MixedStrange HorizonsAll the ingredients are in place for a truly great science fiction story ... But the pieces are greater than the whole, because the story depends for its effect on a sympathy with both Ye Wenjie and Wang Maio that it doesn’t do enough to achieve. To hold back certain revelations until the end of the story, much of Ye’s actions and emotions at Red Coast are obscured, making her a cipher for much of the story. And Wang is unfortunately little more than a plot device, a character who walks around experiencing the plot and feeling things because the plot requires it ... The science is very convincing and up to date, but as a science fiction novel The Three-Body Problem feels like something written in the days of Asimov and Clarke. Devotees of hard science fiction will find a lot to like, since many modern science fiction novels don’t have even half the ideas on display in The Three-Body Problem, but the characterization is too contrived for the story to have the emotional impact it deserves.