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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
While it didn't quite hold up to the level of awe I felt for weeks after reading Blindsight, Echopraxia does have its share of cool ideas about the universe. I think it was worth the read, even though it also falls into the Wattsian pattern of having not much happen until a good 60-80% of the way through.
Unpleasant to read, without any of the wonder of the first book
God damn it. I really wanted to dislike this book. And honestly, I did for like 80% of the time that I was reading it. The cool ideas took longer the develop, the action slowed down instead of speeding up over the course of the book, and holy shit does Watts know how to obfuscate his writing. So much about this book sucks to read. But so much of what the book says is incredible to think about. Digital physics, God as a virus, time-shared cognition, neural networks with low bandwidth or great size losing the coherence required for consciousness... There is just so much cool shit in here. Highly recommend to anybody who wants to think about interesting concepts, especially if they don't mind inflicting severe psychic pain on themselves in the process.
Definitely not as good as Blindsight, but still interesting. I spent most of the book thinking I had no idea what was going on, but that was OK, because Daniel didn't either. Unfortunately, at the end of the book, I still didn't have any idea what was going on. . I don't regret reading it, but I kind of wish it made more sense.
Spoiler
I *think* humanity self-destructs, and Valerie the Vampire somehow uses Portia to turn Daniel into a seed for a new version of humanity, but I'm not entirely sure.
fast-paced
If you've ever wondered what it would be like if a tech bro wrote "Acceptance" from the Southern Reach Trilogy, look no further.
"Echopraxia" gets off to a great start but hurries towards a whole lot of nothing. The vast majority of the book is taken up by four or so characters sitting around in a spaceship talking while Valerie the Vampire makes creepy noises and watches. And then she and the main character or whatever. For some reason. Probably because of The Slime.
"Echopraxia" gets off to a great start but hurries towards a whole lot of nothing. The vast majority of the book is taken up by four or so characters sitting around in a spaceship talking while Valerie the Vampire makes creepy noises and watches. And then she and the main character
Spoiler
kiss and he kills her
This is hard sci-fi, and more sci than fi. And a hard read. The author uses a rich and complex vocabulary, with many scientific references - backed up by a section of notes and citations from various journals.
In spite of that, I did enjoy this story, and put it at the top of my list for the Aurora awards.
In spite of that, I did enjoy this story, and put it at the top of my list for the Aurora awards.
I enjoyed this one a lot, but at times it felt like the author was trying to outsmart himself. He's also similar to Neal Stephenson in that he is FAR better at building a world I want to escape to than he is at developing compelling characters.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes