What do you think?
Rate this book
Ten Monkeys, Ten Minutes
In this collection of short stories from best selling author Peter Watts, enter strange new worlds that defy the imagination. Journey to the depths of the ocean floor with genetically engineered human beings ... push the boundaries of life with a scientist obsessed with death ... and watch as sentient gaseous entities offer destruction and salvation to the human race. Nine stories make up this stunning new collection from a rising talent in the field of Science Fiction.
Contents:
A Niche (1990)
Fractals (1995)
The Second Coming of Jasmine Fitzgerald (1998)
Bulk Food (2000) with Laurie Channer
Nimbus (1994)
Flesh Made Word (1994)
Ambassador (2001)
Bethlehem (1996)
Home (1999)
Contents:
A Niche (1990)
Fractals (1995)
The Second Coming of Jasmine Fitzgerald (1998)
Bulk Food (2000) with Laurie Channer
Nimbus (1994)
Flesh Made Word (1994)
Ambassador (2001)
Bethlehem (1996)
Home (1999)
167 pages, Paperback
First published November 27, 2002
1 person is currently reading
204 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 14, 2011
Four stars for science and philosophy, three stars for craft and execution.
"A Niche" (3.5 stars): Marine biologists biocybernetically engineered for deep-sea energy exploration are recruited based on their psychotic aptitude (i.e. being f***ed up is a prerequisite for this posthuman career option). Audacious exploration of abuse-survivors being retooled for frontline scientific research in extreme environments. Became the first chapter of Starfish.
"Fractals, or: Reagan Assured Gorbachev of Help Against Space Aliens" (2.5 stars): Violent xenophobia in a near-future British Columbia is explored in this devil's advocate parable on racism and sociobiology. The protagonist wrestles with the Naturalistic Fallacy in rationalizing an ethos of avarice and horror.
"The Second Coming of Jasmine Fitzgerald" (3.5 stars): A goofily madcap science-fantasy riff on quantum theology vis-à-vis Frank J. Tipler's notorious The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead. A pinch of Cronenbergian body-horror toward the end, and one of the best, most thought-provoking final lines of a SF story I've read in a while. Recommended to my fellow Ted Chiang admirers, very much in that eccentric vein of Stories of Your Life and Others.
"Bulk Food" (3 stars): Orca whales are discovered to be sentient, religious, and engaged in an ancient, ongoing culture war. Animal activists are flummoxed by the discovery that these killer whales operate under a caste system based on slavery and trafficking. Ethical platitudes go topsy-turvy with futureshock, and a sea pilgrimage of aqua-hippies to "commune" with the Orca…[spoiler deleted]
"Nimbus" (1.5 stars): Watts' take on the Gaia Hypothesis, with storm systems showing signs of a menacing quasi-sentience in their (no-doubt sensible) expulsion of the human virus. The story doesn't engage, but there's some poignant scrutiny of how children born into a post-Eco Holocaust nightmare might be better adapted than the generation who took relative climate benignity for granted.
"Flesh Made Word" (2.5 stars): A strangely muddled tale about a cognitive researcher who attempts to abstract the essence of limbic activity by brain-mapping dying lab animals, which he believes will help him overcome the guilt of pulling the plug on his comatose wife. (If that makes sense.) Watts is working from Gödel's gnomic idea that "[we'll] never get an accurate model of the human brain, because no box is big enough to hold itself." Hence the need for radical simplification. This notion dovetails with two engaging scenes between the protagonist and digital simulacra of secondary characters, exploring the theme of whether a simplified or essentialist model of consciousness will erode human communality and turn us into autistic, empathy-starved isolates.
"Ambassador" (4 stars): A spirited 10-pager that begins as a humdrum space-romp and ends as a disquieting rumination on fear and enmity as the burning impetus for technological ascendancy. A bioengineered humanoid (or robot, it's unclear) is being chased across the stars by a malevolent, genocidal alien craft. Halfway through, the story shifts gears to an encounter with a far greater malevolence. An intelligence that evolved in proximity to black holes or unstable stars is presumed to have accelerated its technological advancement in direct ratio to the hazard or menace of its deranged environment. On a cosmic scale, Watts reheats the old debate on whether scientific advancement can maintain its momentum without a primal core of feverish, blazing terror of the Other, the Alien, and of a neo-Gnostic hatred and distrust of our native ecological straitjackets -- the frenzy of repressed violence burning jet-fuel for the promethean project of triumphant hegemony over nature.
