Watermind [Hardcover]

M.M. Buckner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 2008

From storm drains, illegal dumps, and flooded landfills, all of North America’s most advanced technology flows down the Mississippi River—microchips, nano-devices, pharmaceuticals, genetically modified seed—and lodges in the Louisiana delta. Out of this mire emerges a self-organized neural net, drifting in the water: the Watermind. It can freeze, boil, condense, and move—seemingly at will.

Both infuriating and sympathetic, CJ Reilly is a brilliant, sexy, self-destructive MIT dropout running away from Cambridge and the suicide of her ironic, emotionally-distant father. She is working as a laborer in Devil’s Swamp near Baton Rouge, cleaning up a small pollution spill, when she and her new lover, Max, discover the mysterious Watermind. Reilly’s more interested in investigating it than containing it, but when it kills someone and escapes into the Mississippi, corporations, governments, protesters, the Coast Guard, and a really wacky underground journalist get involved. And there’s no longer any question that it must be destroyed before it reaches the ocean. Watermind is Philip K. Dick meets The Blob, a postmodern combination of camp SF motifs and writerly ambition attacking serious subjects.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Buckner (War Surf) theorizes a brand-new intelligence emerging from electronic trash in this cautionary near-future tale. When troubled MIT grad school dropout CJ Reilly encounters bizarre ice covering steamy Louisiana's polluted Devil's Pond, she has visions of saving the world after she analyzes a sample and discovers its power to purify water. Then the mysterious substance responds to music and begins to move, and Reilly becomes convinced of its sentience. When it kills a man, scientist Roman Sacony, whose company owns the pond, is determined to utterly destroy the emerging life form, while CJ insists on trying to save it. Despite the suspense and nonstop action, unlikable characters make it hard to root for anyone, and the scientifically sound ending is narratively unsatisfying. The story succeeds best when it traverses Louisiana's geography, and only indifferently when it traverses the human heart. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Praise for Watermind:

 

“An exciting novel of technological and scientific detection and combat.”
—Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine

“A bold idea. Well-drawn characters. A gripping tale. A first-class novel.”
—Ben Bova

“The action comes crisp and smart in this fast-moving novel, rich in ideas. I liked it a lot.”
--Gregory Benford

“Part techno-thriller, part speculative science, and all quality.”
—Mike Resnick

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (November 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076532024X
• ISBN-13: 978-0765320247
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,208,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "Watermind" is all washed up., August 31, 2009

By 

Kevin T. McGuinness (Virginia, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Watermind (Mass Market Paperback)

This book had an interesting premise behind it, but it was not well executed. One issue I had with this book was structural. The transition between the dialog and thoughts of the different characters really isn't that smooth. I'd be reading along and with no warning they'd suddenly be talking about another character.

Another thing that bothered me was from a sci-fi/technical standpoint. They'd mention all these items, technological and otherwise, that the Watermind/mote computers would pass in the river on its way to Louisiana, but never explained how most of those items related back to its make-up and/or evolution.

This lack of detail extended to the dialog as well. It was just enough to keep the story moving forward, but not enough to give us any real insight into the characters. Why was Max's ex-wife given primary custody of their daughter? What was the whole thing between CJ and her father? You never do find out. This, plus the whole pacing of keeping things moving down the river, made the story read more like a TV or movie script than a book.

My advice is to skip this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great movie material, April 5, 2011

By 

H. Potter "Oldhiker" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Watermind (Kindle Edition)

Mad scientists are a standard part of science fiction. In movies, they are usually old men with funny accents, who are nonetheless brilliant. This time, the mad scientist is a beautiful young rich woman. By the end of the book, she's also pregnant, probably by her young Creole lover, a poorly educated laborer and musical genius. The word is "probably" because she has some hot moments with a South American billionaire, too. There's a lot of action in this book.

The sci fi action revolves around an intelligent synthetic liquid being, spontaneously emerging from a mass of electronic, chemical, and genetic junk dumped into the Mississippi. Somehow, it becomes alive and starts to grow and move, causing lots of harm as it goes. Everyone tries to contain or destroy it, with only our heroine trying to preserve it for the knowledge we can gain and the good it can do.

It's a very good science fiction book, with good plausible science and good characters. The writing is excellent, with vivid, strong descriptions of the scenery and events. It would make a great movie. I see Scarlett Johansen as the scientist. And someone who looks a lot like me as her young boyfriend. If only!

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars engaging cautionary science fiction, November 11, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Watermind (Hardcover)

Although her future seemed bright, CJ Reilly dropped out of MIT graduate school. She heads south with hopes of cleansing her disturbed mind. In sweltering but polluted Devil's Pond, Louisiana she finds a strange phenomena that should not be there: ice. After testing a sample, CJ believes she has found a magical elixir to save the water supply; the ice purifies water.

However, the ice turns even more mysterious when she observes it react to music and display locomotion skills. When the ice kills scientist Roman Saxony, CJ reconsiders her belief she will be a world hero. Instead she needs to destroy the metamorphosing ice that has "waded" into the Mississippi before it destroys the world.

An engaging cautionary science fiction warning people to watch how they dispose of their discards (in this case electronic, but easily extrapolates to drugs in the water systems and nuclear energy byproduct waste, etc). In some ways the ice seems like the Blob; however unlike both of the films that stars heroes, none of the humans especially CJ is heroic as everyone seems to have their own agenda. Fans will enjoy touring Louisiana with the WATERMIND host.

Harriet Klausner