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We haven't read the other books in the trilogy. How to describe? Liu has a very pessimistic perception of humanity and the nature of the universe. Not only does it science what kind of beings might evolve in a three-body solar system, but he also engages the Fermi Paradox, a very pessimistic theory about intelligent life. Be prepared to deal with frustration and disappointment.That said, it is an important book and should be read.

"Differential process, the organisms must survive—at least for a while. Charles Darwin summed it up best: “as more individuals are produced than can possibly survive, there must in every case be a struggle for existence, either one individual with another of the same species, or with the individuals of distinct species, or with the physical conditions of life” (1859, p. 53)." (David Buss, Evolutionary Psychology)

If we accept this Darwinian scientific theory above then we are naturally competing with each other, other species, and the earth. It is our nature and how we evolved (how we were unintelligently designed). We do accept this. We see this. But we, as a species, do not yet grok it. It cannot be rationalized because we aren't rationally designed. And our will and minds are not stronger than those drives and internal justifications. This cannot be solved in a top-down manner. It must be overcome from the bottom-up. Evolution has stopped being useful as it originally evolved. We must go deep to change as a species, and it must be done in a way that at least we tip the scales of the masses.

"...as more individuals are produced than can possibly survive"

How we've accepted this, scientifically, evolutionarily. Do we realize that it is the perfect example of the ends justifying the means? For evolution to work, species need to produce more than can possibly survive. For humans to evolve, we must reproduce more children than can survive. It is insanity, but it is natural, and subconsciously, I don't think we as a species realize how driven we are by this unacceptable means of evolution. Evolution may be just as responsible for the destruction of our planet as we are if we cannot wake up and deal with our drives with more than simply willing it or blaming others.

The struggle to survive has been won, we are the winners, and we no longer need to be slaves to evolution. We must find a way to stop being creatures driven by the will to survive and reproduce more than we and the planets can sustain. We cannot expect the planet to survive that kind of insane pressure, the insanity of evolution demands. We must mindfully science our way out of being evolution's crowning achievement.

Now that I am getting an understanding of Bookwyrm, this is my first useful Review. We tend to critically review literature through the lens of evolutionary psychology.

What we find in both sci-fi and all fiction really is the ignorance of how enslaved we are to evolutionary drives, behaviors, and thinking. In this fabulous book, once again mankind has surpassed all imaginable science and technology. Yet, humanity's nature destroys it all, taking the universal Empire back to chaos.

You might argue, well ain't that showing our evolutionary natures. Why, yes, it is. My critique is, why can't we grow in intrinsic self-awareness as we grow cerebrally? The problem always is in fiction is such intrinsic self-awareness cannot be attained in a top-down manner. The ability to manage our primitive drives, behaviors, and beliefs, is attained through somatic and mindful awareness.

But, if we evolved beyond our evolutionary behaviors along with our progress in science and technology, we'd have no good science fiction to read!