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Blind Lake
2017 Aurora Awards Best of the Decade Finalist2004 Hugo Award Finalist for Best NovelRobert Charles Wilson, says The New York Times, "writes superior science fiction thrillers." His Darwinia won Canada's Aurora Award; his most recent novel, The Chronoliths, won the prestigious John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Now he tells a gripping tale of alien contact and human love in a mysterious but hopeful universe.At Blind Lake, a large federal research installation in northern Minnesota, scientists are using a technology they barely understand to watch everyday life in a city of lobster like aliens upon a distant planet. They can't contact the aliens in any way or understand their language. All they can do is watch.Then, without warning, a military cordon is imposed on the Blind Lake site. All communication with the outside world is cut off. Food and other vital supplies are delivered by remote control. No one knows why.The scientists, nevertheless, go on with their research. Among them are Marguerite Hauser and the man she recently divorced, Raymond Scutter. They continue to work together despite the difficult conditions and the bitterness between them. Ray believes their efforts are doomed; that culture is arbitrary, and the aliens will forever be an enigma.Marguerite believes there is a commonality of sentient thought, and that our failure to understand is our own ignorance, not a fact of nature. The behavior of the alien she has been tracking seems to be developing an elusive narrative logic--and she comes to feel that the alien is somehow, impossibly, aware of the project's observers.But her time is running out. Ray is turning hostile, stalking her. The military cordon is tightening. Understanding had better come soon....At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 22, 2003
About the author
Robert Charles Wilson
84 books1,609 followersI've been writing science fiction professionally since my first novel A Hidden Place was published in 1986. My books include Darwinia, Blind Lake, and the Hugo Award-winning Spin. My newest novel is The Affinities (April 2015).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 240 reviews
May 9, 2008
I started reading this book thinking that it would be entertaining and a light read. I had liked Robert Charles Wilson’s “Chronoliths” and I thought “Spin” was extremely good. So, when I got an Amazon.com recommendation for “Blind Lake,” I thought it sounded interesting enough to order. I expected it would be a three or four star book; it turned out to be amazing. The science part is good, but it’s not the be-all and end-all of the book. Wilson does an amazing job of developing his characters. And, the ending is just phenomenal. Wilson takes the incredible and makes it believable.
Where “Spin” is a novel about the Earth being cut off from the universe and what that isolation does to humanity, “Blind Lake” is about a community being cut off from the rest of Earth and what that does to the people who are trapped there. The town of Blind Lake is home to a government research facility observing alien life on a planet far, far away. The technology used in this research is so new that even its developers don’t understand how it works. As the novel progresses, we begin to guess how it’s working, but we never get the full picture until the end. One day, the gates to the community are locked. Robotic drones kill anyone who tries to get outside the perimeter. Food and supplies are brought in by remote-controlled big rigs. There is no explanation and no contact with the outside world.
Every action of every character is believable. The way Wilson gets inside the heads of control-freak Ray Scutter and his mildly autistic (maybe) 11 year-old daughter, Tessa Hauser, is especially good. Tessa is a very realistic child. She isn’t mature beyond her years like so many children in science fiction novels. In fact, she is slightly less mature than most children her age. Although she’s been diagnosed as having Asperger’s Syndrome, Wilson doesn’t use that as a platform to teach us about autism. Instead, it’s just a small part of who Tessa is and it may be a part of the reason why she becomes so central to the climax of the novel. He treats her with the utmost respect and her attitudes and fears are completely authentic. I found myself identifying with her more than any other character. She reminded me a bit of myself as a child; a stranger looking in.
Ray Scutter is probably one of the creepiest characters I’ve met in any kind of fiction. He’s every divorced mother’s worst nightmare of an ex-husband. He’s a stalker. He refuses to relinquish ownership of his ex-wife or his daughter. He got a position at the Blind Lake facility and arranged it so he got there a few months before his ex-wife did so it would look like she was following him. He can’t even refer to her as his ex-wife; he calls her his wife. He’s a control freak and doesn’t handle contradictions to his world view very well. The longer the unexplained quarantine of Blind Lake goes on, the less of a hold on sanity Ray has. The more he tries to regain control, the more unstable he becomes. He ends up being every bit as frightening as any character I’ve met. Yet, he’s also pathetic. Wilson makes it clear that Ray is what he is because he’s really messed up. We fear him and hate him, but we also pity him.
I didn’t expect to be reading a five-star book, but that’s what I got.
