Watts, Peter: Blindsight
Blindsight (2006)
Written by: Peter Watts
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 384 (Trade Paperback)
It took me a long time to reach the point where I wanted to read this book. I saw all the buzz on the internet, how the book wasn't selling well and how the author had the whole thing posted FOR FREE on his website via the Creative Commons License (and he still does, check it out here). This buzz garnered far more attention for the book and ended up landing him a Hugo nomination (he didn't win--Vernor Vinge's Rainbows End took that honor in 2007).
I remember sampling the prologue, but just not being interested. Again, MAJOR BUZZ tends to turn me off of books, and I have to work my way back to them on my own sweet time. What finally triggered interest was the fact that Blindsight was Watts's vision of vampires in space, and I wanted to see what he was up to. And since the book was finally available in trade (though for a while, I would've preferred a mass-market), I decided to go for it.
The premise: Earth was heading towards a happy utopian future until sixty-five thousand alien objects appeared in the sky and quickly burned to ash. All anyone knew about the encounter was that he aliens had just taken pictures. Now, in order to get more information on the interstellar neighbors spying on us, Earth scrambles together to prepare a crew for first contact, and the crew just might be stranger than the aliens they're getting ready to meet: a linguist with multiple personalities carved into her brain, a pacifist warrior whose career defining moment was an act of treason, a biologist who's so radically interfaced with machinery that he sees x-rays and tastes ultrasound, a synthesist whose mind is literally half-gone, meant to observe the entire mission and report back to Earth, and a vampire, resurrected from the past using junk DNA and the blood of sociopaths, to command them all. It's part hard SF and part philosophical treatise.
Review style: Two sections, what I liked and what I didn't. Expect spoilers in both, simply because it's difficult for me to talk about this book without talking specifics. However, bear in mind that this is the kind of book that knowing the spoilers really shouldn't affect how you read it, in fact, it may help. Yet, if spoilers bother the snot out of you, just skip to the "My Rating" section of the review.
What I Liked
I don't know what I was thinking when I read the prologue for the first time a few years ago. Perhaps my enjoyment was hampered by the fact I was reading it on the computer. Whatever the case, when I read the prologue this time around, I loved it. And that's one of the strengths of the book: when Watts is focusing on the narrator's (Siri Keeton, the synthesist with half a brain) past and his relationships with others, the prose reads quickly, the voice is interesting, and I'm very entertained. I'm not saying I'm not entertained when he gets into the more technical side of the story, but I did have to slow down and pay close attention, because this is not a book written for a casual, beach-read.
I also found myself really fascinated by the ideas driving the story. It's brimming full of stuff that makes you stop and think, and while I've seen some reviews bash Watts's "Notes and References" section in the back of the book, I found those entertaining and necessary. It's not just to support the fiction, it's to show the reader his research. To be honest, I wish more SF writers did this, if not in the book then at least on their websites. It's a great way for readers who are INTERESTED in the ideas and science and work to continue study of the topic, and if hard, true science fiction doesn't open our eyes to new technologies, science and theories, then what else is it supposed to do? Entertain, sure, that's always the goal, but science fiction writers, particularly hard-SF writers, have to balance the fine line between entertainment and education, and I think Watts balances quite well, for the most part.
Going back to the meat of the story: the aliens. Gotta love the aliens. Admittedly, I kept visualizing them as starfish, but that's no wonder when you consider Watts's debut novel was actually CALLED Starfish, the fact he's a marine biologist, and, well, the descriptions made me think of starfish. But that's as far as that comparison got. I loved learning and figuring out if the scramblers were the aliens themselves or some kind of pets of the aliens--learning about their biology and then later, the question of their intelligence and sentience, made for really interesting reading.
And let's talk a bit about sentience, intelligence, and the role of consciousness in human evolution. I found these discussions to be completely fascinating, probably in part because it's the first time I've come upon them. However, I enjoyed the various parallels made between the current situation and our narrator, and there was more than one. I was also pleased that this is the first SF book that made the whole Chinese Room theory make sense to me in terms of viewing it from the inside out (yay for being in Siri Keeton's head!). But the larger questions the book raises, that consciousness is something humans need to grow out of because we're far more efficient without it, is so fascinating that I devoured the notes at the end of the book. It makes me want to read the book again, and it makes me want to research the theory for myself.
And to me, that's what hard SF should do: educate and interest the reader in new theories and ideas, all postulated within a fictional setting with characters the reader can relate to. Sure these characters aren't likable or sympathetic really, but who needs empathy when they're so interesting? I'm pretty sure it's intentional on Watts's part that we aren't supposed to necessarily LIKE Siri Keeton, due to the nature of his role as an observer and the change that comes later on in the book, but even though he was an outcast in terms of humanity, I understood where he was coming from, and I loved that.
Then again, I tend to enjoy dark, pessimistic views of the future and of the human character provided I have a strong, narrative voice to lead me through the tale. And in this case, I got exactly that.
I'll talk more on the vampires later, but I do want to say I love what Watts had done with them as a species in theory. There's a presentation on his website that actually sits down and explains the origin and biology from step one, and it's something I wish I'd watched before I read the book. It makes things a bit clearer, so you're not trying to piece together the puzzle while you're reading. For those interested, click here, and note: it's a bit long, I think it runs 40 or so minutes. The good thing is you can pause it, and using the arrow buttons, you can fast-forward through the slides until you reach the point you stopped previously, which means you aren't stuck watching sections you already watched all over again. Though, watching said sections is somewhat entertaining, especially if you appreciate the snarkastic sense of humor filling up this little piece of satire. I know I did.
What I Didn't Like
I discussed already that when I reached the sections of the text that were focused on the particulars of the science and how that science effected the action, I had to slow down. In some cases, what I was reading was fascinating. In other cases, such as the description of the ship and how it worked, I could care less. That's a personal thing.
And as much as I enjoyed the vampires in theory, I felt like Jukka Sarasti was a wasted opportunity. The most interesting thing about him was the fact he was a vampire, and from there, his biology and the way his mind worked. I never really fully understood the great big betrayal at the end: I know that Jukka Sarasti arranged it so that Siri Keeton ended up empathizing with what was happening, making Siri more human, and I think Sarasti tinkered with his head too, because by the end, Siri keeps saying all of his former tools of observation are gone. That's all well and good, but that happened in such a way that I was looking for something much bigger than I got. And there was a part of me looking for a real conspiracy, not this petty thing where everyone in the crew manipulated Siri so he only experienced certain things. For example, on page 341, Siri is confronting Sarasti about what he did and we get this:
For the first time, I looked right back. And felt a shock of recognition.
I still wonder why I never saw it before. For all those years I remembered the thoughts and feelings of some different, younger person, some remnant of the boy my parents had hacked out of my head to make room for me. He'd been alive. His world had been vibrant. And though I could call up the memories of that other consciousness, I could barely feel anything within the constraints of my own.
When I read this, I thought that perhaps, somehow, Sarasti was the other half of Siri, the boy that'd been hacked out of his brain. However, upon typing up that passage, I realize there's another reason for that section: young Siri had been prone to horrible seizures, which is what prompted his parents to put him through the surgery. Vampires have what's called a Crucifix Glitch, which--unless they take a certain medication--makes them seize violently at any intersecting right angles.
So maybe, while reading this looking for something BIGGER, I missed the fact that Siri, before the surgery, was a vampire? That would make sense, in light of both the quoted passage as well as the fact I thought, before reading the book, that Siri was a vampire.
Anyway, here's the thing: as much as I enjoyed this book, and as much as I don't mind the prospect of re-reading it in order to catch all the little things I missed (see above), Watts is a little too subtle or elusive for his own good. He refers to certain things that don't get explained, or they get explained so subtly you're likely to miss it if you blink (ironic, given certain parts of the subject matter). Namely: what happened to Earth while Siri's flying around in his coffin? What did vampires have to do with it?
And then there's the fact that you feel geared up for this BIG REVELATION, and in some cases, the revelation is never spelled out to your satisfaction. When Sarasti attacked Siri, it took FOREVER to glean some kind of reasoning for this, to figure out the point of it. I was up late at night flipping through the pages JUST to get that one piece of info and had to put the book down, because it was clear Watts wasn't going to spell it out for me. Admittedly, I'm not a kindergartner and don't need him to hold my hand and teach me to read, but there's almost a sense of TOO much build-up and not enough, well, satisfaction. By time it dawns on me that Sarasti's messed with Siri's head to make him human enough to ACCURATELY report what's happened back to Earth rather than objectify it, it's a bit of a let down, because I felt I knew Siri's function on the ship all along, and I thought the others had too. But somehow, Siri revealed himself to be a spy? And this prompted everyone to "fix" him? Whatever the case, this is a reason for a re-read, and while I'll enjoy it, it's still a weakness of the book.
My Rating
Worth the Cash: but with a warning: I feel this is a niche read, and it's certainly NOT for the SF newbie, not by a longshot. If I'd read this book when it first came out a couple of years ago, I think I would've been turned off at the time. But if you're a reader who's ready for this kind of text--which is certainly enjoyable with all of its ingredients, though not perfect--then I think you'll really enjoy this book. I'll happily read it again, which is a good and bad thing. Good because hey, I enjoyed it enough to WANT to read it again to catch what I missed the first time. Bad because, well, I missed stuff the first time that I need to catch the second. But in the end, I'm a very happy reader. How happy you will be might depend on the following:
1) If you're entertained by the notion of vampires in space, and not the magical, sexy kind populating so much urban fantasy, check out Watts's little mockumentary here to get a taste of not just Watts's voice (it's what you'll be reading, folks), but also so you can get a solid grasp on his vampires, which I feel is necessary to get BEFORE reading the book, rather than trying to piece it together WHILE reading the book. At least, it would've been nice for me. One warning, run-time is around 35-40 minutes or so, but the pause button and arrow functions prove to be quite useful if you have to stop the player and come back to it later. If you enjoy this video, if you enjoy the biology behind the vampires (and the snarky, tongue-in-cheek voice-over), then you've got a solid chance of enjoying the book.
2) Why not sample it for free? Admittedly, the whole darn thing is available online if you just can't afford to buy anything now, but if buying is an option, sample it first. I suggest the prologue and the first chapter at least (if not a little more), because it gives the reader a clear sense of how Watts's style varies, from very personal to more scientific passages. The link to the whole thing is here.
I enjoyed this a lot, but it should be known that I'm partial to dark, somewhat cynical views of the future and the human race, so this book makes me delightfully happy. I definitely plan on attacking Watts's backlist, and I'm very glad I finally gave this author a shot. However, I'm also glad I waited until I was ready. As I mentioned before, if I'd read him when the book first came out, I think I would've had more trouble than necessary. But still, for anyone truly interested in this, I'd say, give it a go. Sure, it's a first contact story, but it's also much more than that.
Cover Commentary: It's okay. Nothing really eye-catching, but it's a cover I enjoy studying a bit. I'm amused that the author was so put-out by the final decision, though after seeing some of the proofs, I can't blame him. If you're interested in the other art, check out the gallery on his website here. Each image has a description, so you'll know if it relates to this book or not. :) But I do want to add this: Peter Watts's website is a lovely example of what I'd like to see more authors do in terms of content: goodies and extras for the book itself, galleries, etc. Admittedly, I think he could do more in terms of news and updates in general, but in terms of what relates to the book, I'm quite pleased.
Next up: Libyrinth by Pearl North