Book Review of "The Dark Forest - by Liu Cixin"

Hands down, "The Dark Forest" is a jaw-dropping and an epic Sci-Fi novel ! It literally takes efforts to put this down once you get into the story. This is the second book in the "Remembrance of the Earth's Past" trilogy. Following the first one, the Three Body Problem, was never going to be an easy task but the Dark Forest proved to be an amazing continuation of the story. In fact, I would rate it a notch higher than the first. The main gripe I had with the Three Body Problem was the not so great characterization which the Dark Forest more than makes up for by introducing a whole new set of characters with an intriguing personality as the protagonist.

The ideas in this book are great, their application to the plot is ingenious and their execution simply superb. The book does start out slow but it picks up at around 30-35% and after that it is a roller coaster ride of fantastic storytelling. The overarching symbolism, the main metaphor of the plot and the various philosophical discussions and conundrums make this a great read. The overall writing and the prose flows smoothly like a calm, serene river and it is simply, for the lack of a better word, beautiful.

So yeah, 5/5.

Book Review of "Three Body Problem - by Liu Cixin"

"Three Body Problem" is a fascinating & brilliantly crafted Sci-Fi novel ! This was my first book written by a Chinese Author and I am completely hooked - no convincing required to pick up the next one of the "Remembrance of Earth's Past" trilogy. 

Even though this appears as a simple "extra-terrestrial beings" story on the surface, there are elements of philosophy, the good old tussle between science & spirituality, a deep rooted look at human folly and a very plausible imagined scenario of how geo-political forces could shape human action if "aliens" were to really exist. Be warned though - Three Body problem is a science heavy book. Some mind boggling science fiction stuff - but quite entertaining.

My only gripe with the book is the not so strong characterizations of some of the story players and the middle one third portion of the book kind of meanders and feels slow. Of course, the last 30-35% of the book is lightening fast and the end is executed superbly.

My verdict: 4/5