Science Fiction: A View From The Stars By Cixin Liu

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Cixin Liu is the most important science fiction writer of the 21rst century so far. His trilogy "Remembrance of the Earth´s Past", beginning with the novel "The Body Problem", is a huge space opera. The novels play with the laws of physics & mathematics and they translate relativity & string theory, quantum physics and much more science into speculative & fascinating fiction (my  review). 

Liu created at least another standard work: his novel "Ball Lightning" juggles with the laws of physics and quantum mechanic phenomena and turns it into fascinating read ( driveby). Cixin Liu continues the tradition of Asimov, Heinlein & Clarke and defines the genre for years to come.

The anthology "A View from the Stars", a collection of Liu`s short stories and some essays, partly autobiographic, gives an introduction into his thinking ( amazon). The book is more for fans of Liu and sci-fi aficionados than for the general readership.

I find it interesting that the first science fiction book that Liu read - and that had introduced him to the genre - was a young adult version of Jules Verne´s "Journey to the Center of the Earth", because a young adult version of Verne novels was my first science fiction book as well. The young Liu learned from his father that this novel is fantasy, "but it´s based on science". This established the core concept that would later guide Liu as a writer of sci-fi. 

The author describes his development as a writer, the evolution of Chinese sci-fi, speculates about the future of humankind and interstellar macro-civilizations. He also elaborrates about the dark forest theory, the core thesis of the "Remembrance of the Earth´s Past" trilogy.

I like the short story "Wale Song" about a powerful criminal and a scientist who use a wale for their sinister purpose. Other stories are about time travel, chaos theory (the famous butterfly wing effect), traveling with the help of a particle accelerator, dangerous asteroids and more.

I strongly hope that Liu will continue to write and to enrich the genre with more gems.