Death's End

The publication of Death’s End brings to a close one of the grandest, most intellectually rigorous accomplishments of recent decades: Remembrance of Earth’s Past. This remarkable, multi-award-winning trilogy stands as a high-water mark of Chinese science fiction, and it established its author, Cixin Liu, as a major player on the international stage. The opening volume, The Three-Body Problem, introduced the central premise of the series: the not-so-imminent arrival of a technically advanced alien race—the Trisolarians—who plan to abandon their dying home world and take control of Earth, a compatible planet. Their journey to Earth will take hundreds of years, but the threat, however distant, remains real, and its effects will be felt everywhere on Earth. The second volume, The Dark Forest, spans centuries of frantic activity as the citizens of Earth struggle to mount a plausible defense against the coming invaders. Scientists develop a desperate plan called The Wallfacer Project, which may hold the key to human survival in the dark forest of the universe. And now we have Death’s End, in which this vast, intricate narrative comes to its unforeseeable end. The protagonist, this time, is Cheng Xin, a 21st century scientist awakened from hibernation into a world she can no longer recognize, a world that exists in an uneasy détente with the Trisolarians. An ordinary, unassuming woman, Cheng brings with her some uniquely useful knowledge of 21st century technology, and she will play a crucial role in the gradual unfolding of this immense, constantly surprising narrative. Crucial as it is, Cheng’s story is just one thread in the complex tapestry that Death’s End ultimately encompasses. Even more than its predecessors, this book contains multitudes, moving playfully but with fierce intelligence through the dazzle and wonder of the universe. This is science fiction on the grandest possible scale, filled with multiple realities, stories within stories, and an endless flow of astounding images and staggeringly original concepts. Death’s End—and the larger work it concludes—is a masterpiece of visionary literature that is worth returning to again and again. In these three books, Liu has created an enduring landmark of 21st century SF.

Death’s End brings to a close the Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy. The opening volume, The Three-Body Problem, introduced the central premise of the series: the not-so-imminent arrival of a technically advanced alien race—the Trisolarians—who plan to abandon their dying home world and take control of Earth, a compatible planet. Their journey to Earth will take hundreds of years, but the threat, however distant, remains real, and its effects will be felt everywhere on Earth. The second volume, The Dark Forest, spans centuries as the citizens of Earth struggle to mount a defense against the coming invaders. Scientists develop a plan called The Wallfacer Project, which may hold the key to human survival in the dark forest of the universe. In Death’s End, the narrative comes to its end. The protagonist is Cheng Xin, a 21st century scientist awakened from hibernation into a world she can no longer recognize, a world that exists in an uneasy détente with the Trisolarians. An ordinary, unassuming woman, Cheng brings with her knowledge of 21st century technology, and she will play a crucial role in the unfolding of the narrative. Cheng’s story is one thread in the narrative that Death’s End encompasses. The book contains multiple realities and stories within stories.

Half a century after the Doomsday Battle, the uneasy balance of Dark Forest Deterrence keeps the Trisolaran invaders at bay. Earth enjoys unprecedented prosperity due to the infusion of Trisolaran knowledge. With human science advancing daily and the Trisolarans adopting Earth culture, it seems that the two civilizations will soon be able to co-exist peacefully as equals without the terrible threat of mutually assured annihilation. But the peace has also made humanity complacent. Cheng Xin, an aerospace engineer from the early 21st century, awakens from hibernation in this new age. She brings with her knowledge of a long-forgotten program dating from the beginning of the Trisolar Crisis, and her very presence may upset the delicate balance between two worlds. Will humanity reach for the stars or die in its cradle?