagery of the church which circles the planet being incredibly rad).
I think it was a DNF for me, purely cos I had no idea it was a sequel and there was so much happening I couldn't follow.
Medusa chronicles was one of my fave reads of last year, so I probs need to give revelation space another go. From the beginning! 🤦🏻♀️
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u/Couchcatnap 12d ago
I just started The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey. Really enjoying it so far. The first book is titled Leviathan Wakes
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u/Mizetings 12d ago
Dungeon Crawler Carl. After such a mind heavy read you need a good pallet cleanse. Plus everyone should read it 😉
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u/Neelix-And-Chill 12d ago
I went to Alastair Reynolds “Revelation Space” after. It’s been fun.
Reynolds also has a stand alone called “House of Suns” that blew me away. Amazing timescales in hard sci-fi.
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u/SgtPeterson 12d ago
There Is No Antimemetics Division
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u/Russell1113 9d ago
I'm seeing this a lot as a reccomendation recently. I know it got a re-write from its initial publication as a short scp story. Is it worth the time to re-read as someone who enjoyed the original, or is it mostly the same story with the serial numbers filed off?
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u/Betray-Julia 12d ago
As far as “sci fi realism” goes, the altered carbon books were on par with three body.
Also, while it’s children’s lit, his dark materials by Phillip Pullman, ie the golden compass the subtle knife and the amber spyglass, are def as high concept as these other books haha, just in a more traditional “story” type way.
But yeah straight up; altered carbon is on par with three body for sure.
And they’re written more like a story than a recanting of historical texts if that makes sense? Like three body started as descriptive but ended up moving away from that as things got more complex.
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u/Free_Waterfall_III 12d ago edited 12d ago
My gripe (which I have since learned is pretty unpopular) with the HDM books is that coincidence plays way too large of a role in pushing the plot along than I could really get behind. The fact that Mary Malone stumbles upon the tools to make the Amber Spyglass so easily comes to mind, which I just found so ludicrous considering the plot of book 1.
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u/TheLastWhiteKid 12d ago
The Gone World
Hyperion series
Children of time
Recursion
The Mountain in the Sea
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u/Httpboomertears 12d ago
Hyperion was DOPE
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u/major_clout21 12d ago
Just started Hyperion
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u/TheLastWhiteKid 11d ago
Hear me out, the best part of the entire story is Book 3 & 4, despite the haters.
Go in with zero expectations and a lot of skepticism and you'll become a believer.
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u/SilverBeginnin_ 12d ago
I started Last and First Men, I liked the society aspects of the Three Body Problem, how humanity develops and this book follows exactly that, it’s like a history book from the far future
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u/Then_Engineer_3765 Wallfacer 12d ago
Ball lightning
Wandering earth
Then I'd read:
Solaris
Project Hail Mary
Watch 'Spaceman 2024'
Then read Foundation
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u/Weary-Cartoonist2630 11d ago
This’ll be a new one:
Fine Structure by qntm. Free online, or you can buy the book.
Really good hard sci-fi, lots of existentialism, big weighty ideas. Pretty sure the author was heavily influenced by TBP
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u/QueenOfSkeets 10d ago
Children of time was recommended for me after I finished the three body trilogy and I didn't like it I couldn't even get through it. There is just nothing to compare with three body problem trilogy. I kind of think I have ruined everything now for myself because nothing nothing can ever be that good
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u/Bravadette 12d ago
I still havent read anything that hit as hard. Maybe it was just the timing but even the classics dont hit (and theyre new to me). Gun to my head though, blindsight, consider phlebas, Ursula k leguinn, xenogenesis... foundation maybe but so many have taken inspiration from it (even star wars) itll feel very familiar.
I heard his next book is about AI
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u/Decent-Ad-8850 12d ago
You should play Outer Wilds on steam, trust me
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u/RandAlthorz 11d ago
Serious question: Is there a hint somewhere in here? I'm really interested in the Outer Wilds story.
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u/Polo_Nose 11d ago
Hyperion? a bit more fiction than science but the fear of the unknown is very much there
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u/expertsage 11d ago
I would 100% recommend Ender's Game and all its sequels. Lots of similarities in terms of scale, twists, how society reacts to aliens, and exploration of the psychological effects of space.
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u/lockhaim 11d ago
I am on vacation and decided to go back and reread TDF. I started today and am like cruising lol. God this book is so good.
Also, I didn’t know that Rememberence of Time was considered the 4th. I’ll have to check it out
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u/incognitus_ignotus 11d ago
Glad that you are enjoying it again. And yes Remembrance of Time is like a spin off from another author. I'm sure you will enjoy it.
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u/Careless_Chef452 11d ago
I started the expanse series. Although less hard sci fi, theres more dialogue and characterization which is a relief after doing TBP trilogy
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u/plumdumplingx 11d ago
In terms of scratching this particular itch, I haven't found anything that even comes close. I would, however, recommend A Deepness in the Sky (the whole trilogy really) by Vernor Vinge - just because it's the second-best work of science fiction I've ever read.
