The Dark Forest
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4.5 • 1.3K Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The inspiration for the Netflix series 3 Body Problem!
Over 1 million copies of the Three-Body Problem series sold in North America
PRAISE FOR THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM SERIES: “A mind-bending epic.”—The New York Times • “War of the Worlds for the 21st century.”—The Wall Street Journal • “Fascinating.”—TIME • “Extraordinary.”—The New Yorker • “Wildly imaginative.”—Barack Obama • “Provocative.”—Slate • “A breakthrough book.”—George R. R. Martin • “Impossible to put down.”—GQ • “Absolutely mind-unfolding.”—NPR • “You should be reading Liu Cixin.”—The Washington Post
The Dark Forest is the second novel in the groundbreaking, Hugo Award-winning series from China's most beloved science fiction author, Cixin Liu.
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 by Cixin Liu
Ball Lightning
Supernova Era
To Hold Up the Sky
The Wandering Earth
A View from the Stars
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Readers who haven't read (or haven't recently reread) 2014's The Three-Body Problem will feel disoriented at the outset of this sprawling hard SF novel. In the prologue, an ant and a spider overhear Dr. Ye Wenjie, an astrophysicist, suggest to astronomer-turned-sociologist Luo Ji that there are "axioms of cosmic civilization," a neat variation on Asimov's psychohistory. This scene epitomizes the book's biggest flaw: clever ideas lost in often didactic prose. Before the notion of a cosmic sociology can be further developed, Liu shifts gears to present a dialogue between an alien intelligence, the Trisolaris, and the leader of the Earth-Trisolaris Organization, about the distinction between thought and speech. The Trisolarians pose a significant threat to humankind, which triggers very different responses on Earth, ranging from the Escapists, who believe that flight is the only option, to the formation of a Planetary Defense Council. The upbeat ending sets up the concluding volume, but not everyone will have the patience needed to get that far.
Customer Reviews
It got me
Let it be known that this book WILL appear jumbled at first; it will jump from narrative to narrative, without different chapters to demarcate who’s perspective we are on. You need to quickly memorise names to keep up.
This is the only book that I could not call the ending of mid-way through; I was blindsided by how this wrapped up. The author is a master of dipping the reader into pits of despair, sorrow, and self-pity, and this book will do that as a test to see if it gets you; It got me, and I lost my vision.
The multiple subplots and predictions were fascinating to explore. The new cradle of civilisation, the answer to the Fermi paradox, and the ethics of mind control are all concepts explored in this book, and they are all tied together in a holistic sense of “where does this go?”.
You do yourself a dishonour by not reading this book, so immerse yourself soon if you have not already.
Regarding this ebook not the story
Note well. While reading this book when you search the footnotes, if you happen to navigate away from the book, you’ll be taken to the end pages where the footnotes live, and you will not be able to return to your precise location in the book as the back button seems to disappear. Perhaps there is a way to return to the section you were reading but I didn’t find it. Also this book does not have traditional chapters. It made for some annoying moments, but I did still enjoy the story. They call it hard science fiction for a reason. It’s pretty hard. You might have to do a little research on the side. But it was worth it.
The second does not disappoint
Many 2nd books in a series let you down. This one only got better. With the same look into the human souls as heart of darkness this books makes us ask many questions about what humanity and survival means.