Starfish

The idea that social outcasts from ‘our' society might be ‘pre-adapted' (as the author puts it) to hostile environments is interesting, and Peter Watts uses the setting in this book to great effect to highlight the differences between ‘normal' people and the crew of the ocean-floor power station called Beebe.

I didn't like how the ‘Ganzfield Effect' was used here, though. It felt superfluous, and its introduction forced, into what is, otherwise, a believable world.

TL;DR

Average in my opinion, I didn't dislike it to stop reading but after I reached the end I didn't exactly like it either. I liked the banter between the characters, definitely the highlights of the book. Every time we got out into the ocean and the narator took over it was boring, the story also feels like nothing happened and as a stand alone it did not have a satisfying ending. We left with some big questions that will probably get resolved in later books.

Read the sinopsis and go for a preview of a chapter to see if you might like it, the idea of some mechanical enhanced people with traumas working together at the botttom of the ocean did sound interesting to me. But unfortunately if you don't plan on continuing to read the series I think this one will leave you unsatisfied.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

X - Main Story: I thought I find it interesting but after finishing it it's not that great of a story. Probably because there are so many question that we don't get the answers for.

X - Side Stories (if it applies): I didn't care much for the backstories of the characters or the side plot going outside of the ocean, mainly because we're left with a lot of questions by the and that don't get answered.

✓ - Characters: Best part of the book, I liked the banter between then it's nice to see them go from complete strangers to working together like a team.

✓ - Setting/Ambiance: The deep ocean is pretty scary so you don't have to do much to get that mood, this is where the book shines. Even with the vastness of the ocean the fact that you can't see anything makes it feel very claustrophobic.

X - Ending: Unsatisfying ending, questions left unanswered that I would assume get resolved in later book.

Extensive Review

Not much to add, the banter between characters was the best part. I really liked some of the characters like our main protagonist. The darkness of the ocean is pretty scary and it was well written. There are some tense moments in the story outside of their little protective shelter. In my opinion the ending of a story is very important, I can only forgive a cliffhanger or an open ending if I really like it and plan on reading the whole series but I believe that every story even if you plan it to be more than one book must have a satisfying ending.

Friedrich Nietzsche used to say that that which did not kill you made you stronger. Nietzsche was an optimist. There are things out there that don't kill you, but which twist you, and turn you into something that isn't quite human anymore. Something which might be better, or might be monstrous. It's hard to tell, some times.

Nietzsche also said that looking into the abyss meant that the abyss looked back at you, and also some things about monsters.

I know Starfish isn't a Nietzschean work, but it sure as hell felt like one. Peter Watts takes a group of scarred, emotionally damaged people, runs them through a bunch of post-human surgeries, and deposits them at the bottom of the ocean, in a high-pressure landscape that's as alien and inhospitable as any extraterrestrial planet. They're supposed to be the only living things down there, but quickly find that's not the case, and before long we're faced with the possibility that the sort of life that's forged in the blackness of the ocean might be completely incompatible with our own. And it might be stronger than us.

Starfish is a bleak, raw, gritty work that mostly likely isn't for everyone, but which I absolutely loved. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series once I've decompressed a bit from this one.

‘t Is science fiction over de nabije toekomst die geschreven is in het jaar 2000, en het is begot nog niet verouderd!

Ik schat ergens 2040-50 of zo, met een internet dat niet meer bestaat (virussen hebben alles kapot gemaakt!), met licht hertekende landen en wat militair-industrieel complex, heb ik de indruk, een begin van artificiële intelligentie (gekweekte hersencellen als primitieve biologische computers), en ook energiecrisis.

Eén van de manieren om energie te winnen (ik heb de indruk dat het gene vetten meer is met fossiele brandstoffen), is rechtstreeks aan de rand van tektonische platen. Heel diep onder de zee, en om geld te sparen en omdat het snel moest gaan, niet met machines voor onderhoud, maar met echte mensen.

Omgebouwde echte mensen weliswaar: Rifters. Eén long eruit gehaald en vervangen door machinerie die als een soort kieuwen werkt, dingen over hun ogen om te kunnen zien in het pikkedonker op de diepe zeebodem, met alle holtes in het lichaam hetzij dichtgeklapt hetzij gevuld met gel tegen de enorm hoge druk.

Niet iedereen kan de omstandigheden aan, de isolatie, de donkerte, het voortdurende gevaar – en dus zijn het enkel “gepreconditioneerde” mensen die rifters worden: kapotte mensen, getraumatiseerd door mishandeling bijvoorbeeld. Of pedofielen. Psychoten.

Niet noodzakelijk materiaal voor een feelgood boek, maar ik vond het dat eigenlijk wél. Het is zeker donker (letterlijk en figuurlijk), maar het blijft ook ergens optimistisch, zelfs al gaat de helft van de mensheid (of meer) er misschien wel aan. Gibson meets Ballard – intrigerende personages, boeiende wereld, plausibele science in de science fiction: meer moet dat niet zijn.

Eerste van een trilogie, hoor ik. En gratis te downloaden, ook, waar wacht ge nog op?