I think the hype around this book was ultimately greater than my experience with it, but I shouldn’t underrate the unique and influential aspects of it. There’s something deeply unsettling about the idea that our naive radio broadcasts into deep space might lure extraterrestrial predators toward us (Liu’s second title in the series, the Dark Forest, is now a preferred name for this resolution of the Fermi paradox). The book’s prologue, taking place during China’s violent Cultural Revolution, is heartbreaking. It’s understandable how someone facing Ye Wenjie’s grief might despair for humanity’s future. The book’s antagonists are compelling and interesting, and the Trisolaran race against time to disrupt humanity’s technological advancement is an interesting cliffhanger.