Award may boost sci-fi's popularity

CHINESE AUTHOR LIU CIXIN became the first Asian to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel, when his novel The Three-Body Problem received this year's award for best science fiction or fantasy achievement. Comments:

Most Chinese cannot name any Chinese science fiction other than the phenomenal The Three-Body Problem. Under such circumstances, the success of this work is particularly significant: It will not only trigger wider discussion and interest in sci-fi books among readers, it will also attract more Chinese authors to write in the genre. As science and technology have developed in an increasingly fast manner and are becoming increasingly removed from ordinary people, there is a need for science fiction to become more human-oriented to bridge the gap.

Beijing Times, Aug 24