"Bethlehem" (2.5 stars): A dithering tale of entropy, quantum neurology, and sexual assault. Best and/or worst line of dialogue: "Christ, Janet, you were raped, not baptized!" (p. 155). Two researchers, a quantum physiologist and a catastrophe theorist, collaborate on studying "the retinal sensitivity of salamanders" (!) amidst an ongoing global collapse. This is a story of how fatalism from a deep-physics point of view may reinforce universal forgiveness of human evil, in the vein of Jesus telling his Dad "They know not what they do." The bracing pessimism of this tale reminds me of what James Nicoll once wrote of this author, in perhaps the greatest jacket blurb in SF publishing history: "Whenever I find my will to live becoming too strong, I read Peter Watts." Hoo-ah!
"Home" (4.5 stars): A remarkable closing meditation on the existential gamble of posthuman cybernetics, as we return full circle to the deep-sea abyss where broken, abused souls are reconstituted into aqua-borne extremophiles, Piscean monsters of science. Had we the technology to de-evolve into instinct-driven, non-sentient creatures, savage but innocent, should we make the crossing back into mammalian or even reptile "purity" (if such a thing exists)? Could science be employed to save our planet by altruistically eroding our higher reasoning powers? Could a species-wide lobotomy be a saintly nod towards Gaia? Are we humble enough to build a firewall in our brains, to unwind the clock on our evolution, to in effect stop being human, and thereby save the world?
"A Niche" (3.5 stars): Marine biologists biocybernetically engineered for deep-sea energy exploration are recruited based on their psychotic aptitude (i.e. being f***ed up is a prerequisite for this posthuman career option). Audacious exploration of abuse-survivors being retooled for frontline scientific research in extreme environments. Became the first chapter of Starfish.
"Fractals, or: Reagan Assured Gorbachev of Help Against Space Aliens" (2.5 stars): Violent xenophobia in a near-future British Columbia is explored in this devil's advocate parable on racism and sociobiology. The protagonist wrestles with the Naturalistic Fallacy in rationalizing an ethos of avarice and horror.
"The Second Coming of Jasmine Fitzgerald" (3.5 stars): A goofily madcap science-fantasy riff on quantum theology vis-à-vis Frank J. Tipler's notorious The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead. A pinch of Cronenbergian body-horror toward the end, and one of the best, most thought-provoking final lines of a SF story I've read in a while. Recommended to my fellow Ted Chiang admirers, very much in that eccentric vein of Stories of Your Life and Others.
"Bulk Food" (3 stars): Orca whales are discovered to be sentient, religious, and engaged in an ancient, ongoing culture war. Animal activists are flummoxed by the discovery that these killer whales operate under a caste system based on slavery and trafficking. Ethical platitudes go topsy-turvy with futureshock, and a sea pilgrimage of aqua-hippies to "commune" with the Orca…[spoiler deleted]
"Nimbus" (1.5 stars): Watts' take on the Gaia Hypothesis, with storm systems showing signs of a menacing quasi-sentience in their (no-doubt sensible) expulsion of the human virus. The story doesn't engage, but there's some poignant scrutiny of how children born into a post-Eco Holocaust nightmare might be better adapted than the generation who took relative climate benignity for granted.
"Flesh Made Word" (2.5 stars): A strangely muddled tale about a cognitive researcher who attempts to abstract the essence of limbic activity by brain-mapping dying lab animals, which he believes will help him overcome the guilt of pulling the plug on his comatose wife. (If that makes sense.) Watts is working from Gödel's gnomic idea that "[we'll] never get an accurate model of the human brain, because no box is big enough to hold itself." Hence the need for radical simplification. This notion dovetails with two engaging scenes between the protagonist and digital simulacra of secondary characters, exploring the theme of whether a simplified or essentialist model of consciousness will erode human communality and turn us into autistic, empathy-starved isolates.
