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Peter Watts

Maelstrom (Rifters Trilogy, 2) Paperback – January 6, 2009

by Peter Watts (Author)

4.3 633 ratings

Book 2 of 4: Rifters Trilogy

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This is the way the world ends:

A nuclear strike on a deep sea vent. The target was an ancient microbe―voracious enough to drive the whole biosphere to extinction―and a handful of amphibious humans called rifters who'd inadvertently released it from three billion years of solitary confinement.

The resulting tsunami killed millions. It's not as through there was a choice: saving the world excuses almost any degree of collateral damage.

Unless, of course, you miss the target.

Now North America's west coast lies in ruins. Millions of refugees rally around a mythical figure mysteriously risen from the deep sea. A world already wobbling towards collapse barely notices the spread of one more blight along its shores. And buried in the seething fast-forward jungle that use to be called Internet, something vast and inhuman reaches out to a woman with empty white eyes and machinery in her chest. A woman driven by rage, and incubating Armageddon.

Her name is Lenie Clarke. She's a rifter. She's not nearly as dead as everyone thinks.

And the whole damn world is collateral damage as far as she's concerned. . . .

Book 2 of 4

Rifters Trilogy
Print length

384 pages
Language

English
Publication date

January 6, 2009
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.85 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

0765320533
ISBN-13

978-0765320537
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“What makes his novel exhilarating instead of depressing is the conviction and control he brings to his material―up-to-date science fiction with a seriously paranoid edge.” ―The New York Times

“Watts moves from the relentless pressure of Starfish to the frantic speed of chaos in action, never losing the tight focus on his fascinating characters in this excellent sequel to his debut novel.” ―Booklist (starred review)

About the Author

Peter Watts is a former marine biologist, flesh-eating-disease survivor and convicted felon whose novels―despite an unhealthy focus on space vampires―have become required texts for university courses ranging from Philosophy to Neuropsychology.

His work is available in 21 languages, has appeared in over 350 best-of-year anthologies, and been nominated for over 50 awards in a dozen countries. His (somewhat shorter) list of 20 actual wins includes the Hugo, the Shirley Jackson, and the Seiun.

Peter is the author of the Rifters novels (Starfish, Maelstrom) and the Firefall series (Blindsight, Echopraxia).

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tor Books; First Edition (January 6, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0765320533
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0765320537
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.85 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #868,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #110 in Canadian Literature
- #2,296 in Cyberpunk Science Fiction (Books)
- #8,692 in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 633 ratings

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Peter Watts

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This is awkward and a little creepy. They tell me I have to do it for promotional purposes, but I've already got a blog. I've already got a website. Being told that setting up an author page on fcuking *Amazon* is essential to success? A company that treats us all like such goddamn children it doesn't even allow us to correctly spell an epithet with a venerable history going back 900 years or more? That just sucks the one-eyed purple trouser eel.

Still, here I am. But if you're really all that interested, go check out my actual blog/website. Google is not your friend (any more than Amazon is), but at least it'll point you in the right direction.

I'm the one on the left, by the way.

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4.3 out of 5

633 global ratings

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MHHC

a little nuts

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2023

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Pros
Characters
Weird science
Not much like any other story… aka unique

Cons
Watts writes from deep in this world so good luck hanging on for the jargon ride
Lots of wait, what moments that seem implausible even within the construct

Bottom line is it’s hard to engage with and root for anything or anyone in this thing