Where “Spin” is a novel about the Earth being cut off from the universe and what that isolation does to humanity, “Blind Lake” is about a community being cut off from the rest of Earth and what that does to the people who are trapped there. The town of Blind Lake is home to a government research facility observing alien life on a planet far, far away. The technology used in this research is so new that even its developers don’t understand how it works. As the novel progresses, we begin to guess how it’s working, but we never get the full picture until the end. One day, the gates to the community are locked. Robotic drones kill anyone who tries to get outside the perimeter. Food and supplies are brought in by remote-controlled big rigs. There is no explanation and no contact with the outside world.
Every action of every character is believable. The way Wilson gets inside the heads of control-freak Ray Scutter and his mildly autistic (maybe) 11 year-old daughter, Tessa Hauser, is especially good. Tessa is a very realistic child. She isn’t mature beyond her years like so many children in science fiction novels. In fact, she is slightly less mature than most children her age. Although she’s been diagnosed as having Asperger’s Syndrome, Wilson doesn’t use that as a platform to teach us about autism. Instead, it’s just a small part of who Tessa is and it may be a part of the reason why she becomes so central to the climax of the novel. He treats her with the utmost respect and her attitudes and fears are completely authentic. I found myself identifying with her more than any other character. She reminded me a bit of myself as a child; a stranger looking in.
Ray Scutter is probably one of the creepiest characters I’ve met in any kind of fiction. He’s every divorced mother’s worst nightmare of an ex-husband. He’s a stalker. He refuses to relinquish ownership of his ex-wife or his daughter. He got a position at the Blind Lake facility and arranged it so he got there a few months before his ex-wife did so it would look like she was following him. He can’t even refer to her as his ex-wife; he calls her his wife. He’s a control freak and doesn’t handle contradictions to his world view very well. The longer the unexplained quarantine of Blind Lake goes on, the less of a hold on sanity Ray has. The more he tries to regain control, the more unstable he becomes. He ends up being every bit as frightening as any character I’ve met. Yet, he’s also pathetic. Wilson makes it clear that Ray is what he is because he’s really messed up. We fear him and hate him, but we also pity him.
I didn’t expect to be reading a five-star book, but that’s what I got.
June 28, 2019
Das war ein total spannendes Leseerlebnis! Ich liebe diese teilweise distanziert-traumhafte Schreibweise, die ähnlich zu Justin Cronins ist.
Nach dem etwas holprigen Start, der durch einen leichten Infodump entstand, konnte man sich auf die Geschichte und Charaktere einlassen. Die Geschichten entfalten sich vor den Augen und ich fand die Auflösung für die Geschehnisse extrem spannend und den Gedanken an so eine Möglichkeit so gruselig wie wunderschön.
Nach Lesen des Klappentextes habe ich etwas komplett anderes erwartet, aber das Buch ist regelrecht philosophisch und dadurch eine positive Überraschung!
Nach dem etwas holprigen Start, der durch einen leichten Infodump entstand, konnte man sich auf die Geschichte und Charaktere einlassen. Die Geschichten entfalten sich vor den Augen und ich fand die Auflösung für die Geschehnisse extrem spannend und den Gedanken an so eine Möglichkeit so gruselig wie wunderschön.
Nach Lesen des Klappentextes habe ich etwas komplett anderes erwartet, aber das Buch ist regelrecht philosophisch und dadurch eine positive Überraschung!
November 15, 2023
Wilson writes some captivating science fiction and I have enjoyed everything I have read of his (my first being Spin). Blind Lake is set sometime in the relatively new future (2050 or so?) and hints at several changes in geopolitics, but the story centers on some new technology-- quantum computers paired with 'organic' aspects.
NASA launched some super orbital array telescopes and sent them deep out in the solar system; these were so advanced they could actually see planets at nearby stars. Unfortunately, some bugs in the program started to degrade the images and someone got the idea to use the new quantum computers to sort the images out. Hence, 'Crossroad' was founded, containing these new super computers and managed to clean up the images dramatically. Strangely enough, however, even when the satellite telescopes stopped sending images back to Earth, the images at Crossroads kept coming! The world Crossroads focused on had an interesting ecosystem, but no higher life forms. The second instillation at Blind Lake, however, found a planet with an alien civilization.
The story starts with a group of journalists heading up to Blind Lake (somewhere in Minnesota) to write a story on the facility and its findings; something of a follow up to what they did at Crossroads. Almost immediately upon their arrival, however, the facility goes into quarantine, one enforced with deadly measures. Why the quarantine? No one at the facility knows. They do get shipments of food (Blind Lake is a large compound, almost a small city, given the support staff, scientists, etc.).
Wilson then proceeds to deeply introduce a range of characters who are stuck at Blind Lake; besides the journalists, we have Ray Scutter, who becomes the defacto head of the compound, and his ex wife Marguerite, a scientist at Blind Lake who coordinates the study of 'the subject', an alien the computers follow around. How exactly this works baffles the scientists. Is the computer actually making this up, or is it somehow really following the alien around, albeit at a 50 light year remove? No one seems to know!
