'The Dark Forest' is the second volume in the 'Remembrance of Earth's Past' series by Liu Cixin. The story follows Earth's struggle against the impending Trisolarian invasion fleet, hindered by the sophons. The narrative delves into the concept of the Wallfacers, individuals tasked with preventing the sophons from uncovering their plans, adding layers of complexity to the storyline. The book explores themes of existentialism, human resilience, and the darker aspects of society, all set against a backdrop of advanced technology and interstellar conflict.
The writing style in 'The Dark Forest' is noted for its blend of psychology, horror, and futurism, creating a unique and thought-provoking narrative. Readers appreciate the imaginative and high-concept sci-fi elements introduced, such as the Wallfacer strategy, cryogenic hibernation, and the exploration of human behavior under extreme circumstances. The book is praised for its ability to maintain interest through character development, intricate subplots, and a compelling storyline that evolves over generations, setting the stage for an epic showdown in the series' conclusion.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The Dark Forest has content warnings for themes of existential dread, societal upheaval, and psychological manipulation.
From The Publisher:
Soon to be a Netflix Original Series!
"Wildly imaginative." -President Barack Obama on The Three-Body Problem trilogy
This near-future trilogy is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multiple-award-winning phenomenon from Cixin Liu, China's most beloved science fiction author.
In The Dark Forest, Earth is reeling from the revelation of a coming alien invasion-in just four centuries' time. The aliens' human collaborators may have been defeated, but the presence of the sophons, the subatomic particles that allow Trisolaris instant access to all human information, means that Earth's defense plans are totally exposed to the enemy. Only the human mind remains a secret. This is the motivation for the Wallfacer Project, a daring plan that grants four men enormous resources to design secret strategies, hidden through deceit and misdirection from Earth and Trisolaris alike. Three of the Wallfacers are influential statesmen and scientists, but the fourth is a total unknown. Luo Ji, an unambitious Chinese astronomer and sociologist, is baffled by his new status. All he knows is that he's the one Wallfacer that Trisolaris wants dead.
The Three-Body Problem Series
The Three-Body Problem
The Dark Forest
Death's End
Other Books
Ball Lightning
Supernova Era
To Hold Up The Sky (forthcoming)
Ratings (68)
Incredible (28) | |
Loved It (26) | |
Liked It (9) | |
It Was OK (4) | |
Did Not Like (1) |
Reader Stats (88):
Read It (70) | |
Currently Reading (2) | |
Want To Read (14) | |
Not Interested (2) |
3 comment(s)
this is what asimov wanted to do with the foundation series but never could
I SAID IT
liu cixin has written a high-concept science fiction novel that encompasses science, language, and human behavior
he figures out how aliens would behave based on their current behavior - how the entire universe must be if we proceed from the point of knowledge that there are two planets with sentient life
after book one, we know that the trisolarans are coming to earth to conquer it because their world has been destroyed
in book two humanity knows they have 400 years to come up with a strategy the trisolarans can't anticipate, which is almost impossible since the trisolarans have human collaborators they can communicate with instantly
our only advantage is that they don't understand lying, and they can't read our minds
so what will ultimately save us - military strategy or knowledge of animal survival behavior?
Me ha parecido mucho mas interesante que el anterior libro en la serie.
Es cierto que este libro es muy distinto al anterior asi que es posible que te encante el anterior y odies este.
"Darkness was the mother of life and civilization"
The second book in the series surpasses the first book "three-body problem" by leaps and bounds in its scale and complexity. The first book was mostly a straight forward story with few characters, but this book is filled with a wide variety of characters and different philosophies.
The book starts with multiple disparate stories which makes it a little jarring experience. It keeps on jumping between stories and some time it feels like they are not essential to the actual story. But you should not be fooled by the technique of this kind of storytelling. Keep your resolve and keep reading. You will be heavily rewarded once the third part of the book starts.
Whenever I felt I figured out the story, it took a completely different turn. Every twist came with a satisfactory explanation and in the end, it all made sense. The book gets darker and darker and when you feel all hope is lost, there comes the hope as sunlight to save not just humanity but all civilizations all together.
The axioms of cosmic civilizations ( will not spoil it for you, you need to read yourself), felt like the laws of robotics I robot and how well they executed in the book signifies the depth of the story and imagination of the author.
Overall excellent book in the series and looking forward to the final book to see where the civilization goes next.
What can you read after
The Dark Forest?
About the Author:
CIXIN LIU is a prolific and popular science fiction writer in the People's Republic of China. Liu is a winner of the Hugo Award and a multiple winner of the Galaxy Award (the Chinese Hugo) and the Xing Yun Award (the Chinese Nebula). He lives with his family in Yangquan, Shanxi.
JOEL MARTINSEN (translator) is research director for a media intelligence company. His translations have appeared in Words Without Borders, Chutzpah!, and Pathlight. He lives in Beijing.
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