Helpful

Dark, gritty fiction

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2002

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First off, if you haven't read Peter Watts' first novel, "Starfish", don't start with "Maelstrom". While this is theoretically a stand-alone novel, the reader unfamiliar with "Starfish" will miss out on a tremendous amount of back-story and character development. ...
As for "Maelstrom" itself, Watts has easily cleared the high bar he set with his first novel. All too often, sequels are rehashes of old conflict, but that is not the case here at all. Watts takes his already complex characters from the first novel and adds several more layers of texture; at the same time he adds just enough new characters to keep things interesting. These characters are equally well developed, and overall, Watts' writing is even sharper than in the first book.
The writing has to be sharper, because this is a much more complicated novel than the first. While "Starfish" took place in the relatively limited space of a deep ocean outpost, and dealt primarily with human interactions, "Maelstrom" sprawls across the Pacific and North America and a significant portion of the action takes place in cyberspace. Moreover, the plot is significantly more complicated. I don't want to get into it in too much detail, as doing so would ruin much of "Starfish" for those who haven't read it. But the general theme of this novel, like its predecessor, is the impact that the unforeseen consequences of exponentially growing technology can have on humans as a species and on the planet as a whole. In a dystopian setting of environmental havoc and human violence, two new scourges have emerged. One is spawned by nature, the other, inadvertently, by man. The result is a bizarre, but believable synergy that threatens the entire biosphere. It was particularly interesting how Watts explored the nature of consciousness by subtly comparing the burgeoning life of a piece of code with the flawed memories of the main character.
By now you may have guessed that there is a lot of science in this novel, and you'd be right. There is a great deal that is cutting edge, and even more that is purely speculative. Watts makes use of some pretty heavy biology and AI science that may intimidate readers at first blush. It would be a mistake to avoid this novel for that reason because the science is just there to set the stage for the story. If you understand the detail of it, it definitely adds many intriguing twists; but if you only understand it at the surface level, you could still easily follow the story. That's the beauty of Watts as a writer: he's pigeon hold as hard-SF, but the SF is just a means to the end of writing incredibly complex, beautiful characters struggling with problems we can easily empathize with. Finally, Watts has included an appendix discussing the key science in some detail, and also provides a bibliography of sources he used.
"Maelstrom" is an outstanding novel set in a believable, terrifying future. It was undeniably entertaining and I tore through it at a breathless pace. It also left me thinking about technology and its impacts in some new ways. Watts is no technophobe, but he makes a strong point about the lack of responsibility in many arenas of scientific endeavor. "Maelstrom" is a must read for anyone who enjoys a great story, rich characters and a thoughtful message.

29 people found this helpful

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Avid Reader

Language Explosion of the 21st Century

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2017

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For those familiar with the Blind Sight novels, therer is an instant recognition. The author has developed his style and simply fills in the template. But what a template! (STARFISH, the first novel in the series, is a requirement.) The attempt to destroy the ancient Behemoth organism had devastating consequences for the West Coast. But far worse, the meme was not destroyed but has escaped through a vector - the strange Lenie Clark, who walks ashore after having swam for days. This is her story.

The gray, dark future is illuminated by the prose - punk writing on steroids. The reader is hit full force, a tidal wave of phrases, technical terms, abbreviations, slang, reeking of hipness and punk. Thoughts as conversation, word play and a vocabulary that would have been at home in a medical lab - it's all there. Lenie, surviving the blast that wiped out her comrades, sets out on a journey of discovery and self-discovery, searching for the very type of people who made her who she was. Her reputation, at first known only to the powers that be, slowly grows and becomes a cultural meme, her clothing becomes fashionable. But like all messiahs, her life is more legend than fact. The incontestable fact is that she is spreading Behemoth on her journey and the powers that be can only follow a scorched earth policy.

Maelstrom is the internet of the future, on the edge of awareness, all-powerful, ridden with viruses, malware and now the Behemoth meme. Workers monitor the world, stamping out fire, killing tens of thousands without guilt due to genetic modification. But Lenie Clark was not the only survivor. Ken Lubin has also escaped and now is on land trying to find answers. Son he is on Lenie's trail, joining fans and those in charge. Throw in bureaucrats, decision makers, intelligent gel, self-aware malware and a growing awareness from Lenie that something is not exactly right and you get a great story.

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Tghu Verd

Bleak beyond hope. And I loved it.

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2016

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Watts kept the first installment of this series as claustrophobic as the deep sea vent it was set against, but in Book 2 the action moves to the surface as Lenie Clarke emerges from the depths and focuses her fractured psyche on the issues of revenge and hunting down her past. Arrayed against her are impressively funded enemies but Clarke's desire to hurt is implacable and she seems more a force of nature than a character as she brushes aside friend and foe alike.

