**Overall Reception & Reputation:**
*Blindsight* is an extremely polarizing novel within the Reddit SF community, particularly on r/printSF and r/sciencefiction. It is one of the most frequently recommended books, almost to a memetic degree (e.g., "BlindsightblIndsightblindsightBLINDSIGHT..."). This leads to both immense praise and significant frustration, with very few readers having a neutral opinion. Many consider it a "must-read" for its challenging ideas, while others find it overhyped, dense, or unlikable.
**Common Points of Praise:**
1. **Deep & Thought-Provoking Concepts:** The novel is lauded for its exploration of complex philosophical and scientific ideas, particularly the nature and utility (or lack thereof) of consciousness, sentience, first contact with truly alien intelligence, transhumanism, and the implications of advanced AI. Many readers report thinking about its themes for days or weeks.
2. **Atmosphere & Tone:** Watts creates a distinctively dense, unsettling, and viscerally frightening atmosphere. Described as "drowning in fog" or a "dense, unfamiliar, fog-filled forest," the tone is often called "perfection" by fans who appreciate its bleak, existential dread.
3. **Unique Characters & Worldbuilding:** The small, augmented crew of the *Theseus*, including a resurrected vampire (Jukka Sarasti) as captain, is seen as unique and well-fleshed-out by many. The "Heaven" digital afterlife, the various human augmentations, and the scientifically plausible (for many) explanation for vampires are frequently praised.
4. **Truly Alien Adversary:** The "Scramblers" or Rorschach entity is consistently praised as a genuinely alien intelligence, operating on principles incomprehensible to humans, making the first contact scenario particularly compelling and terrifying.
5. **Intellectual Challenge & Reward:** Readers who enjoy the book often appreciate its density and the fact that it demands intense focus and rereading. They find it pays dividends for close attention to detail and that its complex ideas are intellectually stimulating.
6. **Writing Style (for some):** Some readers find Watts' prose "beautiful," "well-written," "poignant," and "metaphorical," appreciating its literary qualities and how it complements the themes.
7. **Integration of Elements:** Many admire how Watts weaves together disparate elements like vampires, transhumanism, and AI into a cohesive thematic exploration of consciousness.
**Common Points of Criticism & Challenges:**
1. **Difficulty & Incomprehensibility:** A significant number of readers find the book incredibly difficult to follow, with a confusing plot, dense prose, and extensive use of technical jargon. Many report getting lost, needing to reread passages multiple times, or even consult external resources (like Wikipedia) to understand concepts. Some describe it as "obtuse," "a slog," or "word salad."
2. **Writing Style (for others):** The prose is a major sticking point for many, described as "terrible," "dry," "stilted," "ugly," "unpleasant," "tedious," "pretentious," or "hyper-masculine." Some feel it "tries too hard to be smart" or over-explains certain ideas while being obscure about others. The narrative's occasional jumps and cuts are also criticized.
3. **Characters (for others):** While some praise the characters, others find them not fully fleshed-out, unsympathetic, unrelatable, or that their augmentations feel like "window dressing." The protagonist, Siri Keeton, is often a point of contention due to his detached, "borderline autistic" (though this is debated and his condition is due to a hemispherectomy) narration. Some skipped his "love life" sections, finding them irrelevant or cringeworthy.
4. **Specific Elements:**
* **Vampires:** While a highlight for many, others found the inclusion of vampires "corny," "a bridge too far," "forced," or a jarring fantasy element, even if they understood the scientific justification and thematic relevance. The "crucifix glitch" is sometimes singled out as implausible.
* **Transhumanism/Augmentations:** Some OPs argued that the extensive focus on the crew's modifications and concepts like "Heaven" detracted from the core first contact story, feeling these elements were "disjointed" or could have been separate books.
5. **Pacing:** The book can feel slow or drag, especially during expository sections about the characters' backstories or augmentations.
