After Wang Miao is recruited by the Beijing police to infiltrate a secret cabal of scientists, he finds himself on the brink of madness. 
 The Three-Body Problem is a fascinating book. It's a lot more "hard" scifi than I'm used to, and a lot less narrative. The characters spend a fair bit of their time simply sitting around a room explaining scientific concepts to each other. 
 Yet, somehow, the plot manages to seep through and it's fantastic. It's a personal story of grief and revenge, it's a secret society conspiracy story, it's an alien invasion story, all pulled off in a compelling way. 
 The writing style is quite unusual. Ken Liu, the translator, has done an amazing job of preserving "an echo of another language's rhythms and cadences" (his words, from the translator's postscript). 
 The main character, Wang, is a little flat. He has details added - a wife, a child, a photography hobby - but these only come up when necessary to the plot. Most of the time, he's reactive, following along as other characters take him on a journey. But those other characters are so expressive and memorable that Wang's comparative blandness doesn't detract. Rather, he serves as a fantastic reader insert as we get to meet all these different interesting people and try to solve the great mystery. 
 I did feel like the third act was on the weaker side. The climax itself was great, but the reveal at the end where all the remaining plot lines are tied together felt forced and rather info-dumpy. This style had been used before, primarily in the sections where Ye Wenjie's history is revealed. The difference there, though, is that Ye is a very interesting character. Whereas in the final portion, we're with the aliens - characters we haven't gotten to know and are explicitly meant to feel alienated (see what I did there?) from. Each character therefore serves only as a role needed to expose the plot, and it doesn't work anymore. I have to admit, the final 40 or so pages took me about two days to get through. That said, it's only 40 pages out of an otherwise fantastic 400. 
 There are apparently two sequels available. But for those of you suffering from Serial Burnout, don't worry. The Three-Body Problem has a very satisfying end. It's open, but it's not a cliff-hanger.