Customer Reviews

Blindsight

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Let's start with the cool factor, because that's what made me buy this the moment it came out. There's a protagonist with half his brain (the half that enabled empathy, apparently) removed, who makes his living reading other peoples' thoughts and intentions through close observation. Imagine a younger, colder, more focused Sherlock Holmes and then take away the drama queen tendencies, the social skills, and the cozy Victoriana; the part that's left might feel a bit like Siri. There are the intricately damaged altered-brain characters you might expect from Watts if you've read the rifters books. There's the space vampire who out-baddasses every other vampire I've ever encountered in a novel, and I know from vampire books. No gothy romantic hero here -- just a creature who has out-evolved you so thoroughly you can't even get your head around it.

Now let's talk about the ideas. Blindsight takes on the evolutionary benefits of sociopathic behavior, and the ethics of torture, the puzzle of sentience, and what it means to intentionally develop a simulacrum of empathy and conscience (and whether it's worthwhile to do so). These ideas have been explored elsewhere, but I've never seen it done so well. Blindsight isn't *about* aliens or vampires or the future of technology. It's about us: our moral choices, our short cultural attention spans, the mental shortcuts we use so we can function, and what happens when our reach exceeds our evolutionary grasp.

But I must digress, because it probably sounds like I'd describing something dry and obvious and preachy. Didactic fiction drives me up the wall. Heavy-handed exposition and self-important authorial philosophizing will make me drop a book faster than anything but bad dialogue. This book is none of that. Watts packs in so many thought-provoking ideas and so much straight-up SMRT that I'm still blinking, and he does it seamlessly, while keeping everyone in character, and without letting up on the pace at *all*. (I should mention that the book includes something that would, in any other book, be three-page infodump. Watts frames it so skillfully that it serves as an emotional climax instead. I goggle at the skill required to pull this off.)

It's completely engaging from the first page to the last, and it's completely readable. It's not reassuring or fuzzy, but it's not a self-indulgent emo fest either. It's not flawless, but its successes overwhelm its shortcomings. It's very cold, very dark, supersharp, ambitious as hell, intellectually satisfying, and astonishingly light on its feet -- and I stayed up till three am on a worknight to finish it in one eight-hour gulp. If any of that sounds like your thing, buy this book. Maybe if enough of us do so, more publishers will realize that there really is a market for books like this.

First of all, you've got to love a novel with footnotes and a bibliography. I just wish I had the resources, not to mention enough gray matter, to ferret them all out, and see if they all exist. Or understand the joke, for those that don't.

Anyway, I digress. Watt's books make you think, and usually not happy thoughts. But it's not a far leap to see the world(s) his characters live in.

I don't think I would have liked knowing any of the characters. But life is like that. I mean seriously, would you live in a building wehere you had neighbors like Seinfeld's? But reading about them (and Lennie and her compatriots) is a toally different kettle of fish.

I learned a lot of biology reading his books. And now, I am willing to add Blindsight to the list of books that I keep in the back of my mind for those times when someone asks, "why do you read that stuff"? Its not just what you learn, and what you think, but also how you feel. Its complicated.

Trust me.

If you enjoy intellectual riffing on hard science, esp. neuroscience, anthropology, and/or exobiology, this book will have deep appeal. (And despite the review commenting that the vampire concept was far-fetched, as a physical anthropology major I actually found Watts' concept intriguing and fun. Heck, human travel to the Oort cloud is far-fetched, too, but many authors describe such concepts plausibly. I've never seen anyone pose a compelling "what if vampires had actually really existed" scenario in this way and I found it original. And it's really just one ingredient of the melange of concepts explored in this story.)

If you are a "reader's reader" who loves juicy characters you can care about--nah, you're not gonna find it here. The book does have some *interesting* characters ("freaks" per one negative review, and yes, they are). It has a very good use of suspense to drive the story, but emotionally it doesn't stick to your ribs. It lacks a certain degree of self-deprecating, self-conscious humor. This is a chilled consomme, or an elegant sushi, but not a hearty stew or chocolate cake. It is the first Alien movie (except with Ripley having Asperger's); it is not The Fifth Element or Star Wars.

So, if you're looking for stew, it'll leave you a little hungry. If you're up for some intellectual bedazzlement, you will probably enjoy it.

Having read a fair share of science fiction in my life, I had grown more and more disillusioned with the genre. Could it be that all the sense of wonder was just a factor of reading SF during my formative years? Could it really be that all ideas in SF had already been expressed and that every new work would just be a rehash of old ideas?

