The inspiration for the Netflix series 3 Body Problem ! Over 1 million copies of the Three-Body Problem series sold in North America PRAISE FOR THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM SERIES: “A mind-bending epic.” ― The New York Times • “ War of the Worlds for the 21st century.” ― The Wall Street Journal • “Fascinating.” ― TIME • “Extraordinary.” ― The New Yorker • “Wildly imaginative.” ―Barack Obama • “Provocative.” ― Slate • “A breakthrough book.” ―George R. R. Martin • “Impossible to put down.” ― GQ • “Absolutely mind-unfolding.” ― NPR • “You should be reading Liu Cixin.” ― The Washington Post The Dark Forest is the second novel in the groundbreaking, Hugo Award-winning series from China's most beloved science fiction author, Cixin Liu. In The Dark Forest , Earth is reeling from the revelation of a coming alien invasion-in just four centuries' time. The aliens' human collaborators may have been defeated, but the presence of the sophons, the subatomic particles that allow Trisolaris instant access to all human information, means that Earth's defense plans are totally exposed to the enemy. Only the human mind remains a secret. This is the motivation for the Wallfacer Project, a daring plan that grants four men enormous resources to design secret strategies, hidden through deceit and misdirection from Earth and Trisolaris alike. Three of the Wallfacers are influential statesmen and scientists, but the fourth is a total unknown. Luo Ji, an unambitious Chinese astronomer and sociologist, is baffled by his new status. All he knows is that he's the one Wallfacer that Trisolaris wants dead. The Three-Body Problem Series The Three-Body Problem The Dark Forest Death's End Other Books by Cixin Liu Ball Lightning Supernova Era To Hold Up the Sky The Wandering Earth A View from the Stars Praise for the Three-Body Problem series: "Wildly imaginative."―President Barack Obama “A mind-bending epic.”―The New York Times “Absolutely mind-unfolding. . . . a science-fiction epic of the most profound kind.”―NPR “A breakthrough book . . . a unique blend of scientific and philosophical speculation, politics and history, conspiracy theory and cosmology.”―George R. R. Martin "Liu Cixin's writing evokes the thrill of exploration and the beauty of scale. . . . Extraordinary."―The New Yorker “[Liu turns] technically complex and existentially dreadful ideas into books that are impossible to put down.”―GQ “A fascinating novel of ideas."–TIME "The best kind of science fiction, familiar but strange all at the same time."―Kim Stanley Robinson "Remarkable, revelatory, and not to be missed."―Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Fans of hard SF will revel in this intricate and imaginative novel."―Publishers Weekly, starred review “ War of the Worlds for the 21st century.”―Wall Street Journal “Liu’s picture of humanity’s place in the cosmos is among the biggest, boldest and most disturbing we’ve seen.”―Los Angeles Times “Provocative.”―Slate “A gripping and haunting sci-fi mystery.”―Cosmopolitan "A must-read in any language."―Booklist CIXIN LIU is the most prolific and popular science fiction writer in the People’s Republic of China. Liu is a winner of the Hugo Award, an eight-time winner of the Galaxy Award (the Chinese Hugo) and a winner of the Chinese Nebula Award. Prior to becoming a writer, he worked as an engineer in a power plant. His novels include The Three-Body Problem, The Dark Forest , and Death's End. Joel Martinsen is research director for a media intelligence company. His translations have appeared in Words Without Borders , Chutzpah!, and Pathlight . He lives in Beijing. The Dark Forest By Cixin Liu, Joel Martinsen Tom Doherty Associates Copyright © 2008 Liu Cixin All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-7653-7708-1 Contents Title Page, Copyright Notice, Dramatis Personae, Prologue, Part I: The Wallfacers, Year 3, Crisis Era, Part II: The Spell, Year 8, Crisis Era, Year 12, Crisis Era, Year 20, Crisis Era, Part III: The Dark Forest, Year 205, Crisis Era, Year 208, Crisis Era, Five Years Later, About the Author, About the Translator, Tor Books by Cixin Liu, Copyright, CHAPTER 1 Year 3, Crisis Era Distance of the Trisolaran Fleet from the Solar System: 4.21 light-years It looks so old. ... This was Wu Yue's first thought as he faced Tang, the massive ship under construction in front of him, bathed in the flickering of electric arcs. Of course, this impression was simply the result of countless inconsequential smudges on the manganese steel plates of the ship's nearly completed body, left behind by the advanced gas-shield welding used on the hull. He tried unsuccessfully to imagine how sturdy and new Tang would look with a fresh coat of gray paint. Tang 's fourth offshore fleet training session had just concluded. During that two-month session, Tang 's commanders, Wu Yue and Zhang Beihai, who was standing just beside Wu Yue, had occupie