Cixin Liu’s "The Dark Forest"
Book review by Dennis D. McDonald
This novel picks up where The Three-Body Problem left off. Earth knows it will be invaded in 400 years and must prepare, despite the ever-present “sophons” that monitor and suppress technological developments that might enable Earth to defend itself.
The story follows several key figures over centuries (made possible by a process of “hibernation”) as humanity prepares for the coming invasion. This novel is less technology-driven than the first, but it still delivers powerful emotional blows that deepen the reader’s sense of dread about what lies ahead.
There are nevertheless plenty of high-tech ideas to satisfy any hard science-fiction fan, especially in the vivid descriptions of Earth’s mighty space armada. The novel also tackles weighty cosmological and philosophical questions, particularly the “dark forest” problem and its implications for interstellar communication.
I remember being blown away by the first novel’s depiction of harnessing the sun as a tool for interstellar communication; we get much more of that here, presented in ways that genuinely surprised me.
I do have one complaint: this novel does not offer quite the same level of strong character development found in the first book. The focus here is far more on the sweep of time and events, even though several characters from the original novel do carry through.
In summary, my reactions to the two novels are different, with the second feeling more like a “slow burn” extension of the first. Still, the concepts explored here are profound—and deeply unsettling—in how they confront the question of humanity’s survival.
Review copyright © 2026 by Dennis D. McDonald
