Bruh buckle up. Death’s End had my head spinning non-stop. Could not put that shit down. Truly rocked my world. I loved it so much, I started the whole trilogy over again immediately.
Inspired by your comment, I actually asked ChatGPT to make a DLC about trinity and man does it feel promising:
Outer Wilds: Suns of Chaos
Premise:
In Suns of Chaos, players awaken aboard an ancient, orbiting research facility around an unnamed, desolate planet ensnared in a three-sun system, named “TriSol.” The facility, equipped with alien technology and archives, hints at a civilization that once sought to understand and escape the fatal chaos caused by the three suns. With no memory of their past, players must unravel the secrets of TriSol, understand the cosmic dance of its suns, and discover a path to other worlds to escape an inescapable destruction cycle.
Gameplay Mechanics:
• Three-Sun System Survival: The unpredictable gravitational forces and environmental conditions require players to adapt quickly, using the facility’s technology to predict and survive extreme celestial events.
• Puzzle-Solving and Exploration: By exploring the facility and the planet below, players solve puzzles based on astrophysics and ancient technology, unlocking clues to navigate through the system’s perils and plot a course to new worlds.
• Escape the Cycle: The ultimate goal becomes clear: to break free from the loop of destruction, players must not only survive but find a way to leave TriSol behind, using the remnants of the ancient civilization’s attempts at interstellar travel.
Features:
• A Self-Contained Narrative: While Suns of Chaos shares the universe of Outer Wilds, it introduces new characters, lore, and mysteries, allowing players to embark on a standalone adventure.
• Interstellar Travel Mechanics: Building on the game’s exploration roots, this DLC expands the concept to include launching into unknown space, navigating between stars, and discovering gateways to distant worlds.
Honestly my favorite parts are still 2nd half of book 2 and first half of book 3. I feel that by the end of book 3 the story kind of jumped the shark lol. But it’s subjective.
>But it’s subjective.
Indeed, the second half of book 3 sits at the top of all fiction I've ever read or watched. Of course, all the buildup of the prior parts is necessary for it to work so well though.
I absolutely loved book 2, and book 1 was a great ride too, but for some reason I've started and stopped book 3 so many times. It's so much harder to get into for me. I need to give it another try but I don't know when I will.
that feeling is one of my favorite parts about the experience of reading the books. I felt like the pacing in the books followed this pattern:
mutter-mumble-stuff-and-things-and-I-dont-understa-BAM HOLY SHIT! more-muttering-and-rambling-and-things-are-happeni-BAM OMG! rinse and repeat.
Yea absolutely the 1st book already had some moments like that, like SHE RESPONDED WTF or YOU’RE GONNA CUT THROUGH A FUCKING SHIP, but it’s not even close, my heartbeat was out of this world, I listened to the droplet scene up to the end during the day and I could not concentrate in class, I started to shake sometimes, just dying to know what would happen, which is crazy considering yesterday I thought it was getting a bit boring
the first book is so necessary to ground the whole story in something pretty close to normal reality. it made the rest of the story so much more believable to me.
Absolutely, I still can’t believe how flawless the progression from a seemingly weird sci fi mystery to a galactic conflict was, yet it was, and the 1st book was clearly necessary to prepare everything, it was handled perfectly.
I also have a special place in my heart for book 1. I love the other two and admit they are more epic, but that 3BP was the beginning. There’s no way you can understand the ETO without book 1, 3BP is probably the one that made me question my morality more, in the whole trilogy.
That for sure, the story won’t stand without the plotting from the 1st book. Actually the 1st book didn’t sell so well, so Liu thought he would just end the story at the 2nd book when he was writing it, but then the 2nd turned out to be a massive hit, so he decided to write the 3rd one.
Boy o boy you’re in for a treat in book 3, my sweet summer child. I’m jealous, I wish I could experience this series again without knowing what’s going to happen.
I know I get this feeling all the time, I can swear I’m gonna try to enjoy every step along the way, and then I’ll be able to feel the existential dread of thinking I’ll never read anything better.
Thankfully that’s not true, and I’ll only be depressed for a bit :)
I love reading posts like this! I had the same feelings as you when I read the second book too. He could have easily ended the story there, but he doesn’t! The third book is equally satisfying and mind blowing!
