The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu – Book Review

The Dark Forest Book Review  – A Worthy Sequel

The Dark Forest is the sequel to The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu. Continuing from the events from the previous book, it follows Luo Ji, Zhang Beihai and the rest Earth’s elites as they try to prepare for the incoming issues that will reach them in 400 years.

The book follows Luo Ji, a cosmic sociologist who finds himself picked to become one of four members of the Wallfacer Project, a project created and given unlimited power to come up with a plan to save humanity from its impending doom. Unfortunately, they also have to contend with their Wallbreakers, individuals who are hand-picked by the terrorist organisation from the first book (the ETO), who are tasked with finding out their plans and stopping them from going ahead in any way possible.  It is a race against time to try to prepare humanity for the war that is coming to them, whether they like it or not.

The Dark Forest is a great follow-up to The Three-Body Problem. While Three-Body was the setup and presents the problem that is going to plague humanity, this book is very much the middle part. It is the problem-solving portion of the story. Humanity has a lot it needs to deal with and come to terms with this new normal and get itself together to deal with what’s to come. They have to do this now because, while it won’t be an issue for the generation that is alive at the beginning of the book, it will eventually be a problem many decades later for their descendants. Finding solutions has to be done and put in place now if they ever want to survive.

The Dark Forest brings up a few good ideas and topics, such as how far humanity is willing to go to save itself. Social political issues are presented, such as whether is it right for first-world countries to use their power to escape the planet, leaving behind those who don’t have the means to escape this horrific fate, as well as the idea of defeatism becoming a big problem for the military, and their struggle in how to prevent it from happening. Technological advancements in scientific fields are being stifled, and humanity tries to adapt while preparing for its fight for survival.

While there isn’t a lot of focus on how the world reacts to what is happening, there are a few insights through the characters. A lot of it looks at Luo Ji, the Wallfacers, the Wallbreakers, and the Space Force.

Luo Ji is a character that a lot of people might not root for and might find him downright annoying. As we stated before, he is one of four that were chosen for the Wallfacer project. Unfortunately, Luo Ji doesn’t like this idea and does everything in his power to tell you that it is not his problem.

While the rest of the Wallfacers have to deal with Wallbreakers who are sent by a terrorist organization to sabotage their work, Luo Ji spends his time hiding away and taking advantage of the unlimited power given to him by the World’s governments through the Wallfacers Project and downright ignoring the problem. He is practically forced into his role as the hero of the story – but note this is done on purpose. As he says, it’s not his problem because it won’t be happening to him, and he just wants to live his life in peace.

In contrast, we have Zhang Beihai, a part of the Navy and Space Force officer, who will do everything in his power to ensure that Earth’s only defence is set up in a way that we have even the slightest opportunity to fight back against what is coming.

If Luo Ji and the rest of the Wallfacers are meant to represent our smarts and our apathy, Zhang Beihai is definitely our strength and muscle. A lot of Beihai’s sections of the book are about eliminating defeatism within the ranks of the military, a mental attitude to accept defeat without any struggle. He knows that if this takes hold it will be passed on to future generations, and the battle is lost before it even begins.

He is an absolute joy to see in a book where most of the characters, who are meant to be helping, are wrapped up in red tape, social issues and ethical issues that stop them from doing their jobs.  He is a reminder that the ETO isn’t playing by the same rules, and he has no intention of doing so either.

This book has a lot of long chapters and time jumps; the beginning of the book is what could only be seen as present day before jumping five years, then twelve years into the future to catch up with the rest of the Wallfacers and their Wallbreakers before jumping another 200 years into the future. Structurally, this makes sense, but it does mean the pacing is a little janky, nothing too distracting, but when you are in the middle of a long chapter, you feel it. The writing is a little less scientific than it was in The Three-Body Problem, and you can easily follow what is being explained without needing to look things up if you don’t understand it.

The final time jump pulls us into a future where things have drastically changed and humanity has been through many different changes, one of which is the most significant, being a global catastrophe that was a mix between the Great Depression and a global famine called the Great Ravine that brought the human population down from 8.7 billion to 3.5 billion. (This is a hilarious contrast to something that happens with one of the Wallfacers.) But humanity is now at a point in its life where technological advancements have developed, showing the adaptability of humanity as a whole. Even though we aren’t working at full strength, we are still able to evolve and grow, showcasing how amazing the human civilization is.

Overall, The Dark Forest is a great follow-up to Three-Body Problem. While its predecessor is more evenly paced and focuses a lot more on the story and understanding the characters and their motivations, this book is very much about showing how humans are trying to survive their new normal: How humanity deals with the situations placed upon them, and what they will do, whether good or ill, to ensure that we are prepared to survive what is on the horizon. It is a must-read.

 

Read More: The Dark Forest Book Ending Explained


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  • Verdict - 8/10
    8/10
8/10

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