Obviously, something hinky is going on. Why quarantine the facility but keep the power and food flowing? Why the total communications blackout? Tensions mount among the trapped people and especially between Ray and Marguerite, who have joint custody of their daughter Tessa, but lets just say the divorce was ugly and Ray is an asshole. Wilson moves the story along nicely, building the tension and mystery up to the denouement. I was not super impressed with how things were 'resolved' at the end, but still the brainy journey made this worthwhile. I would call this hardish science fiction despite the handwaves regarding the quantum computers. Further, this read more like a futuristic thriller than a 'traditional' science fiction adventure. Good stuff! 3.5 stars, rounding up!
NASA launched some super orbital array telescopes and sent them deep out in the solar system; these were so advanced they could actually see planets at nearby stars. Unfortunately, some bugs in the program started to degrade the images and someone got the idea to use the new quantum computers to sort the images out. Hence, 'Crossroad' was founded, containing these new super computers and managed to clean up the images dramatically. Strangely enough, however, even when the satellite telescopes stopped sending images back to Earth, the images at Crossroads kept coming! The world Crossroads focused on had an interesting ecosystem, but no higher life forms. The second instillation at Blind Lake, however, found a planet with an alien civilization.
The story starts with a group of journalists heading up to Blind Lake (somewhere in Minnesota) to write a story on the facility and its findings; something of a follow up to what they did at Crossroads. Almost immediately upon their arrival, however, the facility goes into quarantine, one enforced with deadly measures. Why the quarantine? No one at the facility knows. They do get shipments of food (Blind Lake is a large compound, almost a small city, given the support staff, scientists, etc.).
Wilson then proceeds to deeply introduce a range of characters who are stuck at Blind Lake; besides the journalists, we have Ray Scutter, who becomes the defacto head of the compound, and his ex wife Marguerite, a scientist at Blind Lake who coordinates the study of 'the subject', an alien the computers follow around. How exactly this works baffles the scientists. Is the computer actually making this up, or is it somehow really following the alien around, albeit at a 50 light year remove? No one seems to know!
Obviously, something hinky is going on. Why quarantine the facility but keep the power and food flowing? Why the total communications blackout? Tensions mount among the trapped people and especially between Ray and Marguerite, who have joint custody of their daughter Tessa, but lets just say the divorce was ugly and Ray is an asshole. Wilson moves the story along nicely, building the tension and mystery up to the denouement. I was not super impressed with how things were 'resolved' at the end, but still the brainy journey made this worthwhile. I would call this hardish science fiction despite the handwaves regarding the quantum computers. Further, this read more like a futuristic thriller than a 'traditional' science fiction adventure. Good stuff! 3.5 stars, rounding up!
April 16, 2008
This is an odd but oddly likeable book. I read it in one sitting... so it was clearly engrossing, but engrossing in a sort of detached way. I think that Robert Charles Wilson is one of those writers who becomes, at least for a while, the principal character(s) he writes about, and the principal characters (Tess, Marguerite, Chris, the Subject) in Blind Lake are all emotionally disconnected from the world about them. As a result, Wilson seems to have written the book as one of his characters would have written it... in a slightly distanced style.
It is not a great book, but I think that it has no aspirations to be so -- this is a piece of chamber music rather than a symphony. It is, however, a very good book, imaginative, reasonably well plotted, with interesting characters and interpersonal dynamics, thought-provoking, and (best of all) creating moments of wonder.
It was let down in several small ways by its editor (how can the back-of-the-book blurb use different names from those in the book?), but that is nitpicking.
Overall I liked Blind Lake quite a bit (I'm English by birth, so be alert for understatement), am glad to have read it, and will read other books by Wilson. That's worth four stars in my library.
It is not a great book, but I think that it has no aspirations to be so -- this is a piece of chamber music rather than a symphony. It is, however, a very good book, imaginative, reasonably well plotted, with interesting characters and interpersonal dynamics, thought-provoking, and (best of all) creating moments of wonder.
It was let down in several small ways by its editor (how can the back-of-the-book blurb use different names from those in the book?), but that is nitpicking.
Overall I liked Blind Lake quite a bit (I'm English by birth, so be alert for understatement), am glad to have read it, and will read other books by Wilson. That's worth four stars in my library.
February 7, 2010
4.0 stars. Very interesting, well-written science fiction mystery with superb characterization, original sci-fi concepts and a terrific plot. The description of both the alien "subject" and the technology that allows the researchers to study it are both described extremely well. Recommended.