Blindsight very effectively reinvigorated my faith in the genre: There are some concepts presented in this book that still has me thinking, more than a month after I read the book. The fundamental idea of the book is NEW (to me, at least).

It also doesn't hurt that the prose is razor-sharp. Highly recommended.

Blindsight tells of an expedition to investigate the apparent arrival of aliens in the Solar System. A ship, crewed by four strangely enhanced humans and commanded by a genetically recreated vampire, arrives in the far Oort cloud, and discovers an unusual and environmentally hostile object. Attempts to communicate are ambiguous -- it seems to contain intelligent actors, but it offers no real information, and warns them off. Naturally, the humans refuse to leave, and we are treated to attempts to land on the alien "ship" or "device" or whatever -- again met with ambiguous but mostly hostile responses.

All this is interesting, but it hides the real interest of the book. The story is told by Siri Keeton, who is essentially autistic, and who "translates" the observations of the oddly altered specialists on the mission to terms that "normal" humans back on Earth can understand. So we learn something of the nature of these enhanced people: one is a vampire, one is a military genius of sorts, one has a cybernetic sensorium, and one, a linguist, has (on purpose) multiple personalities. In addition we learn of Siri Keeton's personal life: a mother who has retreated to a simulation, an often absent "spook" father, a love affair with a woman who specializes in tailored brain chemistry alterations.

The eventual point of all this, and of the eventually realized true nature of the aliens, is speculation on the nature of concsiousness. Is consciousness real? Is it really useful? Is it necessary for intelligence? How much of the world around us do we really perceive and how much do our brains "simulate" for us? What our our brains capable of? How would predators think differently? Is real communication with aliens possible?

Fascinating stuff throughout, wonderful "big idea" SF.

Blindsight by Peter Watts is a hard sci-fi novel set near the end of the 21st century. Humankind has just experienced Firefall, when 65,536 objects simultaneously enter earth's atmosphere. In response man sends a manned mission to investigate the source of this phenomenon.

The spaceship Theseus is a wonder of engineering, beyond the cutting edge of science. The crew is an eclectic group selected for their unique abilities and skill sets. First there is Siri Keaton, the synthesist. He is there to observe and report. The story is told through Siri's viewpoint and is interspersed with flashbacks from his past life, which give us a view of what Watt's future Earth is like.

Next is Jukka Sarasti, the mission commander. Sarasti is a vampire, and as such his reasoning and logic skill far outstrip what any homo sapien could hope to achieve, even with cybernetic enhancements.

The rest of the crew consist of Amanda Bates, the pacifist military officer in charge of security. Next is Susan James, AKA the Gang of Four. James is a linguist who has split her brain into 4 unique personalities. Finally there is Isaac Szpindel, a biologist so heavily interfaced with equipment he can see xrays but at the cost of most of his normal senses.

These five are sent in suspended animation to make first contact. What they encounter is beyond their wildest nightmares.

Blindsight has a definite horror element to it. Conceptually its a brilliant take on first contact. The science is highly plausible, and the alienness of what the crew of the Theseus encounter is unlike pretty much anything I've seen before. There is an appendix at the end up the book in which Watts explains certain concepts, and while the technology factor is pretty high, the story doesn't get bogged down in jargon.

Hard sci fi isn't my normal sub genre of choice, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A lot of the early buzz surrounding Blightsight has speculated that it could win the Hugo. While its not my first choice, it definitely belongs on the short list and I wouldn't be upset if it did win. Any fan of hard sci fi should certainly pick this book up.

8.5 out of 10

Peter Watts likes to play with big ideas and Blindsight is full of them. His "hard SF" first contact novel weaves in many interesting puzzles - most prominently, how sentience and intelligence are related and whether the former is even a good thing for species survival. And just to keep things interesting, in the midst of these high concepts and bleeding edge theories, Watts tosses in, of all things, a vampire - with just enough imaginary genetics and evolutionary sleight of hand to make it seem (more or less) plausible. If nothing else, give him good marks for cheekiness.

Unfortunately, there's much lacking in the fundamentals of Blindsight - specifically in the areas of plot, narrative and character development. It often feels like Watts treats these elements as mere details getting in the way of his big ideas instead acting as the engine of his story. There are critical sections of narrative that leave the reader in the lurch struggling to figure out the implications on their own.

