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A review by frasersimons
Echopraxia by Peter Watts
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
This is not quite as good as Blindsight, but still has the Watts touch, in terms of weaving in science, immediate at the time of writing, to a plot and concept that spirals out into wider implications, onboarding the reader to the various ramifications of the germination of the core notions. It’s really fun reading just for that. Though, the world is absolutely shot to shit in basically every way possible and it has serious horror undertones. Plus, it clips along nicely. Hard scifi basically never does that.
There are a few darlings though. Vampires. Actual vampires, since this is post humanism, exist. And there is a species gap that is significant. As are the other post human elements, where parts of humanity essentially are no longer human, as they do not experience the world as someone non augmented or altered. And that’s the crux of this novel. The implications of the ways in which technology is already altering us, only rapidly extrapolated into cogent “what ifs”.
But also zombie type people and factions at war, manipulated in a very cyberpunk manner, by machinations they cannot ever perceive, nor will they ever. It’s an idea book, which I think succeeds very well (unlike some Stephenson books I have hated the reading experience of), and I am certainly on the Watts train now. I believe I also have Starfish somewhere.
There are a few darlings though. Vampires. Actual vampires, since this is post humanism, exist. And there is a species gap that is significant. As are the other post human elements, where parts of humanity essentially are no longer human, as they do not experience the world as someone non augmented or altered. And that’s the crux of this novel. The implications of the ways in which technology is already altering us, only rapidly extrapolated into cogent “what ifs”.
But also zombie type people and factions at war, manipulated in a very cyberpunk manner, by machinations they cannot ever perceive, nor will they ever. It’s an idea book, which I think succeeds very well (unlike some Stephenson books I have hated the reading experience of), and I am certainly on the Watts train now. I believe I also have Starfish somewhere.