Nominee: Hugo Award for Best science fiction novel
Nominee: Locus Award for Best science fiction novel
Nominee: Hugo Award for Best science fiction novel
Nominee: Locus Award for Best science fiction novel
July 16, 2021
Blind Lake is a 2003 near future SF novel set almost entirely in the small research village of Blind Lake, which exists to support the operation of a "telescope" mostly based on a set of evolutionary neural networks. These O/BECs extract information originally from the signals of a slowly failing giant space interferometer, but eventually from what seems to be the background noise of the universe. Blind Lake, and its slightly older sibling facility Cross Bank, can not only resolve exoplanets, but even fine details, down to individual "people". And while Cross Bank observes a planet with life, but apparently without higher life forms, Blind Lake observes a civilisation on 47 Ursa Majoris E. And then, suddenly, Blind Lake is being completely quarantined from the outside. Food and electricity are still being provided, but neither humans nor information are allowed in or out.
The book describes what happens in this isolated community over the next months. The story follows a number of protagonists, including a team of journalists, a secretary, a female scientist trying to interpret the alien culture on 47 Ursa Majoris E, and the most senior scientist left in the village after most of the official leaders went off to a conference, and hence the closest to "being in charge". Most of the suspense is generated by the interaction and relationship of the various villagers, but there is plenty left for the observations and speculations about the quarantine.
It took me a while to warm up to most of the characters - they are drawn with complex backgrounds and motivations, but once I was in I was hooked - and always wondering if the author would manage to land the plot satisfactorily. As can be surmised from my rating, he does - very much so.
For a book written in 2003, it feels surprisingly up to date. Remember that this was before the smartphone revolution, and Tesla had just been created. Yet the author captures these developments surprisingly well. Overall, I recommend it to all readers who enjoy modern SF with a psychological bent.
The book describes what happens in this isolated community over the next months. The story follows a number of protagonists, including a team of journalists, a secretary, a female scientist trying to interpret the alien culture on 47 Ursa Majoris E, and the most senior scientist left in the village after most of the official leaders went off to a conference, and hence the closest to "being in charge". Most of the suspense is generated by the interaction and relationship of the various villagers, but there is plenty left for the observations and speculations about the quarantine.
It took me a while to warm up to most of the characters - they are drawn with complex backgrounds and motivations, but once I was in I was hooked - and always wondering if the author would manage to land the plot satisfactorily. As can be surmised from my rating, he does - very much so.
For a book written in 2003, it feels surprisingly up to date. Remember that this was before the smartphone revolution, and Tesla had just been created. Yet the author captures these developments surprisingly well. Overall, I recommend it to all readers who enjoy modern SF with a psychological bent.
February 1, 2021
Blind Lake is a partially enjoyable sci-fi-mystery-thriller with little depth and no payoff. Wilson builds tension and intrigue effectively throughout most of the book, but the narrative ultimately goes nowhere and the life-as-a-story moral is precious nonsense that the plot doesn't justify.
Really, Blind Lake just feels lazily written. The characters, most of whom are cardboard throwaways, range from boring to irritating and unlikable, and they're all sketched in the style of reality television contestants, as though a job title and a sad anecdote or two is enough to define a person. The events get handwave-y, unsatisfying explanations and the tepid human drama at the center of the story is an unworthy distraction from the appeal of the premise.
It's not a meritless book, but it's a waste of a great idea.
Really, Blind Lake just feels lazily written. The characters, most of whom are cardboard throwaways, range from boring to irritating and unlikable, and they're all sketched in the style of reality television contestants, as though a job title and a sad anecdote or two is enough to define a person. The events get handwave-y, unsatisfying explanations and the tepid human drama at the center of the story is an unworthy distraction from the appeal of the premise.
It's not a meritless book, but it's a waste of a great idea.
June 26, 2019
Mich hat der Roman nie wirklich gepackt. Am Ende gab's noch ein paar gute Gedanken, sodass ich guten Gewissens doch noch 3 Sterne vergeben kann.
Das liegt sicherlich auch am Autor - ich kann mich zwar nicht mehr an den Inhalt von Darwinia erinnern (der andere Roman, den ich von Wilson gelesen habe), aber dass ich schlußendlich ähnlich desinteressiert war. Negativ ist sicherlich auch die Verharmlosung des Drogenmissbrauchs, die hier und da zu finden ist. Da hat mich wohl das Lesen von "Der dunkle Schirm" für immer von solchen Themen abgeschreckt...
Das liegt sicherlich auch am Autor - ich kann mich zwar nicht mehr an den Inhalt von Darwinia erinnern (der andere Roman, den ich von Wilson gelesen habe), aber dass ich schlußendlich ähnlich desinteressiert war. Negativ ist sicherlich auch die Verharmlosung des Drogenmissbrauchs, die hier und da zu finden ist. Da hat mich wohl das Lesen von "Der dunkle Schirm" für immer von solchen Themen abgeschreckt...
