Blindsight (Firefall, #1)

No cover

Peter Watts: Blindsight (Firefall, #1) (2006)

384 pages

English language

Published March 19, 2006

ISBN:
978-0-7653-1218-1
Copied ISBN!
Goodreads:
48484

View on OpenLibrary

View on Inventaire

(4 reviews)

It's been two months since a myriad of alien objects clenched about the Earth, screaming as they burned. The heavens have been silent since - until a derelict space probe hears whispers from a distant comet. Something talks out there: but not to us. Who to send to meet the alien, when the alien doesn't want to meet? Send a linguist with multiple-personality disorder, and a biologist so spliced to machinery he can't feel his own flesh. Send a pacifist warrior, and a vampire recalled from the grave by the voodoo of paleogenetics. Send a man with half his mind gone since childhood. Send them to the edge of the solar system, praying you can trust such freaks and monsters with the fate of a world. You fear they may be more alien than the thing they've been sent to find - but you'd give anything for that to be …

3 editions

interesting concept, flawed execution

I loved the attempt to describe an alien that is fundamentally /alien/. trying to find a scientific basis for having vampires in the story was... interesting. the "climax" of the novel made no sense, although in its favour, I guess that made it a surprise. the casual and incredibly pervasive misogyny was tiresome, and seems to be on the part of the author rather than just another characteristic to make the protagonist unlikable (it wasn't necessary), considering that there are relatively few slurs in the novel but four misogynistic ones, and one of those is slung by the author in his endnotes at three scientists whose work he thinks insufficiently deals with their areas of research.

part of me wants to know how the core ideas spin out in the sequels but the much bigger part of me wants to avoid anything else by this author.

Big ideas but strangely hollow

The ideas are compelling, and the inclusion of recreated vampires is a weird but interesting diversion. There's no emotional core though. In some ways that's by design - the primary narrative POV is of someone who's had significant, personality-destroying psychosurgery. I found myself asking why should I care about any of this throughout.

One of my favorite sci-fi novels of all time

As someone on Peter Watts' own site is quoted, "Whenever I find my will to live becoming too strong, I read Peter Watts." Reader beware.

I re-read it just recently. This book fundamentally shifted my perspective on my own humanity, and maybe not in a good way. But it did a really good job! I think it took me a few reads to really get a handle on what was happening in the story and that only made the hammer blows of its conclusion stronger.

Has a permanent space on my shelf, except my copy keeps walking out of my house because I lend it out so much.

The author has started giving away this book, available here for free on his own site: www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm

But you might want to consider donating: www.rifters.com/real/donation.htm

Once you've read the book, check out this gorgeous fan-made film: blindsight.space/