Classic Trash discussion

Blindsight by Peter Watts is a Buddy Read and discussion will begin in September and last the entire month. Please feel free to join in, even if you did not initially sign up for it.

Please wait until September to post your comments about it here.

I wanted to read this book because it kept coming up on lists of SF books that had the most alien of aliens. I don't read much Hard SF, so I thought reading it in a book group might be a good idea, especially if I'd have a hard time understanding it.

I actually started the book last week because it came in on hold early at my library. It's not as difficult of a read as I thought it would be. The alien in it is indeed very "alien" when compared to humans, and the plot of the story is the crew from Earth trying to communicate with it.

I will say that the pace picks up alot once you get to the section in the book entitled "Rorschach" (around pg. 138), so your reading patience will be rewarded.

I just put it on hold!

Sarah wrote: "I just put it on hold!"

That's good news!

Ok there’s a lot going on here. This reminds me a lot of the 3 Body Problem as far as narrative goes. I recently heard the term “Starfish Alien” which describes an alien race so different from ours that it cannot be comprehended by human kind. There’s an old Russian novel called Solaris that addresses this perfectly. This book is unique, though, as the humans are so strange that it almost seems like they are the alien 👽 race.

Wow, you got the book pretty quickly!

Yes, lots going on. That’s why I wanted to read it in a discussion group. I’m sure some of it went over my head.

I’ve read and enjoyed Solaris before. I kind of like SF that has incomprehensible aliens in it.

In the Afterward part of the book, Watts says he really wanted to discuss consciousness in the plot. So I guess he’s showing consciousness -or the lack of - in the alien and in the human crew. I guess if you send such a diverse crew to deal with the alien, maybe one of them can relate with/comprehend it,

How far are you into the book? I know there aren't chapter numbers (which I would've liked), but perhaps you could give a page number or % to show where you are. I'm finished with the book and don't want to spoil anything by discussing plot points too soon.

Also, what do you think of the vampire? Is it too much to put in the book?

For those who have read this book before, or just currently reading along:

What was your favorite part of the book? The characters, the alien, the concepts discussed - or something else?

I think I liked the concepts most, especially the questions ahout consciousness.

The vampire was a little over the top. He would have been a more interesting character if he was a little more flat. I’m fascinated by the whole “Chinese Room” concept. It makes me think of modern AI systems and how we tend to anthropomorphize them. I think i might read the sequel - it’s available right now at my library.

Sarah,

I wasn’t that interested in the vampire. I think he was just there to show another type of consciousness - a psychopathic intelligence.

I did like the Chinese Room discussion. You mention AI. When I was reading, I first thought Rorschach was an AI program.. It was so very alien, I guess I still have a hard time thinking it was a living being.

You can post some general thoughts about Echopraxia here, Sarah. I have heard that some readers didn’t like it as much as Blindsight, so I didn’t look into it. I thought Blindsight was a great “Idea Novel”, but didn’t love the writing style.

I have some questions that came up as I was reading the book. I'm not sure if they have definitive answers, but I'd love to hear your opinions.

1. Are the Scramblers separate from Rorschach, or are the two the same being? Are they living drones (separate), or just an extension of Rorschach's body (same)?

I think the scramblers were different and that was part of the point: that beings can be conscious and intelligent, but not self-aware. Pretty frightening if you think about it.

Echopraxia was a lot of the same, but focuses more on what’s going on with the Terrans. The concept of a whole group of people living in “Heaven” - a virtual reality world - while corporations use their excess cerebral processing power was pretty cool. Also, I like the idea of the “Hive Mind” where humans link together into a superbrain. The short story did it better, though.

I’ll have to see if I can find Echopraxia at my library, but not anytime soon. I think I need to take a break from heavy books for a little bit.

Sarah wrote: "I think the scramblers were different and that was part of the point: that beings can be conscious and intelligent, but not self-aware. Pretty frightening if you think about it."

That really makes a completely unique alien. Watts is a very inventive writer.