The Dark Forest

I would have thought surpassing the first book would be nearly impossible but here we are. If the first book felt like the rug was pulled from under my feet and I got punched in the face on the way down, this one felt like a night in where I thought I was relaxing until someone calls me from my window and I realized my apartment is on the fifth floor. In short, it scared me. very much actually. 

Fair warning though, do not google the theory of the same name as the book title. Which I did, so the fact that it still disturbed me when things on the books started “making sense” is quite a feat.

Unlike the first book, I think we get a main character this time, which is fine because I find them a likeable enough character. Has no delusions of grandeur or being a hero nor stupidly optimistic in the face of oncoming doom. Which is great in someone I'm depending to try to save the world except that he has no idea and no one seems to believe him when he says so. yikes.

The second book is understandably on a bigger scale than the first. I mean, the whole world is involved now. Which is great, because teamwork makes the dream work, right?

You might find yourself equal parts disappointed and/or hopeful for humanity depending on your disposition or which chapter of the book you're in. Others seem to think Liu's depiction of human behavior in this book is bleak but I disagree. We see this everyday on a large scale. So, I would say he was actually on the nose on this one, which adds to the dread once again. Because should we be in this hypothetical scenario, this book shows that we might actually be in big trouble. Seriously.

What I love most about this book is how much it does not assure us of a happy ending, lol. Unlike most movies where there is a reliable hero or heroes who will ultimately save the day (hurrah long live humanity). We don't get that and the idea of possible failure has felt more real than any book/movie I've encountered. And the thing is, I wouldn't even be mad. There was never a safety net to catch us during this whole adventure, which is ruthlessly in our face the whole time, but at the same time I found myself one of those annoyingly optimistic people hoping for the best.