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I just read this a few months ago. Incredible read. Heavy stuff, but very compelling. The bleakness of the world is a little over the top for science fiction, but if you categorize it as sci-fi horror it hits every note.

What really struck me is that this book was published nearly two decades ago, but the author perfectly describes what we would today call a generative AI. Like he understood the theory enough to extrapolate it and put it into a coherent narrative that a reader could understand. Granted it’s not light reading, but it’s not gibberish, either, and I would argue pretty skillfully done.

It’s pretty high on my list of must-read hard sci-fi, although I think if you’re outright turned off by horror elements then it might not resonate.

I loved his short story “the things” but put this one down as soon as it revealed that it was about vampires. Maybe I’ll give it another try.

I love that book so much. There is a free audio book of it on YouTube. Very great mix of hard sci-fi and cosmic horror. I haven't read the followup book because it just sounds a lot different and not my thing but I might if someone makes a good case for it.

Seems like it would be extremely challenging but could also make for a great film adaptation.

I liked this one fine, but not enough to understand all the raving people do about it. I enjoyed it, but I definitely don't consider it a must read, and I probably won't reread it. I've heard people say that they have a hard time finding other books they enjoy as much as Blindsight, and I just don't exactly understand what stands out about it to so many people. I also was kind of turned off by the evo-psych vibes the narrator gave off when talking to his girlfriend. Idk, I'm not a hard science person and it's certainly hard sci fi, so maybe there were some aspects of it that flew over my head in that regard.

Yup, excellent stuff. I ran into it on his website in like 2012 and thought it was a short story. I ended up sitting there and reading almost the whole thing in one sitting. Very genre-bending, but an awesome exploration of some very cool concepts. Echopraxia is good too. Still waiting on the third installment.

https://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm

He put the whole thing on his website. I read it all on my phone which is definitely not my recommended way of reading books.

Peter Watts

Brilliant guy with a strong scientific background who also happens to be a talented author, and it shows. Each one of his books that I've read so far has an extensive bibliography at the back where he briefly discusses the real life scientific concepts he uses. I couldn't stop reading it even with my ADHD genZ brain and fried attention span. His writing is just that suspenseful, action packed, and hard-hitting.

I read this pretty close to when it came out and it set me off on a several year long scifi lit bender. From what I remember of it now seems like as good a time as any to pick it up again.

Figured I should give honorable mention to my actual two favorites, The Gunslinger (and the rest of Dark Tower) and The Stand both by Stephen King. Just really really great worldbuilding and I love apocalyptic fiction. Also the Passage series is great because when the whole vampire apocalypse is finally resolved society at large doesn't just go back to rebuilding the preapocalypse status quo but is fundamentally changed in profound and differing ways around the whole world.

It's good but too grimdark to really enjoy. I would recommend Children of Time, or really more relevantly Children of Ruin, the second book of that series, next as an antidote.

Blindsight's core premise that

sucks, actually.

One of my favorite books. Actually bought a copy for my older brother for Christmas.