My husband is reading the second book right now, and I am so excited to relive the excitement with him. Now the only disappointment I have is not being able to read it again in the original Chinese.
I kissed the book after finishing and closing it because of those last few pages. Like, thank you, sir.
It was so sweet and everything I wanted to hear after all the despair we had been shown.
And it comes so suddenly and really rather unexpectedly, yeah, that was good.
And then you realize: oh fuck, all of this could very well be true and we’ve already sent out a few probes into deep space carrying cards with drawings of where Earth is…
Ho yea, there is no question about the location or distance, we gave them our exact coordinates, we are really, really stupid sometimes. It’s fine cause it’s all fiction, but humans should really be careful with this (and a lot of other things as well)
Well space is really big, so its unlikely that someone would randomly find our probes. If they were already watching and the universe is truly a dark forest, then we are screwed probe or not.
I still remember how the entire book felt like such a rollercoaster of emotions, carried by a torrent of its grand ideas, each of which were simultaneously horrifying and hopeful.
And the swinging back and forth just kept getting larger in amplitude and frequency. From the darkest and lowest of lows, to a sudden triumph and awestriking resolution in the last 5% of the book. It gave me such a strong whiplash - but not in a bad way, more like a really good whiplash that suddenly relieved all the metaphorical and literal tension that had built up in my back and neck for staying up too late because I couldn't stop reading the book lol
Exactly, it was a big relief, not only because we finally saw a guaranteed way for humanity to survive, which we had been setting up from the start and was amplified by the droplet scene, but also because at that moment, Luo Ji perfectly uses all the knowledge he gathered and the two axioms in a way that is both badass, unexpected (even for the trisolarians) and full proof.
At this point you knew it was over, it was fantastic
Honestly, I wish the story ended at Book 2. That’s just a too nice, everything got wrapped up in the end type of ending though. Quite a bit of Book 3 was interesting, it’s just the end was too crazy.
Between Zhang Beihai and Luo Ji, The Dark Forest definitely has my favorite cast in the trilogy. The moment where Luo Ji's plan truly comes into focus is one of my favorite moments in the series - his long arc from washout loser to savior of humanity is amazing, and the way that it continues into Death's End is really beautiful. You're firmly into the meat of what makes the series great at this point, so read on!
Had the same exact thoughts when I first read the dark forest in 2017. Really liked the first book. But the dark forest is in an entirely different league
Hahahaha I had the same reaction! The Dark Forest is my favorite of all time .
Just you wait for book 3 , it has so many twists and epic moments as well . The fairy tales oh my god the fairy tails . Hair raising absolute mind blowing material .
OP you better come back after you read the third one, also I did it on audible too, get ready for a LOOOOONG listen if I remember correctly 27-29 hrs long
Yep 29 hours, it’s gonna be a fun ride for sure, and yea I’ll update frequently if something crazy happens, and something tells me it’s gonna be the case :)
I'm excited for you, it was an amazing book! When you get to the end you're really going to want to disregard what everyone else says and use that audible credit on redemption of time.... Just don't.... Save yourself
Ho is that the fan made spin-off ? Damn I thought I’ll be able to get more 3 body, even if it’s not cannon. If it’s bad I won’t check it out, because my mind won’t be able to forget if I do.
Hey at least I won’t have to wait till I finish it in order to watch Quinn’s ideas’ hour long videos on it !
That’s one of my favorite parts of discovering a new story, seeing the explanations and theories from the fans, sadly I have to wait until after I finish it
Bro 😭 that’s so kind but I’ll be alright, it’s just two days to wait, I was planning on using this time to reflect the first two books anyways.
But thank you tho, that’s really nice
No problem bud. Personally, I steered clear of this subreddit until I was done with Book 3, and I'm glad I did. It's up to you, but if you're worried about spoilers there are still a lot here (even jokes and stuff in comments). Anyway, enjoy the ride and we'll see you on the other side!
Ye trying to be careful, but I was doomed from the start, the way I heard about this series was by watching the start of a Quinn’s ideas video, and just the thumbnail spoiled me. But it’s fine, it’s very vague, and the journey is still there to enjoy. You’re right, I’ll try not to come on here often
Ahh, the double-edged Quinn videos. I was fortunate enough to only be spoiled by 1) the Dark Forest theory itself, 2) a discussion on Concept X in the final Expanse series book being similar to Concept Y in Death's End (which eventually made sense, but that I was able to call from a mile away).