6. **Cynicism/Misanthropy:** Some readers found the book's tone overly cynical, "mean," or misanthropic.
7. **DNF (Did Not Finish):** A notable portion of commenters DNF'd the book due to the above reasons.
**Key Thematic Discussions:**
* **Consciousness:** This is the central theme. Is it an evolutionary advantage, a maladaptive trait, an epiphenomenon, or a "pair of training wheels"? The book forces readers to question its purpose and value, especially when confronted with highly intelligent but non-conscious entities like Rorschach and, to some extent, the vampires. The Chinese Room thought experiment is explicitly referenced in relation to Siri.
* **Transhumanism & Posthumanism:** The augmented crew members and the concept of "Heaven" explore humanity's attempts to transcend its biological limitations and the potential obsolescence of baseline humans.
* **The Nature of "Self":** Siri Keeton's character, with his surgically altered brain and his role as a "synthesist" who observes and interprets without deep emotional understanding, prompts questions about identity and empathy.
* **Existential Horror:** The vast, indifferent, and potentially hostile universe, and the idea that human values like consciousness might be weaknesses, contribute to a sense of cosmic dread.
**The Sequel (*Echopraxia*) and Potential Third Book (*Omniscience*):**
* *Echopraxia* is generally considered inferior to *Blindsight*. Readers advise lowering expectations, describing it as "less tight," "b-sides," more focused on ideas than a compelling plot, and harder to follow for some. However, some still find it a worthwhile read.
* There is anticipation for a third book, *Omniscience*, which Peter Watts is reportedly working on at his own pace. Some speculate on its potential plot, such as Jim Moore rescuing Siri Keeton.
**Advice & Observations for Readers:**
* **Patience is Key:** The book is dense and challenging.
* **Rereading is Common:** Don't be surprised if you need to reread sections.
* **Narrator's Perspective:** Understanding that Siri Keeton is an unreliable and emotionally detached narrator is crucial to interpreting the characters and events.
* **Not for Everyone:** It's perfectly fine if the book isn't to one's taste, given its polarizing nature.
* **Audiobook vs. Text:** Some find audiobooks helpful, while others argue that reading the raw text is necessary for deep comprehension, especially for aspiring writers.
* **Supplementary Material:** Watts' website and related materials (like his "Vampire Paleogenetics" video) offer further insight into the concepts.
**Meta-Commentary on Reddit's Reaction:**
* The sheer frequency of *Blindsight* recommendations is a running joke.
* Criticizing *Blindsight* in certain subreddits (like r/printSF) is humorously described as an offense worthy of "straight to jail."
* The community acknowledges its "love it or hate it" status, often comparing its divisiveness to that of books like Malazan.
In essence, the Reddit threads portray *Blindsight* as a highly ambitious, intellectually demanding, and thematically rich science fiction novel that provokes strong reactions. Its exploration of consciousness and alien intelligence is widely considered groundbreaking, but its dense prose, challenging structure, and unsettling themes make it a difficult and not universally enjoyable read.
***
Okay, here are a number of direct quotes from Redditors that represent the diverse range of opinions and common discussion points about *Blindsight*:
**On its Overall Reception & Polarizing Nature:**
* **u/thundersnow528:** ""Hey, can anyone here recommend a book about..." *sounds of an approaching tornado of voices* "BlindsightblIndsightblindsightBLINDSIGHTbLiNDsiGHTblindsi....""
* **u/2hurd:** "It's just such a good book, it's hard not to recommend. At the same time it's very polarizing but I think everyone into SF should try to read it."
* **u/Infinispace:** "It's about 50/50 love/hate on /r/printsf And there's really no in-between. đ"
* **u/PermaDerpFace (Thread 2):** "It seems you either love it or hate it. I loved it."
