Book Review: Blindsight, by Peter Watts

Dec 05, 2010 21:02

One-line summary: Earth sends a crew of freaks and monsters to make first contact with an unknown alien race.


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highly recommended, books, reviews, vampires don't sparkle!, science fiction

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inverarity December 6 2010, 06:22:40 UTC
No, there aren't any pedophiles. It's kind of a "WTF?" review, though he's right that the characters are all pretty creepy. (But not pedophile-creepy.)

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vandersock December 7 2010, 22:54:38 UTC
The Peter Watts that will (partially) get you inside the mind of a pedophile is Starfish. It's a cracking read, but as always, when you're reading Watts you're getting deep into the psyches of very unpleasant people.

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silverflight8 November 26 2014, 05:03:10 UTC
I guess there are no really likable characters like there are in, IDK, Heinlein (99% why I keep coming back to Heinlein, honestly) but I think people like Amanda Bates are fairly likable. Susan James, ditto, Isaac Szpindel, Chelsea is definitely sympathetic. Siri's father, his friend, they all seem pretty good people--this isn't a book I'd point to and say it's got unlikable characters. (For that, I would like to point ALL my fingers at Wuthering Heights. That book stretched my tolerance to its breaking point.) I dunno. Admittedly, the scramblers and the kind of existential emptiness that Watts employs kills a lot of the cozy human factor, but the humans seem fairly average on the sympathetic/kill with fire front. They have to be, after all, to contrast with the scramblers and with Sarasti.

Though Siri's POV is also a contributing factor. He so clearly does not get it that it's easy to transfer that to the other characters.

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silverflight8 November 26 2014, 05:06:29 UTC
Regarding the crucifixion glitch: to me that was one of the most ridiculous parts of the book, but it's the kind of ridiculous that I guess I can rationalize with "truth is stranger than fiction" and accept Watts' explanation regarding naturally occurring right angles.

PS have you read Reynolds recently? If you have, has he progressed past the cardboard character thing yet? (I love the science part of his novels, but the characterization really got to me and I couldn't face reading the rest of his books.)

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inverarity November 26 2014, 16:23:07 UTC
I read Terminal World recently. I liked it, but characterization is never his strong suit.

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