June 6, 2023
A classic sci-fi mystery, with quite a gripping storyline and lots of teaser clues along the way. For me, the ending was a little too drawn out. Otherwise. the solution to the mystery of what was happening at Blind Lake was a satisfying one.
The book depicts a scenario where scientists have somehow created and are using an advanced technology that they don't really understand and that is operating under its own rules. So it was interesting to read this book in 2023 amidst the new prominence and discussions about the use of AI.
The book depicts a scenario where scientists have somehow created and are using an advanced technology that they don't really understand and that is operating under its own rules. So it was interesting to read this book in 2023 amidst the new prominence and discussions about the use of AI.
January 14, 2019
Ein sehr guter Roman von RCW, dem ich auch beim 2. Lesen nichts hinzufügen kann. Das Erfolgsgeheimnis von Wilson ist das Konfrontieren seiner Charaktere inmitten einer fremden und unübersichtlichen Umgebung, deren Gründe und deren Folgen sie mit ihrem Verstand nicht erfassen können.
Die Forschungsstation Blind Lake in Nordamerika nutzt sogenannte O/BEKs dazu, Lebewesen auf einem etwa 50 Lichtjahre entfernten Planeten mit Hilfe von speziellen Teleskopen zu beobachten. Wie diese Geräte genau arbeiten, das entzieht sich weitgehend dem Verständnis der Wissenschaftler, denn diese Quantencomputer haben sich nach ihrer Installation immer mehr verselbständigt, ob von einer fremden Macht ferngesteuert oder durch selbstständige Evolution, das ist unbekannt. Die Techniker sind somit weitgehend zu einfachen Arbeitern mutiert, die die Installation am laufen halten.
Marguerite Hauser ist die wissenschaftliche Leiterin der Station und hat es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht, ein einzelnes der fremden Wesen – als „das Subjekt“ bezeichnet – zu beobachten. Neben ihrer Arbeit hat sie jedoch schwere Probleme mit ihrem Ex-Mann Ray Scutter, mit dem sie in einem Sorgerechtsstreit um ihre Tochter Tessa ringt, der nach der Abriegelung von Blind Lake deren Vorgesetzter wird und der ihre Arbeit in der Öffentlichkeit immer wieder lächerlich macht. Auch die psychischen Probleme ihrer Tochter mit deren unsichtbaren Freundin „Mirror-Girl“, die ihr immer wieder erscheint, macht ihr Angst.
Als die Station unter Quaranthäne gesetzt wird, ohne Kontakt zur Außenwelt (niemand weiß, warum und wie lange das dauert, keine Kommunikation mit der Außenwelt findet statt, niemand weiß, was "draußen" vorgeht), werden die Probleme nach und auf die Spitze getrieben...
Wie gesagt, ein guter und spannender Roman, ohne dass es eine action-geladene Handlung vorherrscht. Der Roman lebt, wie eingangs erwähnt von seinen Charakteren und der Situation, dass niemand versteht, was eigentlich in dieser Forschungsstation geforscht wird, ob die Beobachtung "real" ist oder ob die Künstliche Intelligenz (oder Aliens) den Menschen etwas vorspielt.
Was für mich den Abzug des 5. Sterns zur Folge hat, ist ein (für mich) unbefriedigendes Ende. Ich hätte erwartet, dass man noch mehr über die Macht erfährt, die mehrere Welten über Lichtjahre hinweg verbindet...
Die Forschungsstation Blind Lake in Nordamerika nutzt sogenannte O/BEKs dazu, Lebewesen auf einem etwa 50 Lichtjahre entfernten Planeten mit Hilfe von speziellen Teleskopen zu beobachten. Wie diese Geräte genau arbeiten, das entzieht sich weitgehend dem Verständnis der Wissenschaftler, denn diese Quantencomputer haben sich nach ihrer Installation immer mehr verselbständigt, ob von einer fremden Macht ferngesteuert oder durch selbstständige Evolution, das ist unbekannt. Die Techniker sind somit weitgehend zu einfachen Arbeitern mutiert, die die Installation am laufen halten.
Marguerite Hauser ist die wissenschaftliche Leiterin der Station und hat es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht, ein einzelnes der fremden Wesen – als „das Subjekt“ bezeichnet – zu beobachten. Neben ihrer Arbeit hat sie jedoch schwere Probleme mit ihrem Ex-Mann Ray Scutter, mit dem sie in einem Sorgerechtsstreit um ihre Tochter Tessa ringt, der nach der Abriegelung von Blind Lake deren Vorgesetzter wird und der ihre Arbeit in der Öffentlichkeit immer wieder lächerlich macht. Auch die psychischen Probleme ihrer Tochter mit deren unsichtbaren Freundin „Mirror-Girl“, die ihr immer wieder erscheint, macht ihr Angst.
