Blindsight

This was a tough read, and although personal matters definitely interfered with my concentration, I think it would have been tough regardless. I don't read much hard sci-fi, and there were a lot of points (especially early on) where I wished the author were giving readers just a little bit more help putting the pieces together and offering connections. The read became more engaging as I got into the second part of the book and characters became a bit more familiar, to the point that I ended up reading the second half of the book basically in one sitting as the momentum picked up more and more.

This is one of those rare books I may try to read again someday, but I doubt I'll go on to the sequel. Some of Watts' writing is so fantastic that it alone is worth the ride here, and there were scenes/discussions/themes that truly drew me in, but on the whole, I'm left with more of a general feeling for the novel than a true understanding of what I just read, and reading the book was a bit more work than pleasure. ( )

7/10 : (AUDIO) This is hard scifi story that was nominated for the Hugo in 2006. The story follows a ship headed out to the Oort Cloud to investigate an alien prescience. The crew are transhumans, able to be loaded into grown bodies, giving them advantages in deep space. The commander is a genetically reincarnated vampire (because, why not), and the main character is one who, to correct his early childhood epilepsy had half his brain removed. The book deals a lot with what it means to be human and what it means to be sentient. I didn't love it, but it was a good read. ( )

It was good, finished far too suddendly, it reminded me a lot of Destination Void by Herbert, all in all a not that bad book ( )

Hands down the best science fiction novel I have read in years. Hard Science Fiction novel that puts a very disturbing spin on the First Contact scenario. ( )

Good hard sci-fi adventure story. ( )