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?