Als die Station unter Quaranthäne gesetzt wird, ohne Kontakt zur Außenwelt (niemand weiß, warum und wie lange das dauert, keine Kommunikation mit der Außenwelt findet statt, niemand weiß, was "draußen" vorgeht), werden die Probleme nach und auf die Spitze getrieben...
Wie gesagt, ein guter und spannender Roman, ohne dass es eine action-geladene Handlung vorherrscht. Der Roman lebt, wie eingangs erwähnt von seinen Charakteren und der Situation, dass niemand versteht, was eigentlich in dieser Forschungsstation geforscht wird, ob die Beobachtung "real" ist oder ob die Künstliche Intelligenz (oder Aliens) den Menschen etwas vorspielt.
Was für mich den Abzug des 5. Sterns zur Folge hat, ist ein (für mich) unbefriedigendes Ende. Ich hätte erwartet, dass man noch mehr über die Macht erfährt, die mehrere Welten über Lichtjahre hinweg verbindet...
March 17, 2018
Dieses Buch ist auf meiner "All Time Faforite List " unter die ersten 5 gerutscht. Mit grossem Abstand das Beste was ich in den letzten Jahren gehört/gelesen habe.
June 29, 2019
Es gab eine Zeit - so etwa von 2005 bis 2012 - in der ich gerne und viel von Robert Charles Wilson gelesen habe: “Spin” und die beiden Fortsetzungen, “Axis” und “Vortex”, dazu noch “Chronos”, “Die “Chronolithen”, “Darwinia”, “Julian Comstock” und auch “Quarantäne”. Seine Bücher hatten faszinierende Grundideen und interessante Figuren, die er ausgiebig charakterisierte, echte Menschen mit Beziehungen und Problemen. Als Schwäche empfand ich allerdings manchmal die Auflösung der tollen Grundideen.
Ein wenig geht es mir beim Wiederlesen von “Quarantäne” auch so: die Idee ist spannend und man fragt sich die ganze Zeit, was wohl dahintersteckt. Der größte Aufwand des Buches geht in die Beschreibung der speziellen Situation der Eingeschlossenen, ihrer Arbeit und Beziehungen, in die Analyse ihres Umgang mit der Quarantäne. Vor Allem am Anfang fand ich das sehr faszinierend und habe genossen, dass die Handlung nur langsam voran schritt. Im Mittelteil war es mir dann aber doch etwas zu langatmig, bevor es gegen Ende wieder spannender wurde (ich werde nie verstehen, warum Menschen Zeit für einen 500-Wälzer, nicht aber für eine 5-seitige Kurzgeschichte haben:-). Ich mag es, wenn die Kommunikation mit dem Fremden und Unbekannten nicht so einfach ist, nur war das Fremde hier auch etwas langweilig: “Das Subjekt” als Directors Cut muss ein todlangweiliger Film sein, aber das sieht der Autor ja auch so. Andererseits haben die Figuren, insbesondere Tessa, mir sehr gut gefallen und auch die Beschreibungen des Fremdartigen mochte ich sehr.
Die Menschen haben mit den O/BEKs etwas erschaffen, das sie benutzen obwohl sie es nicht verstehen und so beschreibt der Autor ihre Funktionsweise im Wesentlichen als “etwas mit Quanten halt” (so würde ich seine Beschreibung kurz zusammenfassen), was ich mit etwas Bauchschmerzen akzeptiert habe. Dieses Unverständnis bleibt bis zum Ende so und wird nicht plötzlich aufgelöst. Bei mir deshalb auch das Gefühl zurück, dass ich gerne eine Fortsetzung lesen würde, die es nach meinem Wissens aber nicht gibt.
Wenn man sich auf die langsame Erzählweise einlässt, kann man das Buch mit Genuss lesen.
Mir hat mir Spaß gemacht, den Roman wiederzulesen.
