The Dark Forest
The Dark Forest
Pages: 528
Genres: Sci-Fi
Published: 2008
Imagine the universe as a forest, patrolled by numberless and nameless predators. In this forest, stealth is survival – any civilisation that reveals its location is prey.
Earth has. Now the predators are coming.
Crossing light years, the Trisolarians will reach Earth in four centuries’ time. But the sophons, their extra-dimensional agents and saboteurs, are already here. Only the individual human mind remains immune to their influence.
This is the motivation for the Wallfacer Project, a last-ditch defence that grants four individuals almost absolute power to design secret strategies, hidden through deceit and misdirection from human and alien alike. Three of the Wallfacers are influential statesmen and scientists, but the fourth is a total unknown.
Review: The Dark Forest, just like its predecessor, is incredibly fantastic. I know I pretty much went straight to my opinion, but this book has a special place in my heart and mind and has been added to my favorites’ shelf. Although the plot was built upon what happened in the first volume, this book is completely different, in a good sense.
I love The Three-Body Problem, but I think this book I just finished is better in terms of both story and debate, even though some may disagree.
This book is more about getting ready for the Trisolarians’ invasion, while the first book was more on the discovery and nature of the species.
Cixin talked about things that really define people as a whole and brought up the very interesting idea of what Dark Forest is: Fermi’s paradox.
Trisolaris would be the most logical enemy for humanity to fight, but the war started way before their arrival in people’s minds, with some trying to escape and others being obfuscated by the idea of technological progress and the hope that humanity had already beaten the Trisolarians. These ideas were geocentric and made people see things that weren’t true.
What a captivating story! And wonderful people! With such different thoughts and feelings, Luo Ji and Da Shi are two characters that come to life so vividly.
I really think that everyone should read this series because it’s so good. I can’t wait to read the next book and find out how this great story ends.