* **u/[deleted] (Thread 5):** "I must be the only person in the world to not like this book"
**On its Praised Concepts & Atmosphere:**
* **u/Sine__Qua__Non (Original Post):** "Reading this novel felt akin to attempting to walk through a dense, unfamiliar, fog-filled forest as the sun has nearly set. Not completely dark, but unsettling in a visceral way; fear of the unknown reaching out from all directions... Perfection."
* **u/T0A5TH3AD (Original Post):** "The novel is quite simply put a must read for anyone thatâs into sci-fi, like if you donât youâre really just cheating yourself."
* **u/TriscuitCracker:** "The best thing I can say about this book is that I thought about its implications of consciousness for days afterward. Like it really disturbed and stuck with me..."
* **u/hoadlck:** "It did make me realize how little we can conceive of the truly alien."
**On its Difficulty & Confusing Nature:**
* **u/MrDr_Banana (Original Post):** "I struggled with it and I would constantly get lost and not know what was going on. It would randomly cut to different things."
* **u/nik188cm (Original Post):** "Blindsight? I am at complete loss. I have no idea what's going on."
* **u/thundertoots:** "The amount of times that I had to backtrack to figure out what in the fuck was going onâŚ"
* **u/Ginger_the_Dog:** "It was so confusing I had to re-read many many pages. My brain just couldnât get around the what-the-heck-am-I-reading feeling I had for 75% of the book."
* **u/theevilmidnightbombr:** "It's a book I almost immediately filed under 'read with wikipedia open' because of the terminology."
**On the Writing Style (Both Praised and Criticized):**
* **u/PermaDerpFace (Thread 2):** "Beautiful prose, so many interesting ideas and characters - everything I want in a SF novel."
* **u/[deleted] (Thread 2):** "The writer's background is science. He has fascinating ideas but his characters and prose are dry and stilted."
* **u/craig_hoxton (Original Post):** "Although it had a fast pace I didn't like Watts' prose style."
* **u/HoxpitalFan_II:** "Just needlessly cynical and misanthropic and I found the writing style straight up ugly and unpleasent."
**On its Core Themes (Especially Consciousness):**
* **u/shillyshally:** "Basically, consciousness is a waste of time and effort and just gets in the way."
* **u/Ashamed-Subject-8573:** "I liked the novel, but found the arguments against consciousness to be weak."
* **u/DanielNoWrite (Thread 3):** "At its core, Blindsight is about how consciousness is a maladaptive trait, and the value that can be found in it despite that."
* **u/Shaper_pmp (Thread 3):** "...the whole point of Blindsight is that humanity is fundamentally fucked... It's not uplifting - it's a philosophical *horror story*."
**On Specific Elements (like Vampires or Character Augmentations):**
* **u/bearjew64 (Original Post):** "I just finished Blindsight, and my hot take is that this is a five star first contact book mashed together with a three star book about future gene editing and body editing."
* **u/Mindless-Ad6066:** "Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one who actually enjoys Blindsight's vampires, despite how beloved the book is in general lol"
* **u/SamuraiGoblin:** "I nearly burned the book when it came to the 'crucifix glitch.' Because there are absolutely no straight lines in nature."
* **u/Swankyman56:** "Ahh yes, the âautism is a superpowerâ book. Couldnât finish it and probably wonât"
**On its Lingering Impact or Compelling Nature (Even if Disliked):**
* **u/m0llusk:** "I hated it but still can't stop thinking about the issues it raised."
* **u/Ok_Television9820:** "This book made me angry. Then I read it again, and it still made me angry. Then I read it againâŚ"
**On the Sequel, *Echopraxia*:**
* **u/Deathnote_Blockchain:** "I strongly advise you to lower your expectations of Echopraxia. It's best to think of it as "b-sides" or outtakes of some sort."
* **u/Lostinthestarscape:** "It really doesn't capture the magic of Blindsight which is one of my favourite books for sure, but to me it is like a decent pub burger compared to a perfect steak..."
These quotes should give a good flavor of the passionate and varied discussions surrounding *Blindsight*.
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