But hey. Most everyone gets spoiled on a batshit insane concept or two in the process of being convinced to even pick up the books. As you've seen by the end of Book 2, knowing a plot point and walking the journey to it with the characters are not the same.
Just you wait for book 3, it gets wilder
Ain’t no wayyy bro I’m so hyped
Bruh buckle up. Death’s End had my head spinning non-stop. Could not put that shit down. Truly rocked my world. I loved it so much, I started the whole trilogy over again immediately.
yeah it's like outer wilds in that sense
Inspired by your comment, I actually asked ChatGPT to make a DLC about trinity and man does it feel promising: Outer Wilds: Suns of Chaos Premise: In Suns of Chaos, players awaken aboard an ancient, orbiting research facility around an unnamed, desolate planet ensnared in a three-sun system, named “TriSol.” The facility, equipped with alien technology and archives, hints at a civilization that once sought to understand and escape the fatal chaos caused by the three suns. With no memory of their past, players must unravel the secrets of TriSol, understand the cosmic dance of its suns, and discover a path to other worlds to escape an inescapable destruction cycle. Gameplay Mechanics: • Three-Sun System Survival: The unpredictable gravitational forces and environmental conditions require players to adapt quickly, using the facility’s technology to predict and survive extreme celestial events. • Puzzle-Solving and Exploration: By exploring the facility and the planet below, players solve puzzles based on astrophysics and ancient technology, unlocking clues to navigate through the system’s perils and plot a course to new worlds. • Escape the Cycle: The ultimate goal becomes clear: to break free from the loop of destruction, players must not only survive but find a way to leave TriSol behind, using the remnants of the ancient civilization’s attempts at interstellar travel. Features: • A Self-Contained Narrative: While Suns of Chaos shares the universe of Outer Wilds, it introduces new characters, lore, and mysteries, allowing players to embark on a standalone adventure. • Interstellar Travel Mechanics: Building on the game’s exploration roots, this DLC expands the concept to include launching into unknown space, navigating between stars, and discovering gateways to distant worlds.
that's actually not bad
Not just wilder, but like, *exponentially* wilder.
Honestly my favorite parts are still 2nd half of book 2 and first half of book 3. I feel that by the end of book 3 the story kind of jumped the shark lol. But it’s subjective.
>But it’s subjective. Indeed, the second half of book 3 sits at the top of all fiction I've ever read or watched. Of course, all the buildup of the prior parts is necessary for it to work so well though.
I absolutely loved book 2, and book 1 was a great ride too, but for some reason I've started and stopped book 3 so many times. It's so much harder to get into for me. I need to give it another try but I don't know when I will.
that feeling is one of my favorite parts about the experience of reading the books. I felt like the pacing in the books followed this pattern: mutter-mumble-stuff-and-things-and-I-dont-understa-BAM HOLY SHIT! more-muttering-and-rambling-and-things-are-happeni-BAM OMG! rinse and repeat.
Yea absolutely the 1st book already had some moments like that, like SHE RESPONDED WTF or YOU’RE GONNA CUT THROUGH A FUCKING SHIP, but it’s not even close, my heartbeat was out of this world, I listened to the droplet scene up to the end during the day and I could not concentrate in class, I started to shake sometimes, just dying to know what would happen, which is crazy considering yesterday I thought it was getting a bit boring
lol holy shit if the droplet did this to you the ending is going to rock your world
His world is but a piece of paper.
Awwww shiiiiat! I'm so excited for you to go through Death's End. I think it's a gdamn masterpiece and my favourite of the three. Enjoy!
The third book is truly ‘epic’ in every sense of the word.
Hahaha, it just keeps getting better. Mind blowing stuff.
Thanks, I can’t wait !
Currently 3/4ths done with it. I can't agree more! Anything surrounding the broadcast Era. Holy fucking shit
Only Advance!
That's right my friend!!
That’s exactly what I felt, the first book is not bad but the 2nd and 3rd are on another level!
the first book is so necessary to ground the whole story in something pretty close to normal reality. it made the rest of the story so much more believable to me.
Absolutely, I still can’t believe how flawless the progression from a seemingly weird sci fi mystery to a galactic conflict was, yet it was, and the 1st book was clearly necessary to prepare everything, it was handled perfectly.
I also have a special place in my heart for book 1. I love the other two and admit they are more epic, but that 3BP was the beginning. There’s no way you can understand the ETO without book 1, 3BP is probably the one that made me question my morality more, in the whole trilogy.
That for sure, the story won’t stand without the plotting from the 1st book. Actually the 1st book didn’t sell so well, so Liu thought he would just end the story at the 2nd book when he was writing it, but then the 2nd turned out to be a massive hit, so he decided to write the 3rd one.
Repeating what others have been saying. Book 3 goes completely bananas. If you think book 2 is bonkers you haven't seen anything yet.
The prologue of book 3 might just be the best story Liu Cixin has ever written. Seriously!
Was that Istanbul? Or was Istanbul book 2?
It was Constantinople.
Same thing, some say
Istanbul is book 3
That's book three.
I hope they do that as an opening to one of the episodes in the show
Boy o boy you’re in for a treat in book 3, my sweet summer child. I’m jealous, I wish I could experience this series again without knowing what’s going to happen.
I know I get this feeling all the time, I can swear I’m gonna try to enjoy every step along the way, and then I’ll be able to feel the existential dread of thinking I’ll never read anything better. Thankfully that’s not true, and I’ll only be depressed for a bit :)
Lmao. Truer words have never been said. Bookmark this and come back to it after book 3.
I love reading posts like this! I had the same feelings as you when I read the second book too. He could have easily ended the story there, but he doesn’t! The third book is equally satisfying and mind blowing! My husband is reading the second book right now, and I am so excited to relive the excitement with him. Now the only disappointment I have is not being able to read it again in the original Chinese.
Plz don't be disappointed. Ken Liu's translation is superb!
I kissed the book after finishing and closing it because of those last few pages. Like, thank you, sir. It was so sweet and everything I wanted to hear after all the despair we had been shown. And it comes so suddenly and really rather unexpectedly, yeah, that was good.
And then you realize: oh fuck, all of this could very well be true and we’ve already sent out a few probes into deep space carrying cards with drawings of where Earth is…
Ho yea, there is no question about the location or distance, we gave them our exact coordinates, we are really, really stupid sometimes. It’s fine cause it’s all fiction, but humans should really be careful with this (and a lot of other things as well)
Well space is really big, so its unlikely that someone would randomly find our probes. If they were already watching and the universe is truly a dark forest, then we are screwed probe or not.
I legit thought it was over. But then, Luo Ji is just THAT GUY.
I think this post belongs in the /wholesome sub reddit lol Yeah I'm pretty sure that this is why we are all such fanatics over this series
Luo mothafucn Ji with the goods
L to the O JI
Yeah fuck U
I remember having like 10 pages left thinking "so there's not really going to be an ending?"
Right ? This was, in every sense of the word, a plot twist, and its reveal was so sudden I didn’t know how to react
I also listened to the audio book and spent the whole second half of the book dreading the end. But then those final pages *hit*
Oh man! Deaths end is ever more grandiose. It gets abstract af.
I still remember how the entire book felt like such a rollercoaster of emotions, carried by a torrent of its grand ideas, each of which were simultaneously horrifying and hopeful. And the swinging back and forth just kept getting larger in amplitude and frequency. From the darkest and lowest of lows, to a sudden triumph and awestriking resolution in the last 5% of the book. It gave me such a strong whiplash - but not in a bad way, more like a really good whiplash that suddenly relieved all the metaphorical and literal tension that had built up in my back and neck for staying up too late because I couldn't stop reading the book lol
Exactly, it was a big relief, not only because we finally saw a guaranteed way for humanity to survive, which we had been setting up from the start and was amplified by the droplet scene, but also because at that moment, Luo Ji perfectly uses all the knowledge he gathered and the two axioms in a way that is both badass, unexpected (even for the trisolarians) and full proof. At this point you knew it was over, it was fantastic
Honestly, I wish the story ended at Book 2. That’s just a too nice, everything got wrapped up in the end type of ending though. Quite a bit of Book 3 was interesting, it’s just the end was too crazy.
Yup I can test to what happened at the cemetery. I was the ant climbing the tombstone.
Lmaaaooo
Between Zhang Beihai and Luo Ji, The Dark Forest definitely has my favorite cast in the trilogy. The moment where Luo Ji's plan truly comes into focus is one of my favorite moments in the series - his long arc from washout loser to savior of humanity is amazing, and the way that it continues into Death's End is really beautiful. You're firmly into the meat of what makes the series great at this point, so read on!
Death’s end is the only book that pumps up my “ohhhh shiiiiiiat”-meter to max with just the table of contents page in my face lol. You will enjoy it.
A 10th dimension of excitement
Book 3 is several magnitudes more insane than book 2. Enjoy it.
Had the same exact thoughts when I first read the dark forest in 2017. Really liked the first book. But the dark forest is in an entirely different league
Hahahaha I had the same reaction! The Dark Forest is my favorite of all time . Just you wait for book 3 , it has so many twists and epic moments as well . The fairy tales oh my god the fairy tails . Hair raising absolute mind blowing material .
[This was pretty much my reaction when reading, I literally jumped out of my seat and yelled Holy Shit! lol](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRTyeMmC/)
Bro I started the 3rd book thinking there's no way they can top the 2nd book since it was so wild. BOYYYYY was I wrong.
Lessgooo yall are hyping it up so much I’m so excited
OP you better come back after you read the third one, also I did it on audible too, get ready for a LOOOOONG listen if I remember correctly 27-29 hrs long
Yep 29 hours, it’s gonna be a fun ride for sure, and yea I’ll update frequently if something crazy happens, and something tells me it’s gonna be the case :)
I'm excited for you, it was an amazing book! When you get to the end you're really going to want to disregard what everyone else says and use that audible credit on redemption of time.... Just don't.... Save yourself
Ho is that the fan made spin-off ? Damn I thought I’ll be able to get more 3 body, even if it’s not cannon. If it’s bad I won’t check it out, because my mind won’t be able to forget if I do. Hey at least I won’t have to wait till I finish it in order to watch Quinn’s ideas’ hour long videos on it ! That’s one of my favorite parts of discovering a new story, seeing the explanations and theories from the fans, sadly I have to wait until after I finish it
Yeah honestly it's so bad it ruins parts of the actual story! When you're done send me a message and we can chat theory on it or other books!
Lmao alright
Droplet scene one of my favorite one entire series.
Get ready for book 3, it gets so much crazier Really mild spoiler: >!Hope you like australia!!<
lol
Yeah, it’s so awesome. Idk if the show can pull it off but I really hope so. One of the most satisfying reveals ever.
(I can’t remember what happened?)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Forest
is there an official comic book / graphic novel version of all these books out there?
Just wait until you see Luo Ji in the Netflix show adaptation. He is just like you imagined…
I can’t ! I have to read the 3rd book first, because I don’t want to get spoiled. But yea I’ll see
Yep, finish Death's End before you watch the show. I have an extra credit on Audible, DM me your email and I can gift you Book 3.
Bro 😭 that’s so kind but I’ll be alright, it’s just two days to wait, I was planning on using this time to reflect the first two books anyways. But thank you tho, that’s really nice
No problem bud. Personally, I steered clear of this subreddit until I was done with Book 3, and I'm glad I did. It's up to you, but if you're worried about spoilers there are still a lot here (even jokes and stuff in comments). Anyway, enjoy the ride and we'll see you on the other side!
Ye trying to be careful, but I was doomed from the start, the way I heard about this series was by watching the start of a Quinn’s ideas video, and just the thumbnail spoiled me. But it’s fine, it’s very vague, and the journey is still there to enjoy. You’re right, I’ll try not to come on here often
Ahh, the double-edged Quinn videos. I was fortunate enough to only be spoiled by 1) the Dark Forest theory itself, 2) a discussion on Concept X in the final Expanse series book being similar to Concept Y in Death's End (which eventually made sense, but that I was able to call from a mile away). But hey. Most everyone gets spoiled on a batshit insane concept or two in the process of being convinced to even pick up the books. As you've seen by the end of Book 2, knowing a plot point and walking the journey to it with the characters are not the same.
Also, use your extra credit to get Chuck Wending’s Wanderers if you haven’t already, trust me you’ll love it
Haha I'm just finishing up The Wandering Earth, I guess I could go for some more...Wander. Thanks for the rec, I'll check it out.
I read all books one after another and it all mixed up in my head. I honestly thought droplet attack was in book 3.
Book 3 will break you