by Cixin Liu
First published 2019
When a blast of ball lightning incinerates his parents, Chen devotes his life to cracking the secret of this mystifying phenomenon. His search takes him to remote mountaintops, a military weapons lab, and a Soviet-era science station. As Chen gets closer to the truth, he confronts soldiers and scientists with their own dangerous agendas - including a brilliant but unscrupulous physicist. Chen's lonely quest for answers may cost him everything, but it could also unlock the keys to a whole new frontier of science.
Genres: science-fiction, mystery, thriller, physics
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: mystery, scientific-discovery
400 pages · Paperback