Review: The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin (Translated by Joel Martinsen)

Title: The Three-Body Problem (originally published 2008)
Author: Liu Cixin (Translated by Joel Martinsen)
Finished date: 09 Mar 2025

Overview

This is the 2nd book in the "Remembrance of Earth's Past" series, otherwise known as Three-body, after the first book. After the reveal of extraterrestrial intelligence... with technology far surpassing that of Earth civilaztion's, how will the humans respond to their hostility? Again, I'll try to keep this review spoiler-free.

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I decided to start reading this immediately after I finished the first book. My progress reading this was a little slower as I went on holiday. This was also a bootlegged copy, and I thought the lack of proper chapters was an error on the bootlegged copy's part. However, this is really a quirk of the book. The parts are instead sectioned by YEAR... and that means the first part spans about a third of the book without any proper breaks, all happening within the same year. Also, I believe there are also large differences between this and the original Chinese version. Apparently, the original made reference to another of Liu Cixin's stories, Ball Lightning.

Review

I really enjoyed this book! Although it introduced new characters in the beginning, I grew to adore them. The book is a bit of a slow burn, but the payoff is worth it as it slowly unravels in the end.

Once again, the author extrapolates existing science into an imagined future rooted in realism. Midway through the book, the story fast forwards some centuries into the future. Everything that is imagined is conceivably the natural progression of the technologies... some things like wireless charging, ubiquitous computers, screens everywhere, personalised ads. I personally felt the future described in this book wasn't necessarily dystopian, but I wouldn't want technology to progress in that direction: flashy and far too integrated into the fabric of society.

This sci-fi book reads very much like a detective mystery with the introduction of the Wallfacers, also the name of the first part of the book. Cixin effectively wrote the story on two, maybe three levels, revealing a lot beneath the surface... really, much like the Wallfacers.

One gripe I have is with how the characters are motivated by their actions. There's really no reason the protagonist alone should be the protagonist, and I think he too shared the same sentiments of why he was thrust into so much responsibility.

For those familiar with the Dark Forest hypothesis, you might be able to guess at some of the concepts that drive this book. I was pleasantly surprised to learn, however, that this book is the namesake for the hypothesis!

Conclusion

Rating: 4.5/5
Better than the first book! While you might be dissatisfied with the motivations for the characters like I was, this is still an interesting take on the sci-fi genre that really also plays like a mystery novel, which brings delight in discovering the sci-fi concepts as they are unveiled.

Do it in your head first, and then do it

Today's short post is inspired by a conversation I had with a friend. It went like this, in essence:

I have 1200 words to write by tomorrow 2359. I have a 4-hour and 6-hour window tomorrow. Doable?

My response was more analytical than necessary, I'm sure:

That's 10 hours for 1200 words, or 1 hour for 120 words, or 2 words per minute. You'll be fine. Do it in your head and then when you have access to your computer, type it all out.

I thought I'd like to write about that latter bit of advice, which was something I followed personally, especially throughout my university life. A common lament is not having enough time to do both the things you want to do and the things you have to do. Sometimes, one wishes to write, or ponder the meaning of life, but whatever precious hours that might have been better allocated to such activities are instead used to drag one's ox-cart across the field... so to speak.

On the other hand, having work to do shouldn't keep you away from the things you want to do! In university, whenever I had essays due, I first rolled ideas around in my head, planning arguments and points in my head while I do the stuff I want to do, which was PARTYING HARD and BANGING CHICKS and KNOCKING BACK COLD ONES (Okay, well, I did have a vibrant university life, but not like that). When it came to actually working on my assignments, I already had a head start tossing ideas around in my head, and I'd spend less time actually sitting at the desk.

Praise for Shape Rotating

This concept isn't limited to verbal conceptualisation. I have a feeling there's more depth to the idea of people who are good at shape rotating. What better way to utilise the skill of rotating shapes in the head (read: visualising things) than to direct the power of your imagination to solving problems?

As you can see, it really works both ways. You either do your work in your head or you do your hobbies in your head. Your brain is really good at conceptualizing, conjuring images and ideas. How far you can take this does depend on the hobbies though; obviously you can't play basketball with your imagination but you can extend it to activities like practicing your drum/guitar rhythm or imagining graphic designs you might like to create.

The point is a simple one: maximizing your time in a day could mean doing your brainstorming activities in tandem with other less cognitively-demanding tasks.

Yes, I did think up the outline for today's blog post in my head while I was doing other stuff. I often find pockets of time I can daydream while commuting, working, eating, ... The hard part is holding on to the ideas long enough, not losing your train of thought. In a sense, you're limited by your brain's RAM.

Small things that may improve your quality of life

I wanted to share some small things that I have adopted into my lifestyle that improved my quality of life. These will be rather varied. I will be brief in this post, but if you have any questions, a quick search online will net you the answers, probably.

Tongue Scraping

I (to the best of MY self perception) have basically solved the problem of bad breath with the addition of an inexpensive (definitely under $10) tool and a 5-second routine to my everyday morning teeth brushing. Just scrape your tongue. It gets rid of the gunk that builds up on your tongue that causes bad breath. There's really no reason not to do this.

Learning how to hold and use a knife properly

This goes out to everyone, even those who don't cook often. You'll eventually find yourself holding a knife, and it is likely going to be the most physically dangerous thing you hold in your everyday life, barring power tools, perhaps.

It seems the proper way to hold the knife is unintuitive, as I see most people hold it by gripping the entire handle. You will want to pinch the knife blade with your thumb and middle finger, and use the remaining three fingers to hold the handle. This gives you much better control over the knife, plus the force applied is more centered.

Look how intact the guy's fingers are...

