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lyndle's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
really cool meditation on being human, the future of ai, and environmentalism. I felt very smart reading it. liked it a lot. gave "arrival" vibes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Slavery, and Trafficking
Moderate: Violence
swimmingwolf59's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is a really cool mix of environmentalism, the problem of communicating with both different species and ourselves, and the exploration of consciousness. I really really enjoyed it, and it definitely brought up a lot of things that I'll continue to think about for a while. I loved that the characters were all people of color, and that all of them had flaws that were explored in the book. I also liked the theme of conquering "indifference" for other people, other species, etc as our best, and maybe only, way forward.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, and Slavery
Moderate: Gore and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Self harm, Mental illness, and Sexual content
kailanlovescats's review against another edition
The weird description of Eiko sleeping with thai (trafficked?) prostitutes and masturbating to the memory of it, overlaid with him about to puke from fish toxins was just too much for me lol. I'm sure they were setting him up to be a morally Grey character you feel bad for since he also got himself enslaved, but it was just too out of left field.
The ick was immediate lol. Too bad, the plot and other characters sounded intriguing.
The ick was immediate lol. Too bad, the plot and other characters sounded intriguing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Slavery, and Trafficking
Minor: Vomit, Violence, and Suicide
bites_of_books's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
The Mountain in the Sea is a really well constructed speculative novel. We follow a couple of different characters in the not so far future where AI and technology have evolved into day-to-day tools. Along with technology, capitalism and major corporations have continued to profit and take over a lot of the world at the expense of natural resources and indigenous communities.
Ray Nayler explores the topic of humans communicating with a different species, in this case the octopus, and in the process learning a lot about ourselves. Who are we in the octopus' eyes? Are we fellow living beings or are we invaders threatening their environment?
There are so many topics discussed in this book that it's hard for me to put it all into coherent thoughts. A big one was human to human interactions. Today a lot of us live our lives mostly online, communicating with people via text, video calls, etc., and have lower face to face interactions. In this book we see what might happen if we end up replacing humans with AI as part of therapy or just because it's convenient to have someone who is just there to listen to us without us having to reciprocate the energy.
Another big topic is that of individuals choosing a path of least resistance vs the path that leads to something good. It is about individuals being brave and making choices, choosing to live and stop being indifferent to fellow people and things going on in the world.
In one of the sub-plots we follow a man who ends up as a slave on a fishing vessel that is controlled by AI. The vessel's only goal is to get as much of the scarce protein left in the ocean and the interactions in this sub-plot really left me thinking. We accept that the things we consume have to come from somewhere but we rarely actually think and acknowledge the labor that each component requires and how ethical it all is or isn't.
All in all, I highly recommend this book for everyone. If you enjoy reading about science and where it might take us this is a must read. If you care about our world and our place in it definitely read this. This is not an easy read but it's definitely necessary, it should make you think and question what is happening around us all, and hopefully convince you to make the choices that will lead us all in a better direction.
PS. For me this was like a zombie film, not really about the zombies. This is not about the octopus, it's about the humans.
Ray Nayler explores the topic of humans communicating with a different species, in this case the octopus, and in the process learning a lot about ourselves. Who are we in the octopus' eyes? Are we fellow living beings or are we invaders threatening their environment?
There are so many topics discussed in this book that it's hard for me to put it all into coherent thoughts. A big one was human to human interactions. Today a lot of us live our lives mostly online, communicating with people via text, video calls, etc., and have lower face to face interactions. In this book we see what might happen if we end up replacing humans with AI as part of therapy or just because it's convenient to have someone who is just there to listen to us without us having to reciprocate the energy.
Another big topic is that of individuals choosing a path of least resistance vs the path that leads to something good. It is about individuals being brave and making choices, choosing to live and stop being indifferent to fellow people and things going on in the world.
In one of the sub-plots we follow a man who ends up as a slave on a fishing vessel that is controlled by AI. The vessel's only goal is to get as much of the scarce protein left in the ocean and the interactions in this sub-plot really left me thinking. We accept that the things we consume have to come from somewhere but we rarely actually think and acknowledge the labor that each component requires and how ethical it all is or isn't.
All in all, I highly recommend this book for everyone. If you enjoy reading about science and where it might take us this is a must read. If you care about our world and our place in it definitely read this. This is not an easy read but it's definitely necessary, it should make you think and question what is happening around us all, and hopefully convince you to make the choices that will lead us all in a better direction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Blood, Death, Colonisation, Murder, Classism, Slavery, Suicide, and Violence
snazzy10101's review against another edition
5.0
i have only praise for this book.
it is perfect.
no notes.
it is perfect.
no notes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Gun violence, Grief, Violence, Animal cruelty, Slavery, Murder, Animal death, Blood, War, Trafficking, Gore, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, and Deportation
Moderate: Kidnapping, Self harm, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Classism
sierrabowers's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
2.5
I only read this book the entire way through because it was assigned for my book club. I would have DNF’d about 30 pages in if I could have. I think this book did have some good qualities, such as the observations made about humans and our relationship to living creatures on Earth other than ourselves. I also think it asked interesting questions about consciousness, and whether or not in the future, we should consider androids as conscious. But overall, this book was way over my head and I understood almost none of it. The ending was hopeful but it didn’t give me any satisfaction. I would not recommend unless you love science and can understand VERY complex plots.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual content, Slavery, Deportation, Violence, Vomit, Stalking, Classism, Confinement, Physical abuse, Self harm, Trafficking, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
spiralbound89's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Gore, Trafficking, Confinement, Murder, Slavery, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal cruelty
lottiegasp's review against another edition
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
3.5
I enjoyed the strong environmental and animal justice message. The book explores some ethical complexities of environmentalism under capitalism, like people living in poverty illegally fishing as they struggle to survive, or a global corporation purchasing a Vietnamese island and driving out its local inhabitants under the guise of environmental protection but really with the goal of seeking profit. The novel also explores the concept of another animal species developing language and culture and what that could look like, and what advanced artificial intelligence could look like. Despite the cool concepts and the political message, I found the story itself to be a bit lacking in excitement and I found the climax to be underwhelming.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery and Violence
wishbea's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Slavery, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Self harm
emelye's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Confinement, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Vomit, and Trafficking