"Ambassador" (4 stars): A spirited 10-pager that begins as a humdrum space-romp and ends as a disquieting rumination on fear and enmity as the burning impetus for technological ascendancy. A bioengineered humanoid (or robot, it's unclear) is being chased across the stars by a malevolent, genocidal alien craft. Halfway through, the story shifts gears to an encounter with a far greater malevolence. An intelligence that evolved in proximity to black holes or unstable stars is presumed to have accelerated its technological advancement in direct ratio to the hazard or menace of its deranged environment. On a cosmic scale, Watts reheats the old debate on whether scientific advancement can maintain its momentum without a primal core of feverish, blazing terror of the Other, the Alien, and of a neo-Gnostic hatred and distrust of our native ecological straitjackets -- the frenzy of repressed violence burning jet-fuel for the promethean project of triumphant hegemony over nature.
"Bethlehem" (2.5 stars): A dithering tale of entropy, quantum neurology, and sexual assault. Best and/or worst line of dialogue: "Christ, Janet, you were raped, not baptized!" (p. 155). Two researchers, a quantum physiologist and a catastrophe theorist, collaborate on studying "the retinal sensitivity of salamanders" (!) amidst an ongoing global collapse. This is a story of how fatalism from a deep-physics point of view may reinforce universal forgiveness of human evil, in the vein of Jesus telling his Dad "They know not what they do." The bracing pessimism of this tale reminds me of what James Nicoll once wrote of this author, in perhaps the greatest jacket blurb in SF publishing history: "Whenever I find my will to live becoming too strong, I read Peter Watts." Hoo-ah!
"Home" (4.5 stars): A remarkable closing meditation on the existential gamble of posthuman cybernetics, as we return full circle to the deep-sea abyss where broken, abused souls are reconstituted into aqua-borne extremophiles, Piscean monsters of science. Had we the technology to de-evolve into instinct-driven, non-sentient creatures, savage but innocent, should we make the crossing back into mammalian or even reptile "purity" (if such a thing exists)? Could science be employed to save our planet by altruistically eroding our higher reasoning powers? Could a species-wide lobotomy be a saintly nod towards Gaia? Are we humble enough to build a firewall in our brains, to unwind the clock on our evolution, to in effect stop being human, and thereby save the world?
May 2, 2023
Colecția este alcătuită din nouă povești SF de la sfârșitul secolului trecut ale căror subiecte variază de la oameni modificați genetic pentru a munci pe fundul oceanului, la scenarii post-apocaliptice în care ori norii sunt conștienți, ori balenele ucigașe sunt conștiente, trecând prin clasicele întâlniri de gradul trei în adâncul spațiului, până la, aparent, banalele probleme locale ca suprapopularea sau editarea cuantică a codului genetic și stocarea conștiinței în mediul digital.
Peter Watts este probabil cel mai bine păstrat secret al curentului hard SF actual. Cu un background în biologia marină, se remarcă prin proza puternic evocatoare, pe alocuri nihilistă, uneori extrem de opresivă, cu un miez bine definit și care de obicei așteaptă ca cititorii să fie cât mai elevați la nivel intelectual. În ciuda a câteva exemple din proza sa timpurie care tind, în lipsa unor traduceri potrivite, spre "edginess" și "cringe", toate poveștile lui PW sunt geniale, prezentând publicului cititor concepte și idei inedite.
Peter Watts este probabil cel mai bine păstrat secret al curentului hard SF actual. Cu un background în biologia marină, se remarcă prin proza puternic evocatoare, pe alocuri nihilistă, uneori extrem de opresivă, cu un miez bine definit și care de obicei așteaptă ca cititorii să fie cât mai elevați la nivel intelectual. În ciuda a câteva exemple din proza sa timpurie care tind, în lipsa unor traduceri potrivite, spre "edginess" și "cringe", toate poveștile lui PW sunt geniale, prezentând publicului cititor concepte și idei inedite.
