Book · Fantasy and science fiction
The Dark Forest
by Cixin Liu
Page count, estimated reading time and reading quiz: everything to know before you start The Dark Forest, and the Vread challenge to get to the end.
- Pages
- 512
- Reading time
- ≈ 9 h 20 min
- Checkpoints
- 19
- Genre
- Fantasy, SF
Free on iPhone and Android.
How long does it take to read The Dark Forest?
At 512 pages, The Dark Forest is a long book. Expect about 9 hours 20 minutes of reading to finish it, based on 250 words per page and an average reading speed of 230 words per minute. A fast reader will go quicker; a careful read (or reading in a second language) will take longer.
At 30 minutes a day, that is about 19 days of reading. At the median pace of Vread readers, 72 pages per reading day, it takes 8 reading days. For a book of this length (400 to 599 pages), Vread readers who finish it take a median of 5.3 days between the first and the last checkpoint (Vread Reading Barometer 2026).
- 30 minutes a day19 days
- Vread median pace (72 pp./day)8 days
Estimates; see the method at the bottom of the page.
Prove you read it
The Vread challenge: 19 checkpoints
- Checkpoint 1, page 27
- Checkpoint 2, page 54
- Checkpoint 3, page 81
- Checkpoint 4, page 108
- Checkpoint 5, page 135
- Checkpoint 6, page 162
- Checkpoint 7, page 189
- Checkpoint 8, page 216
- Checkpoint 9, page 243
- Checkpoint 10, page 269
- Checkpoint 11, page 296
- Checkpoint 12, page 323
- Checkpoint 13, page 350
- Checkpoint 14, page 377
- Checkpoint 15, page 404
- Checkpoint 16, page 431
- Checkpoint 17, page 458
- Checkpoint 18, page 485
- Checkpoint 19, page 512
In Vread, The Dark Forest is split into 19 checkpoints, one every 27 pages or so. At each checkpoint, a question covers the passage you have just read: a correct answer validates the step, and your progress moves forward like a training plan.
The challenge: validate all 19 checkpoints through to the last page. No giant quiz at the end, no summary to copy out: short questions along the way that prove the book was actually read. It also works as a reading quiz to check your understanding before a test.
Also available in French on Vread.
Illustrative example
What a checkpoint looks like
A short, precise question about the pages you have just read: a character, a place, a choice.
The answer is in the text: reply in the app.
This is not a question from The Dark Forest: to avoid spoilers, the real questions stay in the app.
Answer in the app, one checkpoint at a time.
Summary, quiz, reviews: frequently asked questions
How many pages is The Dark Forest?
How long does it take to read The Dark Forest?
Is there a quiz on The Dark Forest?
Where can I find a summary of The Dark Forest?
More by this author on Vread
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Read The Dark Forest with Vread
Add the book to your library, read at your own pace in whatever format you use, and validate each checkpoint. Vread is free on iPhone and Android.
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