Comments on: Book Review: ‘Blindsight’ by Peter Watts

By: giovanni

giovanni — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 12:32:15 +0000

Vimil,
I had the same thought. The concept, the passive nature of the first-person narrator, the grim style (well, Watts’ is much darker). Watts would not be pleased to hear about this, imho.

By: Paul Raven

Paul Raven — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 02:26:24 +0000

One major difference that leaps to mind, Vimil, is that Michael Crichton isn’t a science fiction writer – he’s a technophobic political shill. In my opinion. I’ll admit to never having read ‘The Sphere’, but also to my lack of interest in ever doing so.

By: Vimil

Vimil — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 02:16:23 +0000

Has anyone noticed the similarities between this book and the the book ‘The Sphere’ written by Michael Chrichton?

By: Chinedum Ofoegbu

Chinedum Ofoegbu — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 15:09:31 +0000

Failed to take note of that last bit, but I see it now

It also neatly mirrors the events on Earth and the potential elimination of the entire basis for the Human/Scrambler conflict.

Ain’t thematic consistency grand?

By: Nix

Nix — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 02:10:25 +0000

I found myself wondering if Rorschach wasn’t calling itself that as a warning that it would act as a Rorschach blot does: not so much that all you see in it is reflections of yourself, but that *it would act towards you as you acted towards it*.

And, indeed, the crew of the Theseus manage perhaps the least diplomatic first contact I’ve seen described in SF, from force-docking and knocking holes in Rorschach’s hull through to accidentally killing a scrambler and in effect abducting two more. Rorschach doesn’t actually take any actions against Theseus before that happens. It’s reflected Theseus’s crew back onto themselves.

(And, indeed, the last time we see Theseus and Rorschach, they are almost literally mirror images of each other in intent, purpose, and tactics.)