The Dark Forest

The Dark Forest is a hard science fiction novel written by Cixin Liu and translated by Joel Martinsen. It is the second part of The Three-Body Problem series. This novel is the sequel to the Hugo Award-winning novel The Three-Body Problem. Liu is a decorated Chinese science fiction author who has won China’s Galaxy Award nine times. He has also received the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award. Furthermore, he has been nominated for the Nebula Award. If you desire to follow more of his work, consider Death’s End

The narrator has changed from Luke Daniels of the previous book to P. J. Ochlan. While this is not a welcome change for the majority of fans, Ochlan more than holds his ground. He keeps a good pace and rarely stumbles on the tough words. His reading style is non-intrusive. He keeps a good flowing cadence throughout.

The Earth has received news of a coming alien invasion. It will take just four centuries. The human collaborators of the aliens may have been defeated, but the presence of sophons means that Earth’s defense plans are exposed. Sophons are the subatomic particles that allow instant access to human information. The only secret that remains is the human mind.

Thus, the motivation behind Wallfacer Project is to design secret strategies. They grant enormous resources to four men so that they can achieve the monumental task ahead of them. They must remain hidden from the enemy using misdirection and deceit.

Even for diehard science fiction fans that have read everything under the sun, this novel is a breath of fresh air and ideas. It has an interesting take on some scientific principles that have rarely been tackled before.