Ein wenig geht es mir beim Wiederlesen von “Quarantäne” auch so: die Idee ist spannend und man fragt sich die ganze Zeit, was wohl dahintersteckt. Der größte Aufwand des Buches geht in die Beschreibung der speziellen Situation der Eingeschlossenen, ihrer Arbeit und Beziehungen, in die Analyse ihres Umgang mit der Quarantäne. Vor Allem am Anfang fand ich das sehr faszinierend und habe genossen, dass die Handlung nur langsam voran schritt. Im Mittelteil war es mir dann aber doch etwas zu langatmig, bevor es gegen Ende wieder spannender wurde (ich werde nie verstehen, warum Menschen Zeit für einen 500-Wälzer, nicht aber für eine 5-seitige Kurzgeschichte haben:-). Ich mag es, wenn die Kommunikation mit dem Fremden und Unbekannten nicht so einfach ist, nur war das Fremde hier auch etwas langweilig: “Das Subjekt” als Directors Cut muss ein todlangweiliger Film sein, aber das sieht der Autor ja auch so. Andererseits haben die Figuren, insbesondere Tessa, mir sehr gut gefallen und auch die Beschreibungen des Fremdartigen mochte ich sehr.
Die Menschen haben mit den O/BEKs etwas erschaffen, das sie benutzen obwohl sie es nicht verstehen und so beschreibt der Autor ihre Funktionsweise im Wesentlichen als “etwas mit Quanten halt” (so würde ich seine Beschreibung kurz zusammenfassen), was ich mit etwas Bauchschmerzen akzeptiert habe. Dieses Unverständnis bleibt bis zum Ende so und wird nicht plötzlich aufgelöst. Bei mir deshalb auch das Gefühl zurück, dass ich gerne eine Fortsetzung lesen würde, die es nach meinem Wissens aber nicht gibt.
Wenn man sich auf die langsame Erzählweise einlässt, kann man das Buch mit Genuss lesen.
Mir hat mir Spaß gemacht, den Roman wiederzulesen.
July 7, 2019
Ich bekomme drei Likes dafür, dass ich es zu Ende gelesen habe! Toll! Das sind für mich als Review-Schreiber so etwas wie Vorschusslorbeeren.
Mich nervt die falsche Inhaltsbeschreibung der deutschen Ausgabe. Deswegen versuche ich es mit meiner eigenen. In einer nahen Zukunft geschieht die Beobachtung fremder Planeten durch eine biologisch organisierten "Quantencomputer". Eine Technologie, die nicht mal die Experten verstehen und der man nur Aufgaben vorgeben kann. Aber die Resultate sind einfach fantastisch. Insbesondere beim zweiten Standort, Blindlake einer Art abgeschottetem Wissenschaftsdorf. Dort schaut man einem Alien ins Wohnzimmer, um es mal so salopp zu formulieren. Gerade als drei von einer Zeitung ausgesandte Schreiber Blindlake besuchen, wird der Ort unter Quarantäne gestellt. Etwas ist passiert und niemand weiß warum. Die Wissenschaftler nehmen es größtenteils hin, und auch die Journalisten machen ihre Arbeit. Im Zentrum der Handlug steht eine zerbrochene Familie und die drei Autoren von außerhalb. Ray Scutter, der Leiter in Abwesenheit anderer Führungskräfte, ein Kotzbrocken und Freund alles Anorganischen, seine Ex-Frau Margurite Hauser, die die Beobachtergruppe des außerirdischen "Subjekts" leitet und daher Conterpart zu ihrem Mann in Bereich der Forschungsausrichtung und deren leicht autistisch wirkende 11jährige Tochter Tessa. Die 3 Schreiber sind der junge Journalist Chris Carmody , der an dem "Erfolg" seines ersten Besuchs schwer zu knabbern hat, seine zynische ältere Kollegin und ein pensionierte Theologieprofessor, der mit "Gott at die Quantenwelt"(oder so ähnlich) einen Überraschungsbestseller geschrieben hat. Die Entwicklung kurz zusammengefasst: Ray Scully wird paranoid und das "Mirrorgirl", das Tessa in ihrem Kopf hat, wird immer konkreter in Zusammenhang gebracht mit der intelligenten Beobachtersoftware im "Auge" der Anlage. Und beim beobachteten Außerirdischen bekommt man als Leser den Eindruck, dass er sich beobachtet fühlt. Ja, und da gibt es noch menschliche Beziehungen, die ich als nichtnur SF-Leser gerne "mitgenommen" habe, weil die Figuren gut beschrieben wurden. Und mal wieder der "Böse" so gut ausgeleuchtet wurde, dass ich meine Antipathien nicht auf ihn projezieren konnte. Die zynische Journalistin ärgerte mich mehr.
Das ist ein Roman, bei dem ich als Leser den Figuren mit meinen Ahnungen voraus war, aber das Ende hat mich dann doch überrascht. Die Quantentheorie fand Eingang in diesen Roman, aber auch Gedanken über Künstliche Intelligenz, auch wenn das sehr metaphysisch-kosmisch daher kommt. Das Buch hat mich gefesselt, es war sehr gedankenreich. Wilson hat großes Geschick darin, sie in den Roman ohne Infodump einzubauen. Manches muss man einfach hinnehmen, als Ausgang für die Erzählung, wie die Quarantäne.
