Blindsight

uhhuhthem reviewed Blindsight (Firefall, #1) by Peter Watts

interesting concept, flawed execution

3 stars

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.

sanae reviewed Blindsight by Peter Watts

5 stars

I might do a more thorough review later, with spoilers, once I'm on my computer

I read this a while ago and re-read it. It's a challenge to read, dense with invented jargon and hard to follow just because of how weird everything is. It's probably the most nihilistic book I've ever read, and the characters are not at all sympathetic. Nevertheless, having half understood it from reading it too fast 10 years ago, it has stuck with me since then, and held up even better the second time and I'm giving it a rare 5 stars.

The first time I read it, it was more emotionally impactful - more horror than sci Fi and in ways I was not at all expecting. The second time I felt like I could at least wrap my head around it completely.

Coming back in the age of LLMs certain concepts about what …

I might do a more thorough review later, with spoilers, once I'm on my computer

I read this a while ago and re-read it. It's a challenge to read, dense with invented jargon and hard to follow just because of how weird everything is. It's probably the most nihilistic book I've ever read, and the characters are not at all sympathetic. Nevertheless, having half understood it from reading it too fast 10 years ago, it has stuck with me since then, and held up even better the second time and I'm giving it a rare 5 stars.

The first time I read it, it was more emotionally impactful - more horror than sci Fi and in ways I was not at all expecting. The second time I felt like I could at least wrap my head around it completely.

Coming back in the age of LLMs certain concepts about what intelligence and sentience actually are start seeming a lot more relevant. Some of the ways the main character is unable to relate to other people reminds me of some of the dangerous Internet subcultures that have grown prominent in the past few years. It feels alarmingly more relevant than the first time despite not being at all about any of these things.

The characters are not like conventionally sympathetic but I think you have to approach the book with a willingness to empathize with a broader range of people than most books ask you to - not in the sense of being bad people but of being people who relate to the world differently than most people depicted in fiction.

The vampire thing is unnecessary and out of place, you could have the exact same story and not call them that

Two books I've read that I would say are most similar are Annihilation and Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep (not the movie though)

Niklas reviewed Blindsight (Firefall, #1) by Peter Watts

An early abort for me

1 star

Had to put it aside after ~ 50 pages. Could not follow anything that's going on at all due to all the slang and obscure references used.

David H reviewed Blindsight (Firefall, #1) by Peter Watts

One of my favorite sci-fi novels of all time

5 stars

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/