The Dark Forest (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #2)

Darkness is the mother of life and civilization

Hahaha I had forgotten the sheer in your face matter of fact brilliance and affrontary of this author.

Outrageously inventive. Seriously smart. Pitch black dark. Laugh out loud funny.

I have only read two of the three, but its the best sci fi series I've read, maybe the best series full stop - even after taking into account the slow start in book 1.

No slow start this time! And rather than playing out the brilliant cards layed out in book one (like the second Hyperion book) we get new cards. The stakes are raised. It's even weirder, the Wallfacer project is one of the most original and hilarious plot devices ever written.

We start with fascinating axioms that frame the story, those of 'cosmic sociology'. Then two new ideas are thrown in that propel the story through, an issue with alien communication and the Wallfacer plan to beat their spoken or recorded information omniscience.

This takes us to some mind bending places, though not before some quite weird and mundane love story sections. I was reminded very much of Murikami for these parts, not everyone will appreciate that. We have great battle scenes, clever strategy sections, betreals, twists turns love loss and redemption.

There is a story with an expensive bottle of wine that must be mentioned, and also a 100,000 person orgy. Yes you read the right.

Some of the technology ideas are again truly original. From both the humans (assisted by the time jumps) and the aliens.

The story is wrapped up in a very clever way, with my only concern being that it seems done, I'm unsure how we have a third part, though I absolutely trust the author to again pull it out of the bag.

Oh the "Darkness is the mother of life and civilization" quote is explained by going back to the very start, the universe was all light until the ash became heavy and matter formed. Ouch and wow.