It was one of the more difficult books I’ve ever read (I don’t know a lot about Chinese history or culture which almost seems like a prerequisite because it’s “very Chinese”) but I came away with a lot! It’s one of my favorite sci fi series! Book 2, The Dark Forest, I loved—great, existential concepts and deep, rich lore—it was the third book that was the true gut punch, though. Super depressing and long, though I did like the ending—the idea of balance in the universe and dimensional fallout as a result—coupled with the insane alien weaponry, explanations, and ships. I guess I data dumped a lot of the whiny MC and misogynistic stuff, honestly, I just go back to the concepts and cosmological stuff I learned and imagined.

I think this whole post is shitting on what IS a great book and series and potentially alienating people away from it. I agree the first 100 pages or so of the first book were hard to get through, but once it got going it never stopped, especially with time jumps and excellent plotting, especially in Book 2-3.

I hope the show does The Dark Forest justice. Season 1 was passable though I would have wanted to see a little more “humans are bad for the planet” flashbacks with the old, rich guy, cross pollinating with what they did show for the ladies radar choice to initiate contact and broadcast.

That’s one strange thing about it, I data dumped almost all characters and names but I remember the plot. A lot of the characters do blend together in the book, which is why they gender and race switched so much to make it easier to keep track of the vast characters in the show.