Das Buch hat viele Ansatzpunkte und Ebenen, über die die Leser Zugang zum Buch haben. Und es ergeben sich unterschiedliche "Interpretationen". Eigentlich sind es mehrere Bücher in einem. Alle Ebenen für sich sind unbefriedigend, und nicht immer ist klar, wie sie miteinander verbunden sind. Am Ende wird es wie bei Wilson oft metaphysisch - und unbefriedigend für den erklärungsbedürftigen Leser, der mehr wissen will. Es wirkt für mich so, als habe Wilson eine Vision, die er selbst nicht ergründen will. Aber wie er Marguerite Hauser sagen lässt, es läuft auf das Geschichten Erzählen hinaus, es bleibt dem Menschen angesichts von Fremdheit und Größe des Kosmos nichts anderes übrig, als alles in eine Erzählung zu fassen, mit der Anteilnahme und Bedeutung erzeugt werden kann.
Mich nervt die falsche Inhaltsbeschreibung der deutschen Ausgabe. Deswegen versuche ich es mit meiner eigenen. In einer nahen Zukunft geschieht die Beobachtung fremder Planeten durch eine biologisch organisierten "Quantencomputer". Eine Technologie, die nicht mal die Experten verstehen und der man nur Aufgaben vorgeben kann. Aber die Resultate sind einfach fantastisch. Insbesondere beim zweiten Standort, Blindlake einer Art abgeschottetem Wissenschaftsdorf. Dort schaut man einem Alien ins Wohnzimmer, um es mal so salopp zu formulieren. Gerade als drei von einer Zeitung ausgesandte Schreiber Blindlake besuchen, wird der Ort unter Quarantäne gestellt. Etwas ist passiert und niemand weiß warum. Die Wissenschaftler nehmen es größtenteils hin, und auch die Journalisten machen ihre Arbeit. Im Zentrum der Handlug steht eine zerbrochene Familie und die drei Autoren von außerhalb. Ray Scutter, der Leiter in Abwesenheit anderer Führungskräfte, ein Kotzbrocken und Freund alles Anorganischen, seine Ex-Frau Margurite Hauser, die die Beobachtergruppe des außerirdischen "Subjekts" leitet und daher Conterpart zu ihrem Mann in Bereich der Forschungsausrichtung und deren leicht autistisch wirkende 11jährige Tochter Tessa. Die 3 Schreiber sind der junge Journalist Chris Carmody , der an dem "Erfolg" seines ersten Besuchs schwer zu knabbern hat, seine zynische ältere Kollegin und ein pensionierte Theologieprofessor, der mit "Gott at die Quantenwelt"(oder so ähnlich) einen Überraschungsbestseller geschrieben hat. Die Entwicklung kurz zusammengefasst: Ray Scully wird paranoid und das "Mirrorgirl", das Tessa in ihrem Kopf hat, wird immer konkreter in Zusammenhang gebracht mit der intelligenten Beobachtersoftware im "Auge" der Anlage. Und beim beobachteten Außerirdischen bekommt man als Leser den Eindruck, dass er sich beobachtet fühlt. Ja, und da gibt es noch menschliche Beziehungen, die ich als nichtnur SF-Leser gerne "mitgenommen" habe, weil die Figuren gut beschrieben wurden. Und mal wieder der "Böse" so gut ausgeleuchtet wurde, dass ich meine Antipathien nicht auf ihn projezieren konnte. Die zynische Journalistin ärgerte mich mehr.
Das ist ein Roman, bei dem ich als Leser den Figuren mit meinen Ahnungen voraus war, aber das Ende hat mich dann doch überrascht. Die Quantentheorie fand Eingang in diesen Roman, aber auch Gedanken über Künstliche Intelligenz, auch wenn das sehr metaphysisch-kosmisch daher kommt. Das Buch hat mich gefesselt, es war sehr gedankenreich. Wilson hat großes Geschick darin, sie in den Roman ohne Infodump einzubauen. Manches muss man einfach hinnehmen, als Ausgang für die Erzählung, wie die Quarantäne.
Das Buch hat viele Ansatzpunkte und Ebenen, über die die Leser Zugang zum Buch haben. Und es ergeben sich unterschiedliche "Interpretationen". Eigentlich sind es mehrere Bücher in einem. Alle Ebenen für sich sind unbefriedigend, und nicht immer ist klar, wie sie miteinander verbunden sind. Am Ende wird es wie bei Wilson oft metaphysisch - und unbefriedigend für den erklärungsbedürftigen Leser, der mehr wissