So there’s this sci-fi series that I like to fangirl about. Scratch that – everyone I know who’s read it basically fangirls about it. My boyfriend included. (Yes. It actually worked. I made my boyfriend start a series. Imagine that??) This series is called Remembrance of Earth’s Past and I’ll give you a couple reasons why you should know about it and read it.
Reason #1. It’s Incredibly Twisty
Liu Cixin is incredible at twists. And I mean incredible! We all know and love twists, and if you’ve read Illuminae you definitely know what I’m talking about! BUT. This guy’s twists? They’re smarter. They’re oh so much smarter and more scientific that you never would have guessed. You just don’t have it in your mind as a possibility before he shows it to you. It’s so imaginative.
Reason #2. It’s Big-Picture Sci-Fi
The thing I loved the most about these books is that they are geared towards the big picture. Say, like The Foundation by Isaac Asimov. And it gets so big, spans so many years and so many lives… That it simply stuns you. I know I would never come up with a story like this. Bits and pieces planted in the first book to only be found out in the last book, with that “ahh….” moment. Liu Cixin’s story takes up solar systems, galaxies… Even universes. You must make that trip.
Reason #3. It’s SO Chinese!!!
These books are so incredibly Chinese you wouldn’t even believe it! And I mean genuine Chinese, not fake Chinese (obvs, because a REAL Chinese person wrote it?) Everything from the way they think to the way they imagine space travel and the future… Is oh so different from the way Westerners write it. And it’s such a breath of fresh air! When I read sci-fi, I want to actually read something different! And this is precisely what the series delivers.
I’m not even talking about how beautifully Chinese heritage is used in the third book, to convey hidden messages about other species through fables and tales. It’s something incredible.
So basically, read something non-American for once, okay??
Reason #4. It’s Very Smart
It’s sci-fi. And it’s hard sci-fi. If you’re not a science reader, this isn’t for you. But if you do enjoy your quantum sci-fi… This is so smart it will never let you down. At times in this series I kept thinking, does this guy have a PhD in Physics or something? He really knows what he’s selling! Even if he doesn’t know how to solve equations, he definitely knows how this stuff works, because I’ve done Physics, and I mean I’ve done HIGH university level Physics with integrals and all of that stuff. Quantum mechanics? We did it. And yet? He never sold me short. There was no suspension of disbelief. Liu Cixin just mesmerizes you with his science talk and unless you’re a Nobel Prize winner yourself, you will have no trouble believing his quantum enemy alien computers are real.
Reason #5. It’s Contemporary Sci-Fi
Okay, so sci-fi might not be such an old genre in and of itself, but hey. Most sci-fi classics you’ll hear mentioned? It’s 60s, 70s, 80s. Asimov, Bradbury, Heinlein… Maybe there’s no such thing as a dated sci-fi, but older sci-fi tends to…..
- Be mysogynistic… at times very much so.
- Be overly political
- Sometimes the futurology is off (…If you know what I mean..? They’ll have spaceships, but not have mobile phones..?)
That, but mostly the first two reasons, are what makes young people bored with sci-fi! The first one pushes away nearly all the females, the second one? The second one either bores you away from it, or makes you fall asleep. (Granted, there will always be people who like space politics, but.)
And this is why I liked Remembrance of Earth’s Past! It’s not mysogynistic at all. It is political, but somehow it works? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s different to the space politics of the 60s. And the futurology… Oh my gosh, how I want you to see that futurology.
Finally…
These books are amazing. You must give them a chance! Book covers link to Book Depository. If you consider buying them, please save the links. Buying through them supports the blog. If you don’t buy them, get them at the library! Just give them a go.
I’m Evelina and I blog about books that made an impression on me. I love middle grade, women’s, scifi and some literary too.