The main characters are fascinating: the aforementioned vampire, a biologist who exists halfway inside his instruments and sensors, a communications specialists with surgically-induced multiple personalities, and the narrator with half a brain. Yet, much like the narrator, we have difficulty connecting with and feeling empathy for this crew. They are post-human, and their motives and interactions often remain enigmatic to the reader. When one of them perishes, it is no more or less significant than losing a sensor or instrument on their spaceship.

One side-story involves the narrator's (Siri's) doomed romantic relationship. The girlfriend's "perversion" is a need for direct physical contact instead of, like other "normal" humans, via computer interface. She struggles in vain to find the human side of a person who can't feel empathy. He intellectualizes their relationship in terms of evolutionary imperatives and sexual power struggles. Some might see this as typical left-brained male behavior. True love it is not.

I recall reading Watts' Starfish several years back which was also populated with a cast of distant and dysfunctional characters. I'm left pondering what the author thinks and feels about the beings he creates. Does he care about them? Does he identify with them?

Ultimately, Blindsight is a dark vision of the future questioning both our likelihood of survival as well as what we might become even if we do. It is interesting mind candy, but the reading experience is less than satisfying.

This is a first contact novel that's as interesting for the philosophical and literary questions it raises as it is for the narrative.

The book follows the adventures of the crew of a space ship sent to meet an alien object entering the solar system. Several of the twenty-first century crew are extraordinary: the narrator, whose autism has been partially repaired and whose job is to clarify events for the folks back home; a brilliant predator from an extinct race; and a linguist with multiple personalities. Besides the efforts to communicate with the intruder, flashbacks into the narrator's life are also included. The book also examines a future on where the human race is able to create a kind of spiritual heaven here on earth.

Readers concerned with structure will wonder at what the author is driving with this mixed bag of crewmembers and an alien with whom communication seems particularly difficult. Often events and conversations occur which lead the narrator to draw conclusions which he does not share with the reader, which may lead the reader to wonder if he is following the story as intended by the author. Moreover, the philosophical question that the author raises is not immediately apparent. Eventually it will be revealed and what has gone before will fall into place.

The literary question is whether the nature of the philosophical question should be cloaked for so long. To reveal the question early on will enable the reader to understand characters and events as they unfold. To delay confuses the reader but leads to the thrill of discovery as the puzzle is revealed. The author has chosen the latter course and so I'm not even able to reveal the main philosophical question without spoiling the tale.

If you require science fiction with plenty of action rather than character development and philosophical inquiry, this book may seem a little slow to you. Much of the action seemed to me like an H.P. Lovecraft story with a lot of talk about the feeling of horror, without ever revealing what the horror is. On the other hand, if you don't mind feeling confused as the price of considering a question about man's nature that is seldom asked, you should enjoy this novel. (By the way, some will even ask if this question is even philosophical rather than scientific.)

Watts' latest novel is quite possibly his best, and lives up to the standard he set in his Rifters trilogy. As in all of his novels, there are enough ideas for a half-dozen books jostling up against one another. The story is gripping from beginning to end; he manages to sustain the creepy, suspenseful atmosphere of Alastair Reynolds' novella 'Diamond Dogs' at novel length. This is one of the best first contact novels ever, and the most successful portrayal of the truly alien that I can remember. And that's not even counting the genetically resurructed vampire who commands the expedition. (Whatever you do, be sure to visit Watts' website, [...], and check out his hilarious and disturbing slideshow, purportedly by the pharmaceutical company responsible for the recovery of the vampire genome.) I don't think anybody does hard science fiction better than Watts. Like his Rifters trilogy, the story isn't exactly sweetness and light, but his characters - all variously disfunctional, as is par for the course for Watts - are well-realized and intriguing, and the story is absolutely compelling; I read the whole thing over two days. One of the best novels of the year.

I've never written a book review before (which will be readily apparent starting right...about...now...), but I thought I would for this book if only to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Peter Watts is/was a marine biologist. I was left with the impression that studying the aliens of the deep proved to be extraordinarily useful when imagining aliens from another world.

The science in the story is fascinating, and though I didn't understand all (nor even most) of it, Watts convinced me that he does. If you are interested in the nature of consciousness, the philosophy of mind, and the evolution of self-awareness, then you'll dig this book.

Be sure to read the appendices which provides scholarly resources defending the Watts' imagined world. I especially enjoyed the Watts' evolutionary history of the vampire--very clever!