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abbeyreinhart's review against another edition
5.0
Just as much about the humans as it is about the nonhumans. Wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I did. V cool
sopharesogood's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Die Geschichte spielt in einer undefinierten, aber relativ nahen Zukunft, in der die Grenze zwischen Staaten und Unternehmen verschwimmen und KI-Anwendungen sowohl weit verbreitet als auch vielfältig sind. Auf einer abgeschiedenen Insel werden 'intelligente' Oktopoden gefunden, damit starten wir hinein.
Wir haben drei Hauptpersonen: Dr. Ha Nguyen, eine Meeresbiologin, Rustem, ein KI-Hacker, und Eiko, ehemals Programmierer, jetzt Sklavenarbeiter. Insgesamt sind diese Personen zwar gut ausgearbeitet, jedoch fasst zu viele, um die Geschichte 'rund' zu erzählen. Die Handlungsstränge greifen nur stellenweise ineinander, was einige Teile etwas sinnlos wirken lässt.
Die Kraken, die im Titel auftauchen, spielen tatsächlich eher eine Nebenrolle. Das Mysterium wird nur angestartet und dann ist es schon vorbei. Die philosophischen Diskussionen rund um Sprache, Kommunikation, Bewusstsein etc. waren sehr spannend, haben jedoch das Buch meiner Meinung nach weit von einem Thriller entfernt. Es gab ein paar spannungsgeladene Momente - diese waren jedoch direkt auch wieder gelöst.
Insgesamt fühlt sich das Buch wie ein langer Prolog zu einer Serie an. Dieses Buch als 'Thriller' zu vermarkten erweckt für mich die falschen Erwartungen.
Wir haben drei Hauptpersonen: Dr. Ha Nguyen, eine Meeresbiologin, Rustem, ein KI-Hacker, und Eiko, ehemals Programmierer, jetzt Sklavenarbeiter. Insgesamt sind diese Personen zwar gut ausgearbeitet, jedoch fasst zu viele, um die Geschichte 'rund' zu erzählen. Die Handlungsstränge greifen nur stellenweise ineinander, was einige Teile etwas sinnlos wirken lässt.
Die Kraken, die im Titel auftauchen, spielen tatsächlich eher eine Nebenrolle. Das Mysterium wird nur angestartet und dann ist es schon vorbei. Die philosophischen Diskussionen rund um Sprache, Kommunikation, Bewusstsein etc. waren sehr spannend, haben jedoch das Buch meiner Meinung nach weit von einem Thriller entfernt. Es gab ein paar spannungsgeladene Momente - diese waren jedoch direkt auch wieder gelöst.
Insgesamt fühlt sich das Buch wie ein langer Prolog zu einer Serie an. Dieses Buch als 'Thriller' zu vermarkten erweckt für mich die falschen Erwartungen.
saritaadam's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
amyk4's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
As the complainers say, this is not a book about octopuses, not exactly. It’s about how aliens minds work and how humans can communicate with them. For instance, how would a mind as alien as an octopus’s with its 8 independent legs each possessing more neurons than its central brain experience its world?
This book was absolutely in my wheelhouse, loved it. It’s gonna be making my mind spin for a while.
This book was absolutely in my wheelhouse, loved it. It’s gonna be making my mind spin for a while.
tamerals's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
erockwell729's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
shanaqui's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Lately, I've had a lot of trouble getting immersed in books like I (think I) used to. I'll read 50 pages and feel like it's been forever; read 10 pages and get distracted by wondering if that email I'm waiting for has come in; a 500 page book is just daunting because it seems like it'll take forever. And I know, I know, it's all the fragmentation caused by mobile phones, etc, etc -- but while I was reading Ray Nayler's The Mountain in the Sea, I wasn't paying any mind to that. My brain was quiet and I was totally focused on the story; I say this by way of introduction because I think it bears saying when a book cuts across that fidgeting and demands attention.
There are essentially three threads to the story, which twine together but never quite meet: there's Ha Nguyen, a scientist, who is brought to a remote island owned by a company called DIANIMA in order to study octopus behaviour that appears potentially much more intelligent than baseline; there's Rustem, a hacker with a unique way of thinking, who is given a fascinating task to hack into an extremely complex artificial intelligence in order to use it as a weapon; and there's Eiko, a captive aboard an AI-controlled fishing ship, forced to clean and sort the catch with no sign of escape.
Of the three stories, Dr Ha's is the most fascinating, and I admit it could be a little annoying to switch to Eiko or Rustem. Ultimately, I'm not sure their stories were entirely necessary: I admire the overall effect, the details that the other two stories lent to Dr Ha's, and the satisfying click as things came together, but Eiko's story didn't lend a lot to it (and his mind palace is overdescribed for something so ultimately useless to the plot -- though I think in terms of themes, it does add to the overall inquiry into how thought works).
Despite how much I liked the reading experience, I think there are still things the book could've dug into deeper. Evrim's cognition is important to this question of intelligence, and yet it's rather brushed under the rug by Ha, who readily declares them to be human all of a sudden, based on the fact that they can interact with humans on human terms. I'm not sure I agree with that definition, or the simplification of it all. There were tantalising bits of inquiry here about artificial intelligence as well as alien (octopus) intelligence, but it feels like it didn't quite go deep enough; perhaps Eiko's thread should've been reduced in order to give more space for that.
The same goes for the octopus cognition, really: sometimes Ha comes to conclusions rapidly based on fairly little evidence. Is something built of human skulls necessarily an altar? Does it necessarily mean that they're worshipping humans or trying to appease them? Are you sure it's not a war trophy?
That makes the book sound unsatisfying, and I don't think it is: personally, I found it fascinating and riveting. There's just so much space to expand, as well.
There are essentially three threads to the story, which twine together but never quite meet: there's Ha Nguyen, a scientist, who is brought to a remote island owned by a company called DIANIMA in order to study octopus behaviour that appears potentially much more intelligent than baseline; there's Rustem, a hacker with a unique way of thinking, who is given a fascinating task to hack into an extremely complex artificial intelligence in order to use it as a weapon; and there's Eiko, a captive aboard an AI-controlled fishing ship, forced to clean and sort the catch with no sign of escape.
Of the three stories, Dr Ha's is the most fascinating, and I admit it could be a little annoying to switch to Eiko or Rustem. Ultimately, I'm not sure their stories were entirely necessary: I admire the overall effect, the details that the other two stories lent to Dr Ha's, and the satisfying click as things came together, but Eiko's story didn't lend a lot to it (and his mind palace is overdescribed for something so ultimately useless to the plot -- though I think in terms of themes, it does add to the overall inquiry into how thought works).
Despite how much I liked the reading experience, I think there are still things the book could've dug into deeper. Evrim's cognition is important to this question of intelligence, and yet it's rather brushed under the rug by Ha, who readily declares them to be human all of a sudden, based on the fact that they can interact with humans on human terms. I'm not sure I agree with that definition, or the simplification of it all. There were tantalising bits of inquiry here about artificial intelligence as well as alien (octopus) intelligence, but it feels like it didn't quite go deep enough; perhaps Eiko's thread should've been reduced in order to give more space for that.
The same goes for the octopus cognition, really: sometimes Ha comes to conclusions rapidly based on fairly little evidence. Is something built of human skulls necessarily an altar? Does it necessarily mean that they're worshipping humans or trying to appease them? Are you sure it's not a war trophy?
That makes the book sound unsatisfying, and I don't think it is: personally, I found it fascinating and riveting. There's just so much space to expand, as well.