Liu Cixin

Born on 23rd June, 1963, in the city of Yangquan in the Shanxi province of the People's Republic of China, Liu Cixin has quickly risen in prominence among the science fiction writers of China to achieve a rare position in the global club of popular science fiction writers. Born to humble roots, Liu was trained at the North China University of Water Conservancy and Electric power, from where he was able to graduate in 1988, to begin working as a computer engineer for a local power plant. Liu Cixin's experience as a novelist began in 2002, when his first novel was published to widespread acclaim.

The best place to start is The Three-Body Problem series, the earliest of Liu Cixin's multi-book series: it opens with The Three-Body Problem (2006) and runs to 4 books across 2006–2019, ending with The Redemption of Time (2019).

Liu Cixin has 42 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1998 and 2024. 4 of them belong to 1 named series — the largest being The Three-Body Problem series with 4 books — and 38 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Liu Cixin's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are The Three-Body Problem (2006–2019, 4 books).

This guide splits Liu Cixin's 42 books into 1 named series and 38 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: The Three-Body Problem (4 books, 2006–2019).