Liu Cixin Reading Order

5 books (2014–2019)

Liu Cixin edited three science fiction anthology collections between 2014 and 2019, now complete. These volumes—Carbide Tipped Pens, Some of the Best from Tor.com 2016 Edition, and Clarkesworld Year Ten: Volume One—should be read in publication order. Each anthology gathers short fiction from various contributors, offering diverse perspectives within the science fiction genre.

Start with Carbide Tipped Pens and read in order.

#	Title
1	Carbide Tipped Pens 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 111, December 2015 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2016 Edition 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Twelve Tomorrows 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Clarkesworld Year Ten: Volume One 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (2005–2024)

Liu Cixin's Collections series comprises three science fiction volumes published between 2005 and 2024, with the series remaining ongoing. Read the books in publication order: The Wandering Earth, To Hold Up the Sky, and A View from the Stars. This expanding series blends Liu's signature hard science fiction approach with philosophical explorations across multiple interconnected stories.

Start with The Wandering Earth and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Wandering Earth 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	To Hold Up the Sky 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	A View from the Stars 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

10 books (2021–2024)

Liu Cixin's science fiction works have been adapted into a graphic novel series consisting of ten books published between 2021 and 2024, with new volumes still being released. These adaptations should be read in publication order, beginning with Yuanyuan's Bubbles and progressing through titles including Sea of Dreams, The Village Teacher, The Wandering Earth, Butterfly, and The Three Body Problem Part One, among others. Several volumes feature collaborations with artists and writers such as Sylvain Runberg and Cai Jin. The series brings Liu's distinctive hard science fiction vision to the graphic medium.

Start with Cixin Liu's Yuanyuan's Bubbles, the first of 10 books in the Graphic Novels series.

#	Title
1	Cixin Liu's Yuanyuan's Bubbles 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Sea of Dreams 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Village Teacher 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Wandering Earth 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Yuanyuan's Bubbles 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Butterfly 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	For the Benefit of Mankind(With: Sylvain Runberg) 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Circle 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Three Body Problem, Part One(With: Cai Jin,Ge Wendi,Bo Mu) 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Taking Care of God Vol. 1(With: Jun Yokoyama) 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

17 books (1999–2021)

Liu Cixin's Short Stories and Novellas collection comprises 17 science fiction works published between 1999 and 2021, likely representing a complete series. These standalone and interconnected tales should be read in publication order, beginning with The Wandering Earth and progressing through pieces like The Complete Frequency Blocking Fortress, Sun of China, Devourer, and others through the final entries. The collection showcases the acclaimed author's imaginative range across speculative and speculative themes across more than two decades of writing.

Start with Liulang Diqiu / The Wandering Earth, the first of 17 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.

#	Title
1	Liulang Diqiu / The Wandering Earth 1999Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Quan Pingdai Zuse Sai Ganrao / The Complete Frequency Blocking Fortress 2000Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Zhongguo Taiyang / Sun of China 2001Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Devourer 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Diqiu Dapao / Earth's Cannon / Cannonball 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Jingzi / Mirror 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Shanyang Renlei / To Support Mankind / For The Benefit of Mankind 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Cretaceous Past 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Micro-Age / Micro-Era 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	With Her Eyes / Through Her Eyes 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Weight of Memories 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Mountain 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Taking Care of God 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Longest Fall 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Curse 5.0 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Circle 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Of Ants and Dinosaurs 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1998–2019)

Liu Cixin's three standalone science fiction novels span two decades, from 1998 to 2019, and should be read in publication order: Daishang Tade Yanjing, Ball Lightning, and Supernova Era. Each book operates as an independent work, allowing readers to experience Cixin's evolving approach to speculative fiction across the series. The complete collection showcases the acclaimed Chinese author's exploration of scientific concepts and their implications for humanity.

Start with Daishang Tade Yanjing / Her Eyes on the Belt and read in order.

#	Title
1	Daishang Tade Yanjing / Her Eyes on the Belt 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Ball Lightning 2004Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Supernova Era 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (2006–2019)

The Three-Body Problem series is a four-book science fiction saga spanning from 2006 to 2019. Liu Cixin authored the first three novels, with Baoshu contributing the final installment, The Redemption of Time. This complete series should be read in publication order, beginning with The Three-Body Problem and continuing through The Dark Forest and Death's End before concluding with The Redemption of Time.

Start with The Three-Body Problem, the first of 4 books in the The Three-Body Problem series.

#	Title
1	The Three-Body Problem 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Dark Forest 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Death's End 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Redemption of Time(By: Baoshu) 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible