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Cover of The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu

The Dark Forest

Book 2 of The Three-Body Problem

  • 562 pages · about 9 hours
  • First published 2008
  • 31 editions

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1 About this book

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.

Good for readers who want: science fiction, aliens, and a long read.

  • Science fiction
  • Human-alien encounters
  • Imaginary wars and battles

2 About Cixin Liu

Born 1963

Liu Cixin (Chinese: 刘慈欣; pinyin: Liú Cíxīn, pronounced; born 23 June 1963) is a Chinese computer engineer and science fiction writer. In English translations of his works, his name is given as Cixin Liu. He is sometimes called "Da Liu" ("Big Liu") by his fellow science fiction writers in China.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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