June 14, 2020
I like how Peter Watts thinks and I am a big fan of his short stories. This collection doesn't disappoint.
October 8, 2018
A Niche: Just the first chapter of Watts' Starfish.
Fractals: By far Watts' edgiest story, as far as the mentality of the protagonist is concerned. I can't say it was actually that interesting, or even really SF.
The Second Coming of Jasmine Fitzgerald: A Dickian nightmare about murder and the Omega Point.
Bulk Food: A darkly humorous story about cultural exchange between killer whales and humans, featuring some unusual feeding rituals on both sides. With a little polish, this could be among Watts' best stories.
Nimbus: The clouds are alive! I'd like to see Watts try to expand this to a full novel. Sort of an inverted Fifth Season.
Flesh Made Word: Watts tries his hand at a marriage drama. I can't say the SF elements add that much to it.
Ambassador: Reminiscent of a more actiony Blindsight prototype, with a dark twist.
Bethlehem: Friendship and dependence in a world falling into chaos and disorder. Not Watts' best. Features yet again the man with seemingly not enough brain matter to support his cognitive function.
Home: Wonderfully creepy story set in the Rifters universe, following another feral deep-sea cyborg.
Overall, not Watts' best material. I find that his concepts are often so bizarre and off-putting that they don't really work in the short story format. They demand a little more breathing room to convince. That this is some of Watts' earliest published work doesn't help. I can't help but feel Watts in 2018 could do much better with many of these concepts than Watts of 1990-2000. His skill has improved massively since then.
Fractals: By far Watts' edgiest story, as far as the mentality of the protagonist is concerned. I can't say it was actually that interesting, or even really SF.
The Second Coming of Jasmine Fitzgerald: A Dickian nightmare about murder and the Omega Point.
Bulk Food: A darkly humorous story about cultural exchange between killer whales and humans, featuring some unusual feeding rituals on both sides. With a little polish, this could be among Watts' best stories.
Nimbus: The clouds are alive! I'd like to see Watts try to expand this to a full novel. Sort of an inverted Fifth Season.
Flesh Made Word: Watts tries his hand at a marriage drama. I can't say the SF elements add that much to it.
Ambassador: Reminiscent of a more actiony Blindsight prototype, with a dark twist.
Bethlehem: Friendship and dependence in a world falling into chaos and disorder. Not Watts' best. Features yet again the man with seemingly not enough brain matter to support his cognitive function.
Home: Wonderfully creepy story set in the Rifters universe, following another feral deep-sea cyborg.
Overall, not Watts' best material. I find that his concepts are often so bizarre and off-putting that they don't really work in the short story format. They demand a little more breathing room to convince. That this is some of Watts' earliest published work doesn't help. I can't help but feel Watts in 2018 could do much better with many of these concepts than Watts of 1990-2000. His skill has improved massively since then.
September 8, 2009
This collection of short stories is a treat, particularly if you like your science fiction with an edge to it. I don’t read nearly as much hard SF as I used to, probably because I got tired of the story taking backseat to the science, but Peter Watts doesn’t make that mistake in any of these gems. They are all deeply rooted in character, story and the perversities of human nature. In particular, I liked the first story, “A Niche”, in which we discover how being mildly insane may help us get to the next level, evolutionarily speaking. I also loved “Bulk Food”, which is a twisted tale of aquarium shows, vegan-rights activists, and what happens when we learn to speak with Orca whales. Incidentally, both can be found online at his website: http://www.rifters.com/real/shorts.htm
Bonus facts: he’s Canadian, he’s a hell of a nice guy, and the author of four novels: Rifters 1, Rifters 2, Rifters 3 & Blindsight!
Bonus facts: he’s Canadian, he’s a hell of a nice guy, and the author of four novels: Rifters 1, Rifters 2, Rifters 3 & Blindsight!
March 11, 2015
Had read many of these stories as part of other works by the author. Highly recommend this for someone you wants to get a taste of many of the different ideas this author can bring to life.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews