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Rifters #3
ßehemoth
Starfish lit the fuse. Maelstrom was the explosion. But five years into the aftermath, things aren't quite so simple as they once seemed . . . Lenie Clarke-rifter, avenger, amphibious deep-sea cyborg-has destroyed the world. Once exploited for her addiction to dangerous environments, she emerged in the wake of a nuclear blast to serve up vendetta from the ocean floor. The horror she unleashed -an ancient, apocalyptic microbe called behemoth-has been free in the world for half a decade now, devouring the biosphere from the bottom up. But she has learned something in the meantime: she destroyed the world on false pretenses. Now, rifters and the corporate elite who created them cower at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, hiding from a world in its death throes. But they cannot hide forever: something lethal has found them in the depths. Something which has either violated the laws of physics to follow them here, or arisen from treachery within their own ranks. Suddenly, the rifters and their one-time masters remember that they are enemies. And the only thing standing between them is a woman with the blood of a world on her hands.
513 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2007
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December 25, 2019
“Whenever I find my will to live becoming too strong, I read Peter Watts.”
James Nicoll
LOL. That’s not why I read Peter Watts, but I do understand his point. The world in Rifters is the ultimate hell. Think of the worst post-apocalyptic universe you’ve read of and you do not come even close to how this world is. As I said in my review for Maelstrom, I would rather kill myself than live in such a world and that says something about how realistic the worldbuilding is in this series.
Same about the characters. Mostly all are psychopaths, sociopaths, you name them. However, when you think you know someone, you’ll change the opinion when reaching the end of this series.
You’ll be overwhelmed by a whole range of emotions: from repulsion to compassion, fear, rage, horror. You’ll want to throw the book away but it’ll be stuck to your hand, unable to put it down. The more horrified you are, the more you’ll want to read further.
And when you think that things are somewhat cooler in this last volume, that everyone put their forces together to fight and save the world, you’ll get your head smashed by one of them. Damn, I thought I’ll never hate a character as much as I hate Reynolds’ Skade, but Desjardins surpassed her by a thousandfold.
At the end of the book, as he did the same in Firefall, Watts explains some things about the book and says about Desjardins that: he may have been more civilized that you or I will ever be.” I just can’t see him that way; could be that I’m a woman and I resonated too deep to what he did to Taka; my skin still crawls thinking about that. Well, to write a character that instills in you such emotions take skills; and Peter Watts does not lack that at all.
Until this series, Butler’s Xenogenesis was the most uncomfortable and disturbing read for me; now it gets second place. But it was all worth it.
To get some visuals about the world, its virtual wildlife, microbiology and more, check this link:
https://rifters.com/attic.htm
Also, the entire series (and more) can be downloaded from the author’s site:
https://rifters.com/real/shorts.htm
James Nicoll
LOL. That’s not why I read Peter Watts, but I do understand his point. The world in Rifters is the ultimate hell. Think of the worst post-apocalyptic universe you’ve read of and you do not come even close to how this world is. As I said in my review for Maelstrom, I would rather kill myself than live in such a world and that says something about how realistic the worldbuilding is in this series.
Same about the characters. Mostly all are psychopaths, sociopaths, you name them. However, when you think you know someone, you’ll change the opinion when reaching the end of this series.
You’ll be overwhelmed by a whole range of emotions: from repulsion to compassion, fear, rage, horror. You’ll want to throw the book away but it’ll be stuck to your hand, unable to put it down. The more horrified you are, the more you’ll want to read further.
And when you think that things are somewhat cooler in this last volume, that everyone put their forces together to fight and save the world, you’ll get your head smashed by one of them. Damn, I thought I’ll never hate a character as much as I hate Reynolds’ Skade, but Desjardins surpassed her by a thousandfold.
At the end of the book, as he did the same in Firefall, Watts explains some things about the book and says about Desjardins that: he may have been more civilized that you or I will ever be.” I just can’t see him that way; could be that I’m a woman and I resonated too deep to what he did to Taka; my skin still crawls thinking about that. Well, to write a character that instills in you such emotions take skills; and Peter Watts does not lack that at all.
Until this series, Butler’s Xenogenesis was the most uncomfortable and disturbing read for me; now it gets second place. But it was all worth it.
To get some visuals about the world, its virtual wildlife, microbiology and more, check this link:
https://rifters.com/attic.htm
Also, the entire series (and more) can be downloaded from the author’s site:
https://rifters.com/real/shorts.htm
May 14, 2020
The final battle of the viruses, and the sociopaths.
For long stretches this was a good book. Certainly better than the second one, which, frankly, was a bit of a mess.
This time we're back to the deep sea, where the characters discover a new mutation of the virus and suspect each other to be responsible for it. Mistrust is spreading, conflict is brewing and a violent confrontation seems inevitable. We then go back ashore where the populace keeps dying and the flora and fauna is mutating. This second part, surprisingly, was more interesting to read. I say surprisingly because I’m a fan of deep sea thrillers. But Watts did not always make the most of the setting.
The second half of the book introduces a new character that I very much liked. Ken Lubin was also on his game and rather cool in this one. But the main character of the series, Lenie Clarke, was relegated to being a whiny bystander for most of the time. This annoyed me a lot. She had been such a strong character in the previous books. Frankly, it was sad to see what became of her. Watts pretty much messed this up, in my opinion. But he’s at least been able to counterbalance it somewhat with Lubin.
My main problem with this book is that he completely went of the rails elsewhere. Achilles Desjardins had already been well established as a crazy sadist. A little past the midway point of this book it reached what should have been its peak level of sickness. But Watts decided to go further. And not for the better. There is a lot of gratuitous violence in this book. Sexual and otherwise. It was rather shocking. If that was the point, fine, it worked. But it was pretty much pointless for the plot. And it also wasn’t necessary at all for character development. It was just sick and very uncomfortable to read. Now, I’m not one that gets very emotional because of fictional events. But if you present me with something as disgusting as this, it damn well better be of some relevance for the rest of the book. It wasn’t.
Watts being Watts there’s also a lot of technobabble. That was to be expected. Most of the time I’m able to look past that, even though some paragraphs, whole chapters even, are pretty much indecipherable. He sometimes sacrifices readability for showing off his knowledge (or meticulous research) of all sorts of -ologies. Or maybe he’s just really one hell of a nerd. In any case, it limits his potential readership significantly. But I’m just about in this group of people, with the occasional on the outside looking in moment. He’s good enough of a writer otherwise for me to be able to live with that. I’m less forgiving if you make other serious mistakes.
Now this all sounds very negative, because that’s how I feel toward this book. But again, on the whole it isn’t a bad book. Just a seriously flawed one.
The ending was rather disappointing too. Why oh why did it have to happen in the off? Especially with everything that came before. Disappointing.
Okay, I’ll better stop this now, before I have convinced myself that three stars are still too many for this book. Which then would also mean I had to rethink my rating of the previous one.
I recommend Starfish. That’s a really good book, which then became a series that mainly went downhill. Maybe one should stop there. But everyone has to find out for themselves, I guess.
All three books are available for download from the author’s website. Thanks for that!
https://rifters.com/real/shorts.htm
Trigger warnings: Torture, rape, mutilation, science.
This has been a buddy read with Cathy, who pretty much felt the same about this book and series. At least we didn’t have to go through it alone, eh?!
For long stretches this was a good book. Certainly better than the second one, which, frankly, was a bit of a mess.
This time we're back to the deep sea, where the characters discover a new mutation of the virus and suspect each other to be responsible for it. Mistrust is spreading, conflict is brewing and a violent confrontation seems inevitable. We then go back ashore where the populace keeps dying and the flora and fauna is mutating. This second part, surprisingly, was more interesting to read. I say surprisingly because I’m a fan of deep sea thrillers. But Watts did not always make the most of the setting.
The second half of the book introduces a new character that I very much liked. Ken Lubin was also on his game and rather cool in this one. But the main character of the series, Lenie Clarke, was relegated to being a whiny bystander for most of the time. This annoyed me a lot. She had been such a strong character in the previous books. Frankly, it was sad to see what became of her. Watts pretty much messed this up, in my opinion. But he’s at least been able to counterbalance it somewhat with Lubin.
My main problem with this book is that he completely went of the rails elsewhere. Achilles Desjardins had already been well established as a crazy sadist. A little past the midway point of this book it reached what should have been its peak level of sickness. But Watts decided to go further. And not for the better. There is a lot of gratuitous violence in this book. Sexual and otherwise. It was rather shocking. If that was the point, fine, it worked. But it was pretty much pointless for the plot. And it also wasn’t necessary at all for character development. It was just sick and very uncomfortable to read. Now, I’m not one that gets very emotional because of fictional events. But if you present me with something as disgusting as this, it damn well better be of some relevance for the rest of the book. It wasn’t.
Watts being Watts there’s also a lot of technobabble. That was to be expected. Most of the time I’m able to look past that, even though some paragraphs, whole chapters even, are pretty much indecipherable. He sometimes sacrifices readability for showing off his knowledge (or meticulous research) of all sorts of -ologies. Or maybe he’s just really one hell of a nerd. In any case, it limits his potential readership significantly. But I’m just about in this group of people, with the occasional on the outside looking in moment. He’s good enough of a writer otherwise for me to be able to live with that. I’m less forgiving if you make other serious mistakes.
Now this all sounds very negative, because that’s how I feel toward this book. But again, on the whole it isn’t a bad book. Just a seriously flawed one.
The ending was rather disappointing too. Why oh why did it have to happen in the off? Especially with everything that came before. Disappointing.
Okay, I’ll better stop this now, before I have convinced myself that three stars are still too many for this book. Which then would also mean I had to rethink my rating of the previous one.
I recommend Starfish. That’s a really good book, which then became a series that mainly went downhill. Maybe one should stop there. But everyone has to find out for themselves, I guess.
All three books are available for download from the author’s website. Thanks for that!
https://rifters.com/real/shorts.htm
Trigger warnings: Torture, rape, mutilation, science.
This has been a buddy read with Cathy, who pretty much felt the same about this book and series. At least we didn’t have to go through it alone, eh?!
September 20, 2018
After the last book gave us a world above the ocean and the one before gave us the world below, I wondered just where this (duo/single?) third novel would take us.
Indeed, it gave us a synthesis. We had a treat of biology, more gene-modding, collapsing ecospheres, and even a bit of cooperation as the virus that had once been biological had become computational and had destroyed our modern world AND infected us biologically.
This is a true dystopian, no matter how you look at it, but it is also a wonderful combination of cyberpunk, biopunk, and military SF.
Military SF? Oh yeah, it went there this time. :)
Big time war. All those victim/victimizers out there finally found common ground and decided to team up or team-WITH the ancient big-bad. Totally cool.
I think it redeems a bit of the issue I had with the middle book by way of theme and analysis. It was also a bit more fast-paced and focused, less wandering. It had less discovery. I like discovery, of course, but with everything else that was going on, I really wanted to see some kind of cool resolution.
And we got it, here.
I totally recommend this SF series. Some people might prefer to have stopped at the first, but this entire cycle was well worth the effort.
Peter Watts is an absolute Must-Read for me. I won't quibble anymore. He's on my favorites list. :)
Indeed, it gave us a synthesis. We had a treat of biology, more gene-modding, collapsing ecospheres, and even a bit of cooperation as the virus that had once been biological had become computational and had destroyed our modern world AND infected us biologically.
This is a true dystopian, no matter how you look at it, but it is also a wonderful combination of cyberpunk, biopunk, and military SF.
Military SF? Oh yeah, it went there this time. :)
Big time war. All those victim/victimizers out there finally found common ground and decided to team up or team-WITH the ancient big-bad. Totally cool.
I think it redeems a bit of the issue I had with the middle book by way of theme and analysis. It was also a bit more fast-paced and focused, less wandering. It had less discovery. I like discovery, of course, but with everything else that was going on, I really wanted to see some kind of cool resolution.
And we got it, here.
I totally recommend this SF series. Some people might prefer to have stopped at the first, but this entire cycle was well worth the effort.
Peter Watts is an absolute Must-Read for me. I won't quibble anymore. He's on my favorites list. :)
October 25, 2016
"The essence of humanity's spiritual dilemma is that we evolved genetically to accept one truth and discovered another."
- E.O. Wilson
U prethodnom osvrtu spomenuo sam Guilt Trip, genetski modifikator koji korporativnim agentima suspreže savjest tako što se umjesto nje veže na iste receptore. Jedna radikalna skupina napravi genetski modifikator Spartacus kojim zaraze dio korporativnih agenata. Spartacus spriječava vezivanje Guilt Trip, ali i potpuno onemogućuje savjest, što treba omogućiti razumno razmišljanje bez ikakvog uplitanja emocija. No, što ako je netko od tih "oslobođenih" korporativnih agenata bio psihopat prije Guilt Tripa?
U napomenama na kraju romana Watts kaže kako ga neki čitatelji optužuju da ne zna razliku između osobnosti i neurokemije, ali on kaže da oni trebaju kriviti znanstvenike koji nalaze sve više dokaza koji potvrđuju da je osobnost samo druga riječ za biokemiju. Također kaže da se čini kako nam je duboko usađena želja da kaznimo one koji su nam naudili, pa čak i ako će osveta našteti nama više nego njima.
Mnogo je toga zanimljivog Watts ubacio i razradio, ali da bih išta više opisao morao bih otkriti previše detalja o radnji ili otkriti što se dešavalo u prethodnim romanima. Sviđa mi se i kako piše, nema tu rečenica koje bi se mogle izdvojiti kao lijepi citati, ali sviđa mi se sveprisutni ironični ton te kako je znanstvene pojmove pretvorio u uvrede. Na primjer: haploid* kao kreten, ili r-selector** kako ženski likovi pogrdno opisuju muškarce. Također ima i par sočnih kreativnih psovki koje ostavljam na otkrivanje, a zanimljiv je i nadimak corpse kojim likovi opisuju corporative executivese.
Ipak Behemoth nije bez mane, gotovo je dvostruko duži od dva prethodnika i čini se predugim. Kraj je zbrzan, a u sredini ima malo razvlačenja radnje.
Watts ni dosad nije uljepšavao i izbjegavao brutalnost, ali ovdje ima par scena mučenja i seksualnog nasilja koje su prilično uznemirujuće.
Dvoumim se između četvorke i petice, ali dajem mu peticu. Watts je svoj mračni svijet bliske budućnosti opisao s dozom odličnog humora i cinizma tako da ne možeš maknuti smiješak s lica. No, svejedno sam osjetio olakšanje kada sam napustio taj svijet i čini mi se da sam za svo vrijeme čitanja zadržavao dah, pa mislim da je postigao ono što je želio.
* - haploid - an organism or cell having only one complete set of chromosomes, ordinarily half the normal diploid number. Examples: Cells used in sexual reproduction, sperm and ova.
** - r-selector - many r-selected species tend to be opportunists, meaning that they reproduce and disperse rapidly when conditions are favorable or when a disturbance opens up a new habitat or niche for invasion.
Napomena: Peter Watts je na svojoj službenoj stranici omogućio čitanje ili skidanje cijelog serijala.
Linkovi:
http://www.rifters.com/real/STARFISH.htm
http://www.rifters.com/real/MAELSTROM...
http://www.rifters.com/real/Behemoth.htm
- E.O. Wilson
U prethodnom osvrtu spomenuo sam Guilt Trip, genetski modifikator koji korporativnim agentima suspreže savjest tako što se umjesto nje veže na iste receptore. Jedna radikalna skupina napravi genetski modifikator Spartacus kojim zaraze dio korporativnih agenata. Spartacus spriječava vezivanje Guilt Trip, ali i potpuno onemogućuje savjest, što treba omogućiti razumno razmišljanje bez ikakvog uplitanja emocija. No, što ako je netko od tih "oslobođenih" korporativnih agenata bio psihopat prije Guilt Tripa?
U napomenama na kraju romana Watts kaže kako ga neki čitatelji optužuju da ne zna razliku između osobnosti i neurokemije, ali on kaže da oni trebaju kriviti znanstvenike koji nalaze sve više dokaza koji potvrđuju da je osobnost samo druga riječ za biokemiju. Također kaže da se čini kako nam je duboko usađena želja da kaznimo one koji su nam naudili, pa čak i ako će osveta našteti nama više nego njima.
Mnogo je toga zanimljivog Watts ubacio i razradio, ali da bih išta više opisao morao bih otkriti previše detalja o radnji ili otkriti što se dešavalo u prethodnim romanima. Sviđa mi se i kako piše, nema tu rečenica koje bi se mogle izdvojiti kao lijepi citati, ali sviđa mi se sveprisutni ironični ton te kako je znanstvene pojmove pretvorio u uvrede. Na primjer: haploid* kao kreten, ili r-selector** kako ženski likovi pogrdno opisuju muškarce. Također ima i par sočnih kreativnih psovki koje ostavljam na otkrivanje, a zanimljiv je i nadimak corpse kojim likovi opisuju corporative executivese.
Ipak Behemoth nije bez mane, gotovo je dvostruko duži od dva prethodnika i čini se predugim. Kraj je zbrzan, a u sredini ima malo razvlačenja radnje.
Watts ni dosad nije uljepšavao i izbjegavao brutalnost, ali ovdje ima par scena mučenja i seksualnog nasilja koje su prilično uznemirujuće.
Dvoumim se između četvorke i petice, ali dajem mu peticu. Watts je svoj mračni svijet bliske budućnosti opisao s dozom odličnog humora i cinizma tako da ne možeš maknuti smiješak s lica. No, svejedno sam osjetio olakšanje kada sam napustio taj svijet i čini mi se da sam za svo vrijeme čitanja zadržavao dah, pa mislim da je postigao ono što je želio.
* - haploid - an organism or cell having only one complete set of chromosomes, ordinarily half the normal diploid number. Examples: Cells used in sexual reproduction, sperm and ova.
** - r-selector - many r-selected species tend to be opportunists, meaning that they reproduce and disperse rapidly when conditions are favorable or when a disturbance opens up a new habitat or niche for invasion.
Napomena: Peter Watts je na svojoj službenoj stranici omogućio čitanje ili skidanje cijelog serijala.
Linkovi:
http://www.rifters.com/real/STARFISH.htm
http://www.rifters.com/real/MAELSTROM...
http://www.rifters.com/real/Behemoth.htm
April 27, 2020
Prelude: ´lawbreaker
We meet Achilles Desjardins again. And...
“The past receded; the unforgiven present advanced. The world fell apart in time-lapse increments: an apocalyptic microbe rose from the deep sea, hitching a ride in the brackish flesh of some deep-sea diver from N'AmPac. Floundering in its wake, the Powers That Weren't dubbed it ßehemoth, burned people and property in their frantic, futile attempts to stave off the coming change of regime. North America fell.“
ß-Max
We are at the bottom of the Atlantic. Hiding away, in conjunction with our former enemy.
Very readable, mostly. There are sequences where I don‘t understand a thing... Lenie is a bystander a lot of the time, shunned not only by the other side, but also by her own people. We as readers often do not take part in the action, but look at what‘s happening from the outside, from her POV. I am not a fan of that way of story telling. But it‘s what it is, when reading from limited POVs, I guess.
I am not certain that I really understood what went on in this book. Yes, hiding away, conflict with the opposing inmates, revolution, mutation, a new infestation... Got that. Much head scratching. I also missed a stronger sense of being underwater. It almost did not feel as if they were spending time in the deep sea.
Seppuku
Emerging from the sea... This one more linear and with more traditional story telling at first. I really liked the new character, Taka.
Trigger warning:
I could have done without that part. It added nothing to the plot and made me uncomfortable. Was it just for the shock effect? Because as a plot point it was pretty pointless or at the most served as a tool for a info dump. It actually turned me off so much, that I lost my motivation to keep going.
Consequently I really struggled with the last 100 pages. I literally lost the plot. I couldn‘t grasp what was going on or why Ken and Lenie did what they were doing.
The big reveal at the end left me rather cold, I was glad to be finished and disappointed with the resolution of this trilogy. Did the final conflict really have to happen in the off? Clarke as a mere bystander did not make me happy either. She devolved into the chick on the side. She really did not gell for me in Seppuku. I understand that characters can change and develop, but I could not relate to Lenie’s progression.
I really liked the first book, it had a good plot and setting and a strong, convincing main character in Lenie Clarke. Maelstrom and Behemoth (ß-Max & Seppuku) were confusing over long stretches and hard to understand. I admit to skimming quite a bit of the techno babble. I think stopping after the first book would have been best.
How to rate this? Considering that I struggled to finish, had problems to follow the plot, disliked the character inconsistency of Lenie Clake and the gratuitous violence/torture, I can‘t really give this more than two stars.
————
In my headspace Noomi Rapace took over the role of Lenie Clarke.
A free version of this book(s) can be found here:
https://rifters.com/real/Behemoth.htm
Playlist:
Georg Friedrich Händel, Water Music
Tchaikovsky, Iolanta
Sergei Prokofiev
Igor Strawinsky
We meet Achilles Desjardins again. And...
“The past receded; the unforgiven present advanced. The world fell apart in time-lapse increments: an apocalyptic microbe rose from the deep sea, hitching a ride in the brackish flesh of some deep-sea diver from N'AmPac. Floundering in its wake, the Powers That Weren't dubbed it ßehemoth, burned people and property in their frantic, futile attempts to stave off the coming change of regime. North America fell.“
ß-Max
We are at the bottom of the Atlantic. Hiding away, in conjunction with our former enemy.
Very readable, mostly. There are sequences where I don‘t understand a thing... Lenie is a bystander a lot of the time, shunned not only by the other side, but also by her own people. We as readers often do not take part in the action, but look at what‘s happening from the outside, from her POV. I am not a fan of that way of story telling. But it‘s what it is, when reading from limited POVs, I guess.
I am not certain that I really understood what went on in this book. Yes, hiding away, conflict with the opposing inmates, revolution, mutation, a new infestation... Got that. Much head scratching. I also missed a stronger sense of being underwater. It almost did not feel as if they were spending time in the deep sea.
Seppuku
Emerging from the sea... This one more linear and with more traditional story telling at first. I really liked the new character, Taka.
Trigger warning:
I could have done without that part. It added nothing to the plot and made me uncomfortable. Was it just for the shock effect? Because as a plot point it was pretty pointless or at the most served as a tool for a info dump. It actually turned me off so much, that I lost my motivation to keep going.
Consequently I really struggled with the last 100 pages. I literally lost the plot. I couldn‘t grasp what was going on or why Ken and Lenie did what they were doing.
The big reveal at the end left me rather cold, I was glad to be finished and disappointed with the resolution of this trilogy. Did the final conflict really have to happen in the off? Clarke as a mere bystander did not make me happy either. She devolved into the chick on the side. She really did not gell for me in Seppuku. I understand that characters can change and develop, but I could not relate to Lenie’s progression.
I really liked the first book, it had a good plot and setting and a strong, convincing main character in Lenie Clarke. Maelstrom and Behemoth (ß-Max & Seppuku) were confusing over long stretches and hard to understand. I admit to skimming quite a bit of the techno babble. I think stopping after the first book would have been best.
How to rate this? Considering that I struggled to finish, had problems to follow the plot, disliked the character inconsistency of Lenie Clake and the gratuitous violence/torture, I can‘t really give this more than two stars.
————
In my headspace Noomi Rapace took over the role of Lenie Clarke.
A free version of this book(s) can be found here:
https://rifters.com/real/Behemoth.htm
Playlist:
Georg Friedrich Händel, Water Music
Tchaikovsky, Iolanta
Sergei Prokofiev
Igor Strawinsky
January 6, 2026
Świetne zakończenie trylogii po trochę słabszym drugim tomie. Bardzo ucieszył mnie powrót do motywu głębin z pierwszego tomu :)
December 20, 2024
Ken Lubin, you will always be famous 🫡
June 15, 2014
I found Peter Watts last year when I was desperately looking for some serious sub-surface science fiction. I stumbled upon "Starfish" - the first of the four/three in this series - which blew me away more or less. The book is simply excellent. Filled by thirst for more I soon thereafter got hold of the follow up "Maelstrom" which in return was more like a heavy punch in the face on the reader. It had nothing of the deep sea seductions or lure of its predecessor – mainly because the story took place more or less completely on dry (hence boring) land. At the time it was beyond me what Watts hade decided to destroy the perfect setting of his first book in this way and to turn it into a mere computer virus drama. Eventually, by reading his blog, I came to understand that the reason for him “killing Starfish” was the fact that Watts don’t seem tom be able to accept the fact that his first book had actually generated fans. So it appears he felt obliged to tell them (us) to go somewhere else instead.
Strange as it seems the copywriting on the third and fourth part of the series promise a return to the deep oceans. Therefore I had to read it. However it is not an easy thing getting hold of these latter parts if you look in the stores – they are, contrary to the first two parts, out of print. Poking around again at Mr. Watts blog the reason behind this fact is supposedly some conflict with the publisher. Eventually though I found out that Watts himself was generous enough to offer his whole backlist for free at his homepage.
So about a week ago I started reading “Behemoth” (that is part 3 and 4 together in the same volume). At first it was very nice to be able to once again dive down into the dark sadistic abyss. However the more I read the more I felt something was missing. It was no longer a submarine story, it was just a story taking place beneath the sea surface, and with that I mean that I miss a ton of descriptions. The characters do what they do, they come and go, fight, talk and other things just as if they were on land - in very few places of the text do you really get the feel of a deep sea venture. Also, on the whole, the plot does not really move forward. As a reader you don’t really get the feel of progression. In the end, I it’s hard to understand why Watts really didn’t accomplish more with his superb subsea setting.
The second part of “Behemoth” – that which was part 4 in the printed version (sorry Peter but I really can do understand why the publisher wanted to part the parts) – the scene once again return to a totally different plot, again on dry land. What’s even worse – the characters personality, especially Lenie Clarke’s, becomes totally warped in this piece. What used to be a depressed, sadistic and violent mind in the three prequels suddenly seem to be more like a fragile indecisive lady from the 1800’s. It doesn’t make any sense at all – at least not to me.
In the end what started as a brilliant submarine SciFi-plot is resolved in some deserted skyscraper located far from anything interesting. Peter Watts tries to blacken the story with some sadistic sex- and torture scenes, but quite honestly (and I’m not really very sensitive to these things) I wonder if he doesn’t misinterpret the effect of these scenes. The rest of series isn’t sadistic in this way really, so the way he treats these things in book four seem to me to be quite out of place – almost out of being the civilized thing to write. Some scenes could have been made just as obvious with other words and descriptions.
In the end this series is for me a bit like a rollercoaster. You start at the very top in “Starfish”, then you hit the bottom in “Maelstrom”, go up a bit again in “Behemoth part 1” and then just kind of flatten out in the last part. Well, well, I have no idea if this review made sense to anyone else. As a last remark, Peter Watts is a very good writer; sometimes he’s just superb on the detail and depth of the reality check – on the other hand, story wise, one can whish for a little bit more now and then.
Strange as it seems the copywriting on the third and fourth part of the series promise a return to the deep oceans. Therefore I had to read it. However it is not an easy thing getting hold of these latter parts if you look in the stores – they are, contrary to the first two parts, out of print. Poking around again at Mr. Watts blog the reason behind this fact is supposedly some conflict with the publisher. Eventually though I found out that Watts himself was generous enough to offer his whole backlist for free at his homepage.
So about a week ago I started reading “Behemoth” (that is part 3 and 4 together in the same volume). At first it was very nice to be able to once again dive down into the dark sadistic abyss. However the more I read the more I felt something was missing. It was no longer a submarine story, it was just a story taking place beneath the sea surface, and with that I mean that I miss a ton of descriptions. The characters do what they do, they come and go, fight, talk and other things just as if they were on land - in very few places of the text do you really get the feel of a deep sea venture. Also, on the whole, the plot does not really move forward. As a reader you don’t really get the feel of progression. In the end, I it’s hard to understand why Watts really didn’t accomplish more with his superb subsea setting.
The second part of “Behemoth” – that which was part 4 in the printed version (sorry Peter but I really can do understand why the publisher wanted to part the parts) – the scene once again return to a totally different plot, again on dry land. What’s even worse – the characters personality, especially Lenie Clarke’s, becomes totally warped in this piece. What used to be a depressed, sadistic and violent mind in the three prequels suddenly seem to be more like a fragile indecisive lady from the 1800’s. It doesn’t make any sense at all – at least not to me.
In the end what started as a brilliant submarine SciFi-plot is resolved in some deserted skyscraper located far from anything interesting. Peter Watts tries to blacken the story with some sadistic sex- and torture scenes, but quite honestly (and I’m not really very sensitive to these things) I wonder if he doesn’t misinterpret the effect of these scenes. The rest of series isn’t sadistic in this way really, so the way he treats these things in book four seem to me to be quite out of place – almost out of being the civilized thing to write. Some scenes could have been made just as obvious with other words and descriptions.
In the end this series is for me a bit like a rollercoaster. You start at the very top in “Starfish”, then you hit the bottom in “Maelstrom”, go up a bit again in “Behemoth part 1” and then just kind of flatten out in the last part. Well, well, I have no idea if this review made sense to anyone else. As a last remark, Peter Watts is a very good writer; sometimes he’s just superb on the detail and depth of the reality check – on the other hand, story wise, one can whish for a little bit more now and then.
June 24, 2020
Dear authors, if you want to write torture/snuff porn then write torture/snuff porn, publish it as torture/snuff porn, and market it to people who want to read torture/snuff porn. Don't hide it 75% into a 600 page book to surprise your readers. And yeah, it is torture/snuff porn, about 3 chapters of it, it adds absolutely nothing to the story or character development. Or maybe it does, who knows. I am not reading it, much like I am not going to stick my hand into an open septic tank in hope there are presents on the bottom.
That out of the way, lets get to the rest of the book. Even before we took the dip into the sewer that is Achilles' fun time, I was becoming irritated with the constant sexual violence. For some reason authors seem to think that you can just sprinkle descriptions of rape and references to rape all over their plot like some kind of plot enhancers, hoping to make the readers' eyes feel all tingly in response. Maybe they think they are drawing attention to the problem, maybe their cause is noble. Unfortunately, it has the exact opposite effect by cheapening the traumatic event. No, hacking satellites is not raping them. No, enjoying rough sex is not enjoying rape. Stop it.
But even if we ignore Watts' inexplicable sharp turn into torture porn, the rest of the book is a mess. Character motivation, out the window. What is Lenie even doing now? Solutions to big problems are all deus ex machina pulled out of the ass end of a newly introduced character. Things happen. Why? Why not! And maybe I am being influenced by all the violence directed towards female characters but I feel like all the female characters in the books are the ones to blame for stupid mistakes. Like somehow it is all their fault, and if they would just not been so dumb everything would be fine. Then again it might not be just female characters, but all the characters had their IQ slashed in half and started passing around the idiot ball.
I cannot believe that this steaming pile came from someone who wrote Blindsight. I am so disgusted over it, that I doubt I will pick up another book by Watts again. Who knows, maybe surprise torture scenes are just his thing and he is just waiting to spring it on everyone again. I don't want to chance it.
That out of the way, lets get to the rest of the book. Even before we took the dip into the sewer that is Achilles' fun time, I was becoming irritated with the constant sexual violence. For some reason authors seem to think that you can just sprinkle descriptions of rape and references to rape all over their plot like some kind of plot enhancers, hoping to make the readers' eyes feel all tingly in response. Maybe they think they are drawing attention to the problem, maybe their cause is noble. Unfortunately, it has the exact opposite effect by cheapening the traumatic event. No, hacking satellites is not raping them. No, enjoying rough sex is not enjoying rape. Stop it.
But even if we ignore Watts' inexplicable sharp turn into torture porn, the rest of the book is a mess. Character motivation, out the window. What is Lenie even doing now? Solutions to big problems are all deus ex machina pulled out of the ass end of a newly introduced character. Things happen. Why? Why not! And maybe I am being influenced by all the violence directed towards female characters but I feel like all the female characters in the books are the ones to blame for stupid mistakes. Like somehow it is all their fault, and if they would just not been so dumb everything would be fine. Then again it might not be just female characters, but all the characters had their IQ slashed in half and started passing around the idiot ball.
I cannot believe that this steaming pile came from someone who wrote Blindsight. I am so disgusted over it, that I doubt I will pick up another book by Watts again. Who knows, maybe surprise torture scenes are just his thing and he is just waiting to spring it on everyone again. I don't want to chance it.
August 12, 2012
I have the version with both books in a single copy.
While it is nice to see the ending of the series, and a ray of hope for the future, this was the worst book in the series in my opinion.
It hits like the ending to the remake of House on Haunted Hill. Great effects and tension throughout the movie till the end...when they are chased by a badly rendered ink blot. One sees that and thinks that it was going so well, what the hell happened?
The rifters seem to have gone crazy with paranoia waiting to explode. Once a mutated virus comes into play they are set off. I guess the argument could be made that it makes sense with really deranged personalities, but the entire group acts like an insane asylum for murderous psychotics on PCP (and access to explosives). Lenie seems completely paralyzed with doubt, which is understandable given she ended the world, but it gets old very quickly. It was really hard to read though, and became a hard slog. I felt this part of the story was harder to believe (in terms of characterization) then plastic joke vomit.
The corpses seem to act in a pretty rational way when confronted with murderous lunatics with the power to kill them all with itchy trigger fingers. Such as when they give medical aid to people to have their doctors brutally beaten and threatened. Then have their leader brutally murdered while trying for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. After that there is no consequence except the rifter leaders sending themselves on (presumably) a one way mission to see the world. Those people they didn't really listen to in the first place.
When the rifters come onto land and investigate what is going on, it gets more interesting. You get to see what has transpired, and they work towards saving what they have destroyed. It's still dark and depressing like the rest of the series, but in new locations.
The worst story line was the chief lawbreaker in Rio. Every one of his chapters were either psychotically deranged murder porn, or glimpses into the past of a twisted sociopath. It went from adding depth in the second book, to nauseating and frustrating in the third. A few chapters of that story line added knowledge of what was going on, more then half could go and make a much better story.
At least a story where you don't end up in the bathroom scrubbing yourself down with borax and drinking turpentine to kill the brain cells that remember the passages.
While it is nice to see the ending of the series, and a ray of hope for the future, this was the worst book in the series in my opinion.
It hits like the ending to the remake of House on Haunted Hill. Great effects and tension throughout the movie till the end...when they are chased by a badly rendered ink blot. One sees that and thinks that it was going so well, what the hell happened?
The rifters seem to have gone crazy with paranoia waiting to explode. Once a mutated virus comes into play they are set off. I guess the argument could be made that it makes sense with really deranged personalities, but the entire group acts like an insane asylum for murderous psychotics on PCP (and access to explosives). Lenie seems completely paralyzed with doubt, which is understandable given she ended the world, but it gets old very quickly. It was really hard to read though, and became a hard slog. I felt this part of the story was harder to believe (in terms of characterization) then plastic joke vomit.
The corpses seem to act in a pretty rational way when confronted with murderous lunatics with the power to kill them all with itchy trigger fingers. Such as when they give medical aid to people to have their doctors brutally beaten and threatened. Then have their leader brutally murdered while trying for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. After that there is no consequence except the rifter leaders sending themselves on (presumably) a one way mission to see the world. Those people they didn't really listen to in the first place.
When the rifters come onto land and investigate what is going on, it gets more interesting. You get to see what has transpired, and they work towards saving what they have destroyed. It's still dark and depressing like the rest of the series, but in new locations.
The worst story line was the chief lawbreaker in Rio. Every one of his chapters were either psychotically deranged murder porn, or glimpses into the past of a twisted sociopath. It went from adding depth in the second book, to nauseating and frustrating in the third. A few chapters of that story line added knowledge of what was going on, more then half could go and make a much better story.
At least a story where you don't end up in the bathroom scrubbing yourself down with borax and drinking turpentine to kill the brain cells that remember the passages.
April 7, 2016
Too long, too bloated, missing the tight tension of the previous two. Some of the same tricks of the preceding volumes are tried on again, with less impressive results. I wanted to like this, and was even mostly able to ignore or stomach the gratuitous content, but felt that the series spluttered to an inglorious conclusion.
February 10, 2023
Z naprawdę dobrego początku doszliśmy do tego.. Straszny zawód.
Jestem strasznie wynudzona i strasznie zniesmaczona. Mnóstwo przekleństw, zrobił się z tego jeden wielki erotyk. PRZYKRE.
Tu już nawet nie chodzi o fabułę, zakończenie, czy postacie, a o całą otoczkę i język, którym to napisano. Ten tekst potrzebuje konkretnej korekty.
1,5/5
Jestem strasznie wynudzona i strasznie zniesmaczona. Mnóstwo przekleństw, zrobił się z tego jeden wielki erotyk. PRZYKRE.
Tu już nawet nie chodzi o fabułę, zakończenie, czy postacie, a o całą otoczkę i język, którym to napisano. Ten tekst potrzebuje konkretnej korekty.
1,5/5
freebies
August 12, 2018You can download the whole Rifters series for free from the author's website here: http://www.rifters.com/real/shorts.htm
December 29, 2025
3.5
Trylogia skończona. I powiem szczerze że czytało mi się lepiej niż myślałem, że będzie. Może nie jest to jakaś bardzo lubiana przeze mnie seria, ale pomysły Watts miał fajne.
Trylogia skończona. I powiem szczerze że czytało mi się lepiej niż myślałem, że będzie. Może nie jest to jakaś bardzo lubiana przeze mnie seria, ale pomysły Watts miał fajne.
April 22, 2025
It's a bit hard to write this but here goes: this would have been a not so great novel if it wasn't the ending of a great series. Don't get me wrong - this still is a decent book much of the potential appreciation depends on the previous ones. I know this is true for most fantasty/sf book series but in this case it is more so.
I liked the return to the claustrophobic underwater, I liked the tension between the two groups and as ever I adored the nerdy-scientific-extrapolated elements. I was not so hot for the second part and was for sure quite cold for the Achilles Desjardins arc.
I liked the return to the claustrophobic underwater, I liked the tension between the two groups and as ever I adored the nerdy-scientific-extrapolated elements. I was not so hot for the second part and was for sure quite cold for the Achilles Desjardins arc.
May 6, 2020
"You may agree with Publisher's Weekly and call this the capstone to one of the major works of hard-sf in the new century. Or you may side with Kirkus and dismiss it as horrific porn, rife with relentlessly clinical scenes of sexual torture. (Hell, you may even decide they're both right.)"
Peter Watts, 2007
"I disagree with both assessments. Yes, it's hard-sf but its not 'accessible' enough to make it a 'major work'. And the 'horrific porn' isn't that gratuitous (the guy is a real bastard and I've read worse). But thanks for the free trilogy!"
Ziggy Nixon, 2020
3 stars for this book (but only barely this time) and 3 1/2 for the series as a whole. If you like HARD sci-fi and I'm talking just blow your brain away fiction mixed in with whatever punk genre you want to include, then this is a good one for you. Me? I chugged a lot of aspirin along the way.
OK, kids, here we go: I feel that a good deal of leeway is required in no small part - AGAIN - because the author gave us access to these books at no cost. Truth be told, I think I'd be kind of pissed off if I had paid for them, if for no other reason because they were nothing like I expected and certainly nothing like I thought I was getting after reading the first pages of "Starfish (Rifters #1)" many many hours ago. This last chapter was certainly the weakest of the trilogy which is a shame because there was a lot of potential just left dangling like old bait on an abandoned fishing line... ooo, that one I like! That being said, it will be a LONG TIME before I forget these books!
Watts makes a rather passionate point before this book starts that he wanted this final chapter of his trilogy presented as ONE book, where in the past apparently the publishers had split it in two. I disagree with both strategies. The reason for this is simply that even clocking in at around 480 pages of actual STORY (never believe the page counters here folks), I felt that Watts severely rushed things. Painfully so in parts. So my point is simply that if the publishers had in the past insisted on making this a quadrology, I would have also insisted that Watts fill in the bits that would leave readers like yours truly feeling definitely cheated. My arguments / rating notes / analysis of the small amount of blood still flowing from me eyes and ears :
OK, first and foremost, I didn't enjoy the constant repetition (was it repetition, because I dunno???) of evolution and survival that was presented as a quasi-self-aware computer/internet-like persona that appeared throughout the series. Lines of code do NOT deserve a close-up from the get go! From the first chapter of this trilogy, it was just too much, and it only got more bizarre as things went through their own billionth level of evolution (where apparently, these codes also mate and have babies and all kinds of stuff like that...). Truth be told, I feel like I was reading a prepared thesis from a topic that I had neither interest in nor ever been made to learn about. Call it something like Electrical Engineering or something else equally horrific to my way of looking at the planet and beyond. It was distracting, it hurt the flow and as we weren't ever even that involved with the actual characters through this metaphoric approach, I just didn't get it. At all. And that's coming from a guy that ALWAYS reads the manuals on the new soft- or hardware he buys!
Secondly, Watts leaves so much potential just lying there on the floor of the Atlantic about 40-45% through with this combined edition (what I assume was the end of the previous publisher-dictated 'pause'). A literal war between two factions is taking place... and yet within mere paragraphs its just over and we're supposed to accept that a random event has occurred to re-unify everyone in question (and obviously send us on towards the 2nd half of the book)? This came across as really frustrating to me, particularly as the final resolution of 'Atlantis' occurs only then at the end of the book in a brief aside during what should have been a much more satisfying final showdown (it wasn't). This really pushed the first half of the book for me off a precipice that took a long time - and along a very unrelated book-length 'tangent' - to recover from!
Finally - or maybe this is the same point as above - the dangling and unfulfilled questions that flowed in from book 1 through the end of this book just drove me nuts. There's just too many to list, from the fate of the original rifters (heck, the author even names one of them after a good friend he tells us) to random players that we meet long enough to only watch die. Is Alyx still just hanging around, naked, raped, yet somehow self-satisfied with her revelations about the future of all life on Earth (we assume)? Who is responsible for that anyway? Again, did that really just happen to all those Rifters and corpses in Atlantis like Achilles said? What about the kid on the submarine? He's all better still? And moving forwards. Does the world or even America survive? Heck, where the fuck do the mutant dogs suddenly come from? Sheesh! I'm just left shaking my head at all the things I'll - eventually - fill in myself.
HAVING SAID ALL THIS: it's still a fairly entertaining book even if I didn't think this chapter was really all that well-written per se. And yes, Watts is perhaps one of the most INTELLECTUAL writers I've ever come across. I'm no dummy (don't even ask what my PhD is in, but suffice to say I could at least follow the chemistry) but this was a real challenge. It's BOTH a fascinating and yet horrifying tale of where we very well might end up ... and that's not just the 9th week of quarantine talking! I just wish somewhere along the way I had been able to care a little more about any of these characters - no, Lenie/Laurie, you did not redeem yourself AT ALL - or even find that they had a shred of decency in them. But for whatever they manage to do - or perhaps better said undo - by the end of the day, they're all still just bastards soaked in bastard sauce. No über-quick fight scene at the end could make up for ANYTHING that's gone on before.
Maybe that's what we're supposed to take away from all this. That maybe we'll all be lucky if the shredders ever do manifest themselves in the real world one day. Good luck with that. Stay healthy.
Peter Watts, 2007
"I disagree with both assessments. Yes, it's hard-sf but its not 'accessible' enough to make it a 'major work'. And the 'horrific porn' isn't that gratuitous (the guy is a real bastard and I've read worse). But thanks for the free trilogy!"
Ziggy Nixon, 2020
3 stars for this book (but only barely this time) and 3 1/2 for the series as a whole. If you like HARD sci-fi and I'm talking just blow your brain away fiction mixed in with whatever punk genre you want to include, then this is a good one for you. Me? I chugged a lot of aspirin along the way.
OK, kids, here we go: I feel that a good deal of leeway is required in no small part - AGAIN - because the author gave us access to these books at no cost. Truth be told, I think I'd be kind of pissed off if I had paid for them, if for no other reason because they were nothing like I expected and certainly nothing like I thought I was getting after reading the first pages of "Starfish (Rifters #1)" many many hours ago. This last chapter was certainly the weakest of the trilogy which is a shame because there was a lot of potential just left dangling like old bait on an abandoned fishing line... ooo, that one I like! That being said, it will be a LONG TIME before I forget these books!
Watts makes a rather passionate point before this book starts that he wanted this final chapter of his trilogy presented as ONE book, where in the past apparently the publishers had split it in two. I disagree with both strategies. The reason for this is simply that even clocking in at around 480 pages of actual STORY (never believe the page counters here folks), I felt that Watts severely rushed things. Painfully so in parts. So my point is simply that if the publishers had in the past insisted on making this a quadrology, I would have also insisted that Watts fill in the bits that would leave readers like yours truly feeling definitely cheated. My arguments / rating notes / analysis of the small amount of blood still flowing from me eyes and ears :
OK, first and foremost, I didn't enjoy the constant repetition (was it repetition, because I dunno???) of evolution and survival that was presented as a quasi-self-aware computer/internet-like persona that appeared throughout the series. Lines of code do NOT deserve a close-up from the get go! From the first chapter of this trilogy, it was just too much, and it only got more bizarre as things went through their own billionth level of evolution (where apparently, these codes also mate and have babies and all kinds of stuff like that...). Truth be told, I feel like I was reading a prepared thesis from a topic that I had neither interest in nor ever been made to learn about. Call it something like Electrical Engineering or something else equally horrific to my way of looking at the planet and beyond. It was distracting, it hurt the flow and as we weren't ever even that involved with the actual characters through this metaphoric approach, I just didn't get it. At all. And that's coming from a guy that ALWAYS reads the manuals on the new soft- or hardware he buys!
Secondly, Watts leaves so much potential just lying there on the floor of the Atlantic about 40-45% through with this combined edition (what I assume was the end of the previous publisher-dictated 'pause'). A literal war between two factions is taking place... and yet within mere paragraphs its just over and we're supposed to accept that a random event has occurred to re-unify everyone in question (and obviously send us on towards the 2nd half of the book)? This came across as really frustrating to me, particularly as the final resolution of 'Atlantis' occurs only then at the end of the book in a brief aside during what should have been a much more satisfying final showdown (it wasn't). This really pushed the first half of the book for me off a precipice that took a long time - and along a very unrelated book-length 'tangent' - to recover from!
Finally - or maybe this is the same point as above - the dangling and unfulfilled questions that flowed in from book 1 through the end of this book just drove me nuts. There's just too many to list, from the fate of the original rifters (heck, the author even names one of them after a good friend he tells us) to random players that we meet long enough to only watch die. Is Alyx still just hanging around, naked, raped, yet somehow self-satisfied with her revelations about the future of all life on Earth (we assume)? Who is responsible for that anyway? Again, did that really just happen to all those Rifters and corpses in Atlantis like Achilles said? What about the kid on the submarine? He's all better still? And moving forwards. Does the world or even America survive? Heck, where the fuck do the mutant dogs suddenly come from? Sheesh! I'm just left shaking my head at all the things I'll - eventually - fill in myself.
HAVING SAID ALL THIS: it's still a fairly entertaining book even if I didn't think this chapter was really all that well-written per se. And yes, Watts is perhaps one of the most INTELLECTUAL writers I've ever come across. I'm no dummy (don't even ask what my PhD is in, but suffice to say I could at least follow the chemistry) but this was a real challenge. It's BOTH a fascinating and yet horrifying tale of where we very well might end up ... and that's not just the 9th week of quarantine talking! I just wish somewhere along the way I had been able to care a little more about any of these characters - no, Lenie/Laurie, you did not redeem yourself AT ALL - or even find that they had a shred of decency in them. But for whatever they manage to do - or perhaps better said undo - by the end of the day, they're all still just bastards soaked in bastard sauce. No über-quick fight scene at the end could make up for ANYTHING that's gone on before.
Maybe that's what we're supposed to take away from all this. That maybe we'll all be lucky if the shredders ever do manifest themselves in the real world one day. Good luck with that. Stay healthy.
Read
August 17, 2010I can't bring myself to give this book a star rating, although it probably deserves 4 or 5. It was too difficult to read. There is a lot of graphic sexual violence. I had nightmares and felt physically sick at times. Yet I couldn't stop reading because I had to find out what happened to the characters I had come to care about in the first two books of the trilogy. It's a well crafted & well written story, but if I'd known how it would affect me, I might not have started the first one.
April 3, 2021
The Rifters trilogy started so well, with some of the finest claustrophobic existential horror I have read, then going on to some tense action and world building, but now it comes to a disappointing end.
The writing holds up stylistically, but Behemoth needs an editor daring to be ruthless in pruning the meandering plot. I was on the verge on losing interest several times due to the lack of focus and in the end I feel rather let down.
The writing holds up stylistically, but Behemoth needs an editor daring to be ruthless in pruning the meandering plot. I was on the verge on losing interest several times due to the lack of focus and in the end I feel rather let down.
April 18, 2014
How it's possible that such an amazing hard sci-fi writer like Peter Watts spoiled such brilliant story started in Starfish? Behemoth is not entertaining anymore. Just poorly written chaotic plots and talking "persons" without perception of real human beings. I can't feel Lenie Clarke motives anymore. It's very sad, but third part of this incredible trilogy hit the bottom and I gave up.
July 19, 2025
Złudna nadzieja
Kiedy sięgnąłem po Behemota, wciąż żywiłem nadzieję, że będzie to książka przynajmniej na poziomie Rozgwiazdy, którą naprawdę polubiłem. Pierwsze strony były obiecujące jeszcze nie wiedziałem, co mnie czeka, ale już od samego początku czułem, że to coś innego. Jednak w miarę jak fabuła się rozwijała, szybko straciłem entuzjazm. Zamiast wciągającej akcji, zostałem zalany nudny za bardzo technicznym naukowym bełkotem o biochemii, cyklu Krebsa, genotypach i mitochondriach. Tak, Watts jest biologiem morskim, ale naprawdę nie musiałem znać wszystkich szczegółów o białkach, żeby zrozumieć, co się dzieje w tej książce. Czułem się, jakbym czytał podręcznik do biologii morskiej, a nie powieść science fiction. Nawet jeśli lubię naukę, to tutaj miałem poczucie, że autor zbyt mocno skupił się na technicznych szczegółach, zapominając o płynnej narracji i zainteresowaniu czytelnika.
Tułaczka po post-apokaliptycznym świecie
Kiedy bohaterowie wychodzą na brzeg, poczułem, że w końcu zacznie się coś dziać. Ale nie. Zamiast dynamicznej akcji, zaczęła się długa i nużąca tułaczka po post-apokaliptycznym USA. Przemieszczali się z miejsca na miejsce, ale nie działo się zupełnie nic. Gdzieś tam w tle pojawiały się jakieś postacie i wątki, które niby miały coś wnosić, ale ostatecznie czułem się, jakbym po prostu wiódł życie tych postaci. Kiedy przez setki stron nie dzieje się praktycznie nic, zaczynasz się zastanawiać, czy to w ogóle ma sens. Zamiast napięcia, pojawiła się monotonia, która zaczęła mnie męczyć. Czułem się, jakbym czytał tę książkę tylko dlatego, że zacząłem ją od pierwszego tomu, ale nic więcej już mnie nie trzymało.
Bohaterowie
No właśnie. Bohaterowie, których tak ceniłem w poprzednich częściach, stali się kompletnie nieznośni. Zamiast ludzi złożonych i skomplikowanych, nagle pojawiły się postacie, które można by określić mianem po prostu psychopatów. Z każdym rozdziałem było coraz gorzej. Ich motywacje były niejasne, a często wyciągnięte na siłę. I to wcale nie w sensie, że były trudne do zrozumienia, a raczej w sensie, że nie miały sensu. Przypuszczam, że Watts chciał w ten sposób pokazać złożoność postaci, ale ostatecznie zamiast tego zmarnował potencjał, bo bohaterowie stali się po prostu niewiarygodni. W poprzednich tomach też byli socjolopatyczny czy psychopatyczny ale dało się ich rozumiem tutaj jużnie.
A na dodatek przemoc. Po pewnym czasie zaczęła mi się wydawać po prostu zbędna. O ile poprzednie części miały swoje brutalne momenty, to Behemot poszedł w stronę, która była po prostu szokująca dla samego szokowania. Czytałem o torturach, perwersyjnych scenach i okrucieństwie, które w zasadzie nic nie wnosiło. Zamiast zgłębiać psychikę postaci, Watts postanowił wrzucić czytelnika w najbardziej brutalny i drastyczny sposób. Czułem się, jakby autor próbował mnie przekonać, że życie po apokalipsie musi być pełne okrucieństwa i bezwzględności ale na dłuższą metę to tylko męczyło i obrzydzało.
Nie chodziło o jakieś głębokie pytania o naturę człowieka, nie chodziło o sens przemiany bohaterów. Watts wrzucił nas w świat, w którym przemoc była celem samym w sobie. Tortury, perwersje, psychopatyczne zachowania. Na początku starałem się to zrozumieć, jak próbę ukazania brutalności, ale z każdą stroną zaczynałem dostrzegać, że to już nie miało żadnego sensu. To przestawało być psychologiczną głębią, a zaczynało przypominać nudne pastwienie się nad postaciami, które nie miały już nic do powiedzenia.
Szybki strzał, brak satysfakcji
A potem nadszedł finał. Jeśli po tej całej nużącej akcji spodziewałem się jakiegoś emocjonującego zakończenia, to mogłem się tylko rozczarować. Po setkach stron „coś się dzieje, ale nic się nie dzieje” Watts serwuje mi zakończenie, które było błyskawiczne jak wybuch na tyle szybkie, że nie zdążyłem się zorientować, kiedy to się stało. Nie było żadnego oczekiwanego „wow”, żadnej kulminacji, niczego, co dałoby mi satysfakcję. Był tylko… koniec. I to bez epilogu, bez domknięcia historii. Jakby autor po prostu machnął ręką i powiedział: „No dobra, już po wszystkim”..
Chociaż Behemot nie jest książką całkowicie złą, to niestety spełniła moje najgorsze obawy. Pierwszy tom trylogii był świetny, drugi jeszcze dawał radę, ale trzeci? Po prostu zawiódł. Zbyt dużo naukowego bełkotu, za mało głębi w postaciach, zbyt monotonna akcja i kompletnie niezadowalające zakończenie. Myślałem, że Watts zakończy trylogię w wielkim stylu, ale zamiast tego zmarnował potencjał, który miał w rękach. Dla mnie to już była tylko próba przebrnięcia przez książkę, zamiast cieszenia się nią. Bez epilogu, bez satysfakcji. To koniec, którego nie chciałem.
Kiedy sięgnąłem po Behemota, wciąż żywiłem nadzieję, że będzie to książka przynajmniej na poziomie Rozgwiazdy, którą naprawdę polubiłem. Pierwsze strony były obiecujące jeszcze nie wiedziałem, co mnie czeka, ale już od samego początku czułem, że to coś innego. Jednak w miarę jak fabuła się rozwijała, szybko straciłem entuzjazm. Zamiast wciągającej akcji, zostałem zalany nudny za bardzo technicznym naukowym bełkotem o biochemii, cyklu Krebsa, genotypach i mitochondriach. Tak, Watts jest biologiem morskim, ale naprawdę nie musiałem znać wszystkich szczegółów o białkach, żeby zrozumieć, co się dzieje w tej książce. Czułem się, jakbym czytał podręcznik do biologii morskiej, a nie powieść science fiction. Nawet jeśli lubię naukę, to tutaj miałem poczucie, że autor zbyt mocno skupił się na technicznych szczegółach, zapominając o płynnej narracji i zainteresowaniu czytelnika.
Tułaczka po post-apokaliptycznym świecie
Kiedy bohaterowie wychodzą na brzeg, poczułem, że w końcu zacznie się coś dziać. Ale nie. Zamiast dynamicznej akcji, zaczęła się długa i nużąca tułaczka po post-apokaliptycznym USA. Przemieszczali się z miejsca na miejsce, ale nie działo się zupełnie nic. Gdzieś tam w tle pojawiały się jakieś postacie i wątki, które niby miały coś wnosić, ale ostatecznie czułem się, jakbym po prostu wiódł życie tych postaci. Kiedy przez setki stron nie dzieje się praktycznie nic, zaczynasz się zastanawiać, czy to w ogóle ma sens. Zamiast napięcia, pojawiła się monotonia, która zaczęła mnie męczyć. Czułem się, jakbym czytał tę książkę tylko dlatego, że zacząłem ją od pierwszego tomu, ale nic więcej już mnie nie trzymało.
Bohaterowie
No właśnie. Bohaterowie, których tak ceniłem w poprzednich częściach, stali się kompletnie nieznośni. Zamiast ludzi złożonych i skomplikowanych, nagle pojawiły się postacie, które można by określić mianem po prostu psychopatów. Z każdym rozdziałem było coraz gorzej. Ich motywacje były niejasne, a często wyciągnięte na siłę. I to wcale nie w sensie, że były trudne do zrozumienia, a raczej w sensie, że nie miały sensu. Przypuszczam, że Watts chciał w ten sposób pokazać złożoność postaci, ale ostatecznie zamiast tego zmarnował potencjał, bo bohaterowie stali się po prostu niewiarygodni. W poprzednich tomach też byli socjolopatyczny czy psychopatyczny ale dało się ich rozumiem tutaj jużnie.
A na dodatek przemoc. Po pewnym czasie zaczęła mi się wydawać po prostu zbędna. O ile poprzednie części miały swoje brutalne momenty, to Behemot poszedł w stronę, która była po prostu szokująca dla samego szokowania. Czytałem o torturach, perwersyjnych scenach i okrucieństwie, które w zasadzie nic nie wnosiło. Zamiast zgłębiać psychikę postaci, Watts postanowił wrzucić czytelnika w najbardziej brutalny i drastyczny sposób. Czułem się, jakby autor próbował mnie przekonać, że życie po apokalipsie musi być pełne okrucieństwa i bezwzględności ale na dłuższą metę to tylko męczyło i obrzydzało.
Nie chodziło o jakieś głębokie pytania o naturę człowieka, nie chodziło o sens przemiany bohaterów. Watts wrzucił nas w świat, w którym przemoc była celem samym w sobie. Tortury, perwersje, psychopatyczne zachowania. Na początku starałem się to zrozumieć, jak próbę ukazania brutalności, ale z każdą stroną zaczynałem dostrzegać, że to już nie miało żadnego sensu. To przestawało być psychologiczną głębią, a zaczynało przypominać nudne pastwienie się nad postaciami, które nie miały już nic do powiedzenia.
Szybki strzał, brak satysfakcji
A potem nadszedł finał. Jeśli po tej całej nużącej akcji spodziewałem się jakiegoś emocjonującego zakończenia, to mogłem się tylko rozczarować. Po setkach stron „coś się dzieje, ale nic się nie dzieje” Watts serwuje mi zakończenie, które było błyskawiczne jak wybuch na tyle szybkie, że nie zdążyłem się zorientować, kiedy to się stało. Nie było żadnego oczekiwanego „wow”, żadnej kulminacji, niczego, co dałoby mi satysfakcję. Był tylko… koniec. I to bez epilogu, bez domknięcia historii. Jakby autor po prostu machnął ręką i powiedział: „No dobra, już po wszystkim”..
Chociaż Behemot nie jest książką całkowicie złą, to niestety spełniła moje najgorsze obawy. Pierwszy tom trylogii był świetny, drugi jeszcze dawał radę, ale trzeci? Po prostu zawiódł. Zbyt dużo naukowego bełkotu, za mało głębi w postaciach, zbyt monotonna akcja i kompletnie niezadowalające zakończenie. Myślałem, że Watts zakończy trylogię w wielkim stylu, ale zamiast tego zmarnował potencjał, który miał w rękach. Dla mnie to już była tylko próba przebrnięcia przez książkę, zamiast cieszenia się nią. Bez epilogu, bez satysfakcji. To koniec, którego nie chciałem.
February 4, 2023
Stipriausia ir labiausiai motyvuota trilogijos knyga. Pilna abejingo susidorojimo, bet tokia žmogiška. Pilna tragedijos ir kvailybės, bet... tokia žmogiška. Pilna iškrypimo ir pykčio, bet.. tokia žmogiška. #PeterWatts vėl sugebėjo į technoromaną sudėti tiek daug žmogiškumo, kad kartais jo atrodo... per daug. Nes juk ir ne visai jau žmonės tie jo veikėjai, bet matyt beždžionė sėdinti mumyse nesikeis nei kai skrisim tarp žvaigždžių, nei kai iš mūsų kūno mėsos bus likusios tik smegenys. #Recom #Rifters #Behemot
August 9, 2020
I'm not even sure what was missing here. Watts' world is still full of fascinating ideas and details. Lubin is still a beast. Achilles is still a maniac. Lenie is still the boring self pitying shithead she always were.
Should have been two books, and I'm not saying cut the third, just compress all of this into two.
Should have been two books, and I'm not saying cut the third, just compress all of this into two.
September 29, 2021
An apocalypse in motion made for compelling reading - I wasn't that much of a fan of the ending (and the Achilles storyline had some elements I thought were gratuitous and out of tone from the rest of the series) but a great read overall - a lot less hard SF than a lot of his other books as well (especially compared to Blindsight).
October 31, 2024
God was this hard to get through. I really enjoyed the first novel in this series (starfish), but damn was I ready for this to be over throughout reading it. Some disgusting side tangents that were not necessary for the plot, the main character became a whiney side kick, and.. ya, didnt really see where it was going. I would highly recommend reading the first one as a stand alone.
April 22, 2018
Satisfying wind-up of the series. Typos were distracting in the later half of the book.
January 3, 2020
Similarly to Echopraxia, this didn't reach the heights nor give a satisfying conclusion to any character arcs.
January 31, 2022
The first two books are amazing, but this one just feels too raw.
May 15, 2023
The torture porn really put me off and the characters were plenty unlikable I find it hard to care for any of them.
April 18, 2024
Pierwsza część rozwaliła mi mózg. Druga była ciekawa. Ten ostatni tom to domęczyłam jakimś nadludzkim wysiłkiem.
March 8, 2025
Put away two thirds through. Cannot and will not care. A disappointment
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