Having emerged from the disquieting revelations of "The Three-Body Problem," stepping into Cixi Liu's "The Dark Forest" feels like bracing for an inevitable storm of war. This sequel doesn't offer respite; instead, it plunges humanity deeper into the chilling reality of a cosmos where survival hinges on silence and suspicion. I think its a better book than the first. Intrigued? Read on.

Having finally turned the (audiobook's) last page of Cixin Liu's "The Three-Body Problem," the sheer scope and audacity of the narrative continue to resonate. This first contact scenario unfolds with an almost immediate and unsettling impact, delivering an experience unlike anything I've encountered before in Science Fiction.

Before I had a beard, I had Within Temptation CDs. Before I even had Within Temptation CDs, I did not know that my lifelong (so far) love affair with female fronted metal would begin with obsessively listening to bands like Within Temptation,After Forever, Delain, Epica, Nightwish,, Sirenia, Tristania, and in more recent years continue with Unleash the Archers.

A few weeks ago, while I was sick, I was looking for something to distract me from my impending demise and burial. As a man, and as is typical, this did not come to pass; so instead you're stuck here reading the thoughts I furiously input into my keyboard.

I cannot recall if I've mentioned anywhere on HVIE that I have taken up playing the piano. Come to think of it, I think that I have, but only really in the replies to comments of things about other pieces of music... and mainly the ramblings of a very particular @mobbs, but I finally have a real world piano story to share.

At my old house, I had a squat rack, a bench, and about 130KG of plates. I used them every single day for about 12 months, and I was pretty strong, and feeling like I was on top of the world. Now, there's a lie in that last sentence. I didn't use them every single day, I used them every second day as the body, of course needs time to recover.