As I'm not an expert, I can't go too deep into cutting technique. But for your other hand, make sure your fingers are tucked in and only your knuckles protrude. This will ensure you do not chop any fingers off. The knuckles guide the blade.

Blue light glasses/night mode

Most of us use screens practically the entire day. If it's not our phones then it's our computers at work... unless you work at an oil field. Spare yourselves the eye strain and get a pair of glasses that filter blue light, or turn on night mode on your monitors. I do both, which is a little excessive. Trust me, I've been on the other end... I once spent half the day staring at my laptop screen, working on a university project. My eyes were so strained at the end of it, and that seemed to happen when I wasn't wearing my blue light glasses. Also, I have perfect vision and I plan to keep it that way, so my glasses are just a cheap degree-less pair with a filter.

I don't know... maybe you still need the glasses here?

Getting good tools for everyday use (for me, desk work)

I spend a lot of time on the computer and at my desk. I got myself a nice mechanical keyboard and an ergonomic (vertical) mouse since I'll be using them literally every day. I can't put myself in the shoes of those who don't use mechanical keyboards. They're strictly better than membrane keyboards, except in the realm of price (even then, not that much more expensive). As for the mouse, I can't say for sure whether it actually makes a difference that it's vertical, but I have one, at least.

I also got myself a nice fountain pen (Pilot Kakuno) with a converter, which allows me to refill ink from an inkwell. I write a lot on pen and paper; school/work notes, my journal, post-its... and nothing beats the tactile feeling that my fountain pen gives me. A close second are the MUJI pens. Each time I write, it's a treat and a half. I can't help but look at my stationery with joy. All my pens are as fine as they get, I prefer the precision of a fine tip.

Personal choices aside, what I'm saying here is: find the right tools for you, because you use them often. They should fit you like your clothes do. Make writing and typing a JOY to do... and perhaps you'll find a little more joy in the work you do.

How could you not love the smile!

That's all I can think of for now... Edit: I'm going to add one more thing because it came to me and it doesn't warrant a new post.

Cross Ventilation

I made a few Architecture friends in university, and the one thing I remember learning from them is the concept of cross-ventilation. In short, having two openings (like a window or door) on opposite ends of a structure creates air flow between. It's so simple it's easily taken for granted. Many benefits to this. There's the cool breeze, which is welcome in hot, hot, Singapore, and then there's the reduction of CO2 levels, which is ostensibly bad for you... regardless, if you spend a lot of time in a room, consider opening the windows strategically to get a little air flow in.

Review: The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin (Translated by Ken Liu)

Title: The Three-Body Problem (originally published 2006)
Author: Liu Cixin (Translated by Ken Liu)
Finished date: 22 Jan 2025

Overview

Three-Body, or 三体sān tǐ, is a Chinese sci-fi novel which has gained recent popularity due to the English Netflix adaptation. It's a part of a 3-book series, ominously titled "Remembrance of Earth's Past". For those familiar with the classical mechanics problem (which has now been pushed out of the spotlight by the book/netflix series on search engines), the story does indeed contain this concept as a central driver, but it is by no means a spoiler for what's to come. In fact, many technical concepts are brought into the story, some of which I got to understand and appreciate because of what I studied (certainly NOT rocket science). I'll try to keep this review spoiler-free.

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A little background on how I got the book... I had wanted to read the series for a while, but I had quite the backlog of books so I couldn't convince myself to get them. My workplace had a secret santa coming up, and we were able to request for specific gifts. I asked for the series which was within the budget. In fact, it was so obvious my gifter (it was anonymous both ways) knew it was me, and I clearly knew it was him. Anyway, he got me the first two books in the series. UNFORTUNATELY, they turned out to be BOOTLEGGED copies!! It was more obvious in the second book, which was clearly an E-book PDF that got printed and bound.

Review

This was a fairly simple read. A brief search online revealed that there must have been some changes to the English version to bring more background to the Cultural Revolution in China, which parts of the story are set in. I didn't actually have much knowledge of China's modern history, but thankfully it the details weren't really necessary.

The characters serve their functions well, and through their dialogue and occupations, you can really sense their Chinese-ness even through the translation. Perhaps this calls for kudos to the translator. They do have a bit of plot armor, in the sense that other characters seem attentive to their needs and don't offer much resistance, in order to progress the plot.

A point of criticism I have for the story... it feels like the author really tried to shoehorn in concepts from throughout STEM. I felt this especially when von Neumann computer architecture was mentioned (you'll know when you're there), but I suppose it is the job of Sci-fi to bring science concepts to the masses. Three-body does a good job in that regard. For Sci-fi that isn't based in a foreign world or even different time period, but rather on Earth, it does a good job of integrating existing science and speculative possibilities into its story.

I'm also not big on their use of the video game to tell the story, but the wackiness does make it a page-turner as you try to unravel the purpose of it. As the story unravels, the happenings also get explained in a way that was unsatisfactory to me; the alien technology (no spoiler here, right? Here be aliens) being used to explain everything just felt convenient, but then again, if we had technology that powerful we'd use the same thing for every problem. Not exactly a mystery to unravel, though if you want a taste of that, you'll be in for a treat with the second book.

Anyway, I do dig the concepts explored in this book. Most poignant was when I got to the final part of the book, titled "Sunset for Humanity". That was a chilling phrase at that point in the book, and I simply had to read on.

Conclusion

Rating: 4/5
Worth a read! It's different from other popular Sci-fi titles like Dune and Star Wars in that it is very grounded in Earth and existing science, with room for speculation, to the point where some of the concepts that drive the story could convincingly be real (again, not a scientist), but certainly beyond the scope of existing theory.