Sci-Fi Book Group: The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
As a witness to atrocities committed during the Cultural Revolution in China, Ye Wenjie is deeply dismayed by the cruelty of humanity. While working for the military, she covertly sends a coded message into space, asking for help. An alien civilization called Trisolaris from the Alpha Centauri system intercepts the message and over the next few decades, makes contact with Earth inhabitants by engaging them in an unusual video game. Ultimately, Earth splits into two factions: those who see the Trisolarans as an invasive threat, and those who welcome their arrival. Cixin Liu, a multiple award winning science fiction writer in China, has written "a masterpiece with the scope of Dune and the rousing action of Independence Day." (publisher notes)