The aggressive writing style, emotional despair and take-no-prisoners plot that was like a physical assault in Book 1 remains, even as the pool of players expands. Including the electronic wildlife that inhabits the future Internet, a whirling dervish of mutating viruses and semi-intelligent agents, some of which happen to align themselves with Clarke's agenda. This frenzy of high-tech evolution is lovingly described by Watt, who extrapolates where he can and invents where he needs, bringing to bear a cornucopia of concepts and outcomes that seem both horrifying and likely in equal measure.

Watts does not write fluffy sci-fi. And I feel that calling his style cyberpunk does the author a disservice. This is R-rated world building at its best, where the landscape is ecologically scarred, the bulk of humanity huddled in dark and dirty corners, and the elites increasingly frantic as their cocoon of privilege, which they are fighting to maintain at any cost, slowly closes in around them.

This is science fiction for consenting adults all the better for it.

6 people found this helpful

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Jeremy Minton

Hard, dark and awesome

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2017

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When people use the phrase "techno thriller" they probably don't have a book like Maelstrom in mind, but they really ought to have. This is an awesome piece of near-future SF. Starfish, the first book of Watts' Rifters Trilogy is good, but Maelstrom with its torrent of ideas, its twists and turns, its onrushing global disaster and its blacker-than-black characterisation is better. Much better. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say it might be the best SF novel I've ever read.

What makes it so good? Well, it is unambiguously, unabashedly science fiction. Take out the tech and the story doesn't just fall apart; it evaporates. The science is sufficiently hardcore that the book is probably a lot easier to read if you've got a background in either computing or the biological sciences. I'm a professional programmer and I found Watt's vision of one possible future of the internet so scarily convincing that it made me much more willing to believe he knows what he's talking about with the other technical aspects of the story.

Looking beyond the technology, though, what you get in this book is fast, sparse, starkly effective prose. You get characters who are frequently twisted but always interesting, characters whose mix of kinks and twists, virtues and vices, might not always make them likeable but mean that they grip your attention and keep you engaged by them and their actions all the way through the story. You get heroes doing awful things for understandable reasons, and villains who villainy is all the more compelling for being rooted in rationalisations, expediency, harsh actions taken in the face of intractable problems. Most of all, you get a story which will scare you, shock you and keep you guessing all the way to the end.

One person found this helpful

S. Marsaudon

Une bouffée d'air pas pur après les grands fonds...

Reviewed in France on August 7, 2013

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Ce n'est que plusieurs mois après avoir lu l'excellent mais claustrophobique "Starfish" que j'ai réalisé qu'il s'agissait en fait du premier opus d'une trilogie se poursuivant avec le présent volume pour s'achever par "Behemoth".
Nous retrouvons donc Lenie Clarke, la sirène des abysses, échouée sur les plages du Pacifique Nord-Ouest, se frayant un chemin à travers le no man's land qu'est devenu l'Amérique du Nord, emportant avec elles les germes de l'armaggedon ramenés des grands fonds...
Avec la même verve que dans le précédent volume, Peter Watts nous brosse le saisissant tableau d'un XXIème siècle agonisant ravagé par les désastres écologiques, un siècle de fractures: celle de l'humanité divisée entre privilégiés et légions de réfugiés climatiques, celle du réseau informatique, clivé entre la toile preservée du Havre, et le chaos du Maelstrom devenu une véritable jungle infestée de formes de vie numériques à la prolifération quasi- incontrôlable...
Page après page le lecteur suit les pérégrinations des protagonistes en titubant vers l'apocalypse...
Un auteur à suivre, venant se ranger aux côtés des grands prophètes de la hard science cyberpunk tels que Neal Stephenson et William Gibson...

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Pascal

An excellent and worthy follow-up to Starfish

Reviewed in Canada on November 16, 2020

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Following the events of Starfish and now taking place on the surface, I felt Maelstrom was interesting not because of its environment (as was Starfish), but because of everything that happens, why, and how it happens. If you've enjoyed Starfish and was intrigued by its ending, then I'd say you must definitely read Maelstrom.

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