Although Watts mentions he's a biologist by training, you wouldn't know it, between all the astronomical events, the neurological side effects of radiation and methane exposure, and the philosophy of consciousness, it feels like half a college curriculum in here. Two stars it is.Moments that deserved four stars scattered among moments that deserved book throwing.
Sometimes the human characters are subject to blindsight, but more importantly, the aliens they investigate act completely in blindsight.
Let's start with the first one. An utterly fascinating read; well-done in both its science and its style.
what is Consciousness? I enjoyed this book because of the wide range of interesting concepts that Peter Watts introduces in the story. A grim yet psychedelic book which probably earns Watts place as the new James W. Campbell. Send a linguist with multiple-personality disorder, and a biologist so spliced to machinery he can't feel his own flesh. I'm very curious about this, because I had a trouble getting through some of quite info-dense Watts' prose, so it's entirely possible I … Start by marking “Blindsight (Firefall, #1)” as Want to Read: I enjoyed this book because of the wide range of interesting concepts that Peter Watts introduces in the story. Unfortunately, they were few and far between. A book as monolithic and labyrinthine as the alien artifact at the heart of it. Theseus. It's just a dream.Copyright LibraryThing and/or members of LibraryThing, authors, publishers, libraries, cover designers, Amazon, Bol, Bruna, etc. Feedback loops evolve to promote stable heartbeats and then stumble upon the temptation of rhythm and music. Sorry, Temeraire, you’ll have another shot, I’m sure. It's been two months since a myriad of alien objects clenched about the Earth, screaming as they burned. Of course, that's a subjective statement implying consciousness, and therefore I am an evolutionary throwback who is spinning his wheels. The aspect of blindsight--the ability to sense one's environment without conscious awareness--is central to the story. It sure gave me some things to check in internet, like blindsight (it is a real life phenomena), and other science stuff appeared in this book. Let's start with the first one. Two stars it is.Blindsight, set almost entirely beyond the Oort cloud on the ship Blindsight, set almost entirely beyond the Oort cloud on the ship I really really tried with this book, but it was always a book that required that I slog through, trying to find snippets of enjoyment. Something talks out there: but not to us. Not one yo usually be obsessed with heavy scifi novels, but this is one the better ones i read out there. Peter Watts. Yes, it is not quite as good as I’d been told, but orders of magnitude more brilliant than anyone had conveyed. A future as weird and baroque as those pictured by Greg Egan and Charles Stross, scientifically plausible vampires (a branch of lost evolution), people turning to stone, a person with multiple personalities call The Gang of Four, truly alien aliens, and bleak a view of the universe as Lovecraft or Alastair Reynolds. Wow!
I don't believe that it is well written, but I also don't believe that it is a bad book.
Blindsight. —Ernest Hemingway. how, and why? It is complex, uses realistic technical jargon, and some rather esoteric psychological concepts. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account.
I loved the heavy science element and the characters. A grim yet psychedelic book which probably earns Watts place as the new James W. Campbell. Notes and References . Something talks out there: but not to us. In order to expand my reading, I've been making an effort to put more hard scifi into my rotation, to get out of the "fluff rut" I've been in, riding books that are easy to consume but ultimately unsatisfactory. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of So, after many rave reviews (and a Hugo nomination), I chose Blindsight.