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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's a hard book to rate.
This is a very, very smart - punishing, even - book about consciousness, philosophy of the mind, psychology, evolution, biology, truth, perspective, inevitability, choice...and oh yes, somewhere in there: space aliens. It's hard to read. It will make you question things. It will be uncomfortable. It will embleaken your day.
And for all that I give it five stars, because it is also in many ways the most unique science fiction book I've read in recent memory. It's dark, confusing, complex, difficult, and weird. It's also very, very good.
This is a very, very smart - punishing, even - book about consciousness, philosophy of the mind, psychology, evolution, biology, truth, perspective, inevitability, choice...and oh yes, somewhere in there: space aliens. It's hard to read. It will make you question things. It will be uncomfortable. It will embleaken your day.
And for all that I give it five stars, because it is also in many ways the most unique science fiction book I've read in recent memory. It's dark, confusing, complex, difficult, and weird. It's also very, very good.
CW: ableism, antisemitism (mention)
Most of our main cast of characters has an extreme (read: deliberate) form of neurodivergence, ranging from autism to multiple personality disorder to synesthesia. And it's not handled well. They often talk about how they aren't "real" people, they make jokes at the others' expense, and they commodity the symptoms of sometimes serious mental illnesses for the sake of, what, an interesting story?
That doesn't include the condescending tone that the MC takes (as an extension of the author), the ending that rises up out of nowhere (literally went back to check to make sure I hadn't inadvertently skipped a whole bunch of book), the casual disregard of emotion and empathy, and the complete lack of depth/growth/understanding of the vampires. Seriously, we don't know anything about how the vampires function.
I was looking for scifi horror, but I'd call this one a major miss.
Most of our main cast of characters has an extreme (read: deliberate) form of neurodivergence, ranging from autism to multiple personality disorder to synesthesia. And it's not handled well. They often talk about how they aren't "real" people, they make jokes at the others' expense, and they commodity the symptoms of sometimes serious mental illnesses for the sake of, what, an interesting story?
That doesn't include the condescending tone that the MC takes (as an extension of the author), the ending that rises up out of nowhere (literally went back to check to make sure I hadn't inadvertently skipped a whole bunch of book), the casual disregard of emotion and empathy, and the complete lack of depth/growth/understanding of the vampires. Seriously, we don't know anything about how the vampires function.
I was looking for scifi horror, but I'd call this one a major miss.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
amazing hard sci-fi book relatively hard read but well worth the pay off. This book explores a lot of philosophical and scientific ideas without being a textbook.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
FFO: Alien, Event Horizon
A spectacular infrared vision of an all too possible dark techno-future steeped in real science and the science of imagination that feels just as real; props to the author for his deep research. So many sci-fi books don't make the tech convincing enough but Watts excelled here. Also, the aliensweren't bobbleheaded humanoids or animalistic terrors, much to my delight. The horror here is in how incomprehensible extraterrestrial life likely is, which to me made it all the more real. Well written with good characterization in a fairly unlikable cast, which is a difficult task. I had to really turn my brain on to follow some passages, which is what I look for in a book. I'll definitely be reading more of Watts in the future.
I could've done without the flashbacks to the main character's ex-girlfriend, but it wasn't too disruptive.
A spectacular infrared vision of an all too possible dark techno-future steeped in real science and the science of imagination that feels just as real; props to the author for his deep research. So many sci-fi books don't make the tech convincing enough but Watts excelled here. Also, the aliens
I could've done without the flashbacks to the main character's ex-girlfriend, but it wasn't too disruptive.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Peter Watts' Blindsight is a first contact story where a small crew is sent to investigate an alien signal coming from the edge of the solar system. They find Rorschach, an enigmatic alien "ship".
What grabbed me most were the themes around alien biology and the big question at the heart of the book: does intelligence actually need self-awareness or consciousness? Watts takes that idea seriously, and it makes the whole story fascinating and unsettling.
The human side of the book is just as interesting. The narrator, Siri, has been neurologically altered and has trouble connecting with people. But those same "deficits" give him strengths that others don't have.
Rorschach also doesn't seem to connect with the humans, at least not in a conscious way. It's not really a ship in any normal sense; it feels alive but unknowable. Both the crew and the reader are left constantly wondering if it's hostile or friendly, and this constant uncertainty is part of what makes the book so intense.
And yes, there's a vampire. On paper, that sounds like pure fantasy, but Watts handles it in such a science-based way that it almost fits right in. He even made a website with a fake presentation by an in-universe scientist explaining vampire biology. It's funny, but it also shows how carefully thought-out his worldbuilding is.
The actual plot is fairly straightforward, but what lifts Blindsight above so many other first contact stories is the sheer richness of its science. Neurology, evolution, language, space travel: Watts dives deep into all of it. The book even has a final section, Notes and References, which includes a bibliography of the scientific works he drew from. This mix of real science with speculation is what, in my opinion, makes the novel stand out.
Blindsight is a fantastic choice if you're looking for science fiction that truly engages with science. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
What grabbed me most were the themes around alien biology and the big question at the heart of the book: does intelligence actually need self-awareness or consciousness? Watts takes that idea seriously, and it makes the whole story fascinating and unsettling.
The human side of the book is just as interesting. The narrator, Siri, has been neurologically altered and has trouble connecting with people. But those same "deficits" give him strengths that others don't have.
Rorschach also doesn't seem to connect with the humans, at least not in a conscious way. It's not really a ship in any normal sense; it feels alive but unknowable. Both the crew and the reader are left constantly wondering if it's hostile or friendly, and this constant uncertainty is part of what makes the book so intense.
And yes, there's a vampire. On paper, that sounds like pure fantasy, but Watts handles it in such a science-based way that it almost fits right in. He even made a website with a fake presentation by an in-universe scientist explaining vampire biology. It's funny, but it also shows how carefully thought-out his worldbuilding is.
The actual plot is fairly straightforward, but what lifts Blindsight above so many other first contact stories is the sheer richness of its science. Neurology, evolution, language, space travel: Watts dives deep into all of it. The book even has a final section, Notes and References, which includes a bibliography of the scientific works he drew from. This mix of real science with speculation is what, in my opinion, makes the novel stand out.
Blindsight is a fantastic choice if you're looking for science fiction that truly engages with science. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
mysterious
tense
This was really fun and compelling and had a lot of thought put into the science involved
dark
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
LOVE a book where it’s really clear the author doesn’t believe in free will