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A review by flyingfox02
The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.25
Alright. I'll eat a slice of humble pie. Two thirds of the way in I thought this was bang average, but in Part 3 it actually veered into pretty solid territory. Cixin Liu has really redemeed himself after that mess of a first book.
His writing has massively improved since book 1. Even though there's still quite a lot of exposition at times, it is so much more readable. It's more cohesive and the plot more engaging, and the way things tied up together at the end was quite well done.
He's also undoubtedly stepped up his character work. This book has a completely new cast of characters (except Da Shi), but they have more of a personality than all of the characters from book 1 combined. (But look elsewhere for complex female characters, you won't find them here.)
Since this is sci-fi I should comment on the scientific ideas presented, but I didn't pay much attention to them especially in Parts 1 and 2. Like I said there was a lot of exposition, I think it could've done with a bit more editing. I found the sociology aspect really interesting though, with the Dark Forest theory etc.
Anyway, not to praise a fish for swimming but Cixin Liu did the basic things right in this book. It wasn't exceptional but I'm intrigued what new ideas will be presented in Book 3.
His writing has massively improved since book 1. Even though there's still quite a lot of exposition at times, it is so much more readable. It's more cohesive and the plot more engaging, and the way things tied up together at the end was quite well done.
He's also undoubtedly stepped up his character work. This book has a completely new cast of characters (except Da Shi), but they have more of a personality than all of the characters from book 1 combined. (But look elsewhere for complex female characters, you won't find them here.)
Since this is sci-fi I should comment on the scientific ideas presented, but I didn't pay much attention to them especially in Parts 1 and 2. Like I said there was a lot of exposition, I think it could've done with a bit more editing. I found the sociology aspect really interesting though, with the Dark Forest theory etc.
Anyway, not to praise a fish for swimming but Cixin Liu did the basic things right in this book. It wasn't exceptional but I'm intrigued what new ideas will be presented in Book 3.