The Dark Forest
The Dark Forest by Liu Cixinby 刘慈欣
Shares rank 80 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Recommended as a strong, idea-driven sequel in the Three-Body Problem series, with its dark forest theory of cosmic survival being the main draw. Critics find the characters flat and the writing weak.
Recommended as a strong, idea-driven sequel in the Three-Body Problem series, with its dark forest theory of cosmic survival being the main draw. Critics find the characters flat and the writing weak.
11 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 55%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Ideas about cosmic survival
“explains why it is not a good idea to do so in the current circumstances”
Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: Iran's 120h internet shutdown,Phones back. How to stay resilient?” “wait'll you find it why it's called the dark forest”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Shallow, wooden characters
“I really could not get past the shallow characters and boring writing style.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “conveying mind blowing ideas via wooden, chauvinistic characters”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Dark forest theory questioned
“I am not sure dark forest theory is valid. We are speculating mostly based on human tendencies.”
Comment from 29 Mar 2026 in “The Cognitive Dark Forest” “Liu Cixin's Dark Forest theory is a pretty dumb take, honestly.”
Comment from 30 Mar 2026 in “The Cognitive Dark Forest”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| The Dark Forestby 刘慈欣This page | 6 | 5 | 55% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 11 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“conveying mind blowing ideas via wooden, chauvinistic characters”
“after the pace picks up, the payoff is amaxing!”
“I really could not get past the shallow characters and boring writing style.”
“the series is far more concerned with overt allegories”
“Liu Cixin's Dark Forest theory is a pretty dumb take, honestly.”
“I am not sure dark forest theory is valid. We are speculating mostly based on human tendencies.”
“the Dark Forest has to be among the worst of them”
“the original "The dark forest" book made an impression on me”
“explains why it is not a good idea to do so in the current circumstances”
“wait'll you find it why it's called the dark forest”
“book #2 (The Dark Forest) is on the list as it’s probably the best”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.