Remembrance of Earth’s Past reading order at a glance

Original trilogy
The Three-Body Problem → The Dark Forest → Death’s End, all by Cixin Liu.
English translations
Ken Liu translated the first and third novels; Joel Martinsen translated The Dark Forest.
Optional continuation
The Redemption of Time is by Baoshu. It is not a fourth Three-Body novel written by Cixin Liu.
THE SHORT ANSWER

Where should I start?

Read The Three-Body Problem, The Dark Forest and Death’s End. Save The Redemption of Time, a separate novel by Baoshu, until after Liu’s completed trilogy if you choose to explore it.

Go to the reading list ↓

Remembrance of Earth’s Past is the formal name of the trilogy often introduced through its first title, The Three-Body Problem. It begins with the historical and personal consequences of a decision to make contact. The consequences eventually demand a much larger vocabulary than a simple alien-invasion plot suggests.

The books ask you to sit with arguments as well as events. Scientific explanations, political choices and conflicting judgments about humanity all influence what happens next. You do not need to know the later novels’ organizing ideas before beginning. Encountering them inside the story is more interesting than collecting their definitions from a summary.

Reference: Macmillan: Three-Body series and author credits ↗

SEE THE CONNECTIONS

Three original novels and one clearly separate option

The core trilogy is a single ordered project. A publisher may display related fiction and boxed sets beside it; those products do not all have the same authorship or narrative status.

Open each chapter of the map to explore.

CORE / BOOKS ONE TO THREECixin Liu’s trilogy

The Three-Body Problem, The Dark Forest and Death’s End form the main sequence. Follow that order. The later titles develop the setting and ideas introduced earlier; they are not interchangeable standalones about three different scientific problems.

OPTIONAL / ANOTHER AUTHORThe Redemption of Time

Baoshu’s novel is published alongside the trilogy by its English-language publisher. Treat it as an optional response and extension after Death’s End, with a different authorial perspective. A reader can finish Liu’s trilogy without needing this fourth item.

OTHER MEDIA & EDITIONSAdaptations and bundles

A television adaptation may rearrange or combine material. A three-book bundle may contain the same trilogy under one product listing. Neither changes the prose reading order. Use the individual novel titles and author credits when deciding what you already own.

Reference: The original trilogy: publisher bundle ↗

YOUR NEXT CHAPTER

Choose your reading route

The three novels by Cixin Liu, in their reading order. This route is complete without a companion continuation.

  1. The Three-Body Problem

    Cixin Liu

    Original trilogy 1. English translation by Ken Liu.

    View in the library ↗

  2. The Dark Forest

    Cixin Liu

    Original trilogy 2. English translation by Joel Martinsen.

    View in the library ↗

  3. Death’s End

    Cixin Liu

    Original trilogy 3. English translation by Ken Liu.

    View in the library ↗

Titles and scope: Macmillan: Three-Body series and author credits ↗

BEYOND THE CHECKLIST

Let the ideas arrive with their consequences

This is a series where looking up the meaning of a phrase can reveal the turn a book has been building toward. If you are confused, keep track of what a character knows and what problem they are trying to solve. The story often makes a concept meaningful by showing why somebody would act on it.

The books’ changes of scale are part of their reading experience. A new viewpoint or era does not mean you should stop and search for missing bridge material. Stay with the ordered trilogy. Afterwards, decide whether another author’s extension interests you or whether you would rather leave the final novel’s perspective undisturbed.

Explore Remembrance of Earth’s Past ↗
BEFORE YOU SET OFF

A few reader questions

Is Three-Body Problem the name of the whole series?

It is commonly used that way, but it is also the first novel’s title. Remembrance of Earth’s Past refers to the original trilogy.

Is The Redemption of Time required?

No. It is by Baoshu, not Cixin Liu, and this guide treats it as optional reading after Death’s End.

Do I need to watch an adaptation first?

No. Begin with the first novel. An adaptation’s episode order is not a substitute for the sequence of the three books.