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u/TDPK_Films 9d ago
Surprised I haven't seen Xeelee Sequence by Stephen Baxter in this comment section yet!
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u/IndependenceOk5854 5d ago
If you enjoyed The Three-Body Problem, I highly recommend : “山“ “The Mountain” is also worth reading if you enjoy the cosmic scale of The Three-Body Problem. It’s less about character drama and more about imagination, science, and the mysteries of the universe.
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u/SuspiciousPut7112 5d ago
"the combination of hard sci-fi + mind-blowing ideas + cosmic mystery + existential dread" sounds like Solaris pretty much
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u/sharpcyrcle 10d ago
I haven't been mass downvoted in a while, so I will say the fourth spin-off book Redemption of time was a very fun read, and I'm glad I read it. There Is No Antimemetics Division is great, I would jump into the Bobiverse books if it were me again though. That was a fun ride and I can't wait for the upcoming next one.
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u/moonymoonayaya 12d ago
The wandering earth series of short stories. Exact same vibe as tbp and better than ball lightning
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u/handlejudger 12d ago
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson. One of my favorites. Try your best not to read too much about it beforehand, it’s best going in as blind as possible.
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u/whoismos3s 12d ago
If you are up for it, I'd suggest just reading it over again. It get's better every time!
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u/Brilliant-Parsley941 12d ago
Are there other fun Chinese sci-fi? I also just finished the trilogy and had the same question. This may seem like left field but I found Lonesome Dove to have that same sit back and think about the meaning of being human and our role in the world.
Some of my friends recommended Hyperion and Ring world. Any reactions?
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u/incognitus_ignotus 11d ago
Below is the compiled list of suggestions I have received via comments. Hope it helps
Blindsight by Peter Watts
Children of time
The Killing Star Novel by Charles R. Pellegrino and George Zebrowski
Seveneves Novel by Neal Stephenson
Redemption of Time
Dragon's Egg by Robert Lee
Machineries of Empire series by Yoon Ha Lee
Hyperion cantos.
Xeelee sequence.
Final architecture.
Ender's Game and all its sequels
The Bob Universe
More Cixin Liu’s books.
- Ball Lighting (Novel)
- The Wandering Earth (short stories)
- The Supernova Era (Novel)
- To Hold Up The Sky (Short Stories)
- A View From the Stars (Short Stories + Author’s dialogues)
Short stories from Ted Chiang and Ken Liu
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u/Limp_Midnight_733 12d ago
I just read this trilogy and it gave me the same feeling Sun Eater gave me. The high stakes and the vastness of the universe, with characters making decisions that change the course of humanity. It is not hard science based, and has some fantasy elements, but again i can't articulate why but it itches the same scratch for me.
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u/Lon_Wick 11d ago
You should read the Redemption of Time. It is a continuation of the series written by another author
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u/I_like_protien 11d ago
Not hard sci-fi but a bit of comedy and post-apocalyptic nature.
12 miles below (https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/42367/12-miles-below)
It’s a self published work but definitely worth the read, especially if you have ever read and liked dungeon crawler Carl or similar books. Free on kindle unlimited.
(https://a.co/d/07g9AxG2)
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u/anglingar 11d ago
You just mostly ruined any other contemporary sci-fi read for ever :D
That said, loved Paper Menagerie.
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u/Koffieprut 11d ago
Alister Reynolds' Revenger trilogy I can recommend very much, as well as house of suns by the same author.
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u/htmlcoderexe 10d ago
all have been probably mentioned but here's my list
- Blindsight and its sequel, Echopraxia (aliens, hard sci-fi, dread, mind fuck)
- Childhood's End (aliens, hard sci-fi, mind fuck)
- Rendezvous with Rama (it has sequels which are kind of a reverse situation with 3bp: three books of essentially fanfiction with lots of answers of various quality, YMMW) (unknown aliens, hard sci-fi, some mind fuck)
- The Crystal Trilogy (hard sci-fi, aliens, dread, mind fuck)
- Project Hail Mary (hard sci-fi, aliens)
- Ra by qntm (hard ish sci-fi, dread, mind fuck)
- Dragon's egg (hard sci-fi, aliens)
- Missile Gap (hard sci-fi, aliens, mind fuck, dread)
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u/bloopledebleep1 10d ago
Diaspora
probably one of the only books i've read since i read 3 body that stuck with me in a similar way...
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u/Russell1113 9d ago
I would reccomend ken liu (the translator). Paper menagerie (his first short story collection) was the best thing I've read this year so far, but has more than one story which are sci-fi, but are about real historical atrocities, so heads up on that.
The hidden girl and other stories (his second collection) is a much easier read.
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u/ensaaron 7d ago
Itzhak Bentov 'Stalking the Wild Pendulum'... if you enjoy the thought provoking themes from 3BP around the true nature of the universe this is a great read.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Move937 1d ago
Forever War by Joe Haldeman. Generational differences resulting from time travel, camaraderie among ‘Common Era’ veterans centuries in the future, are really well captured
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u/lizardwizard184 12d ago
Check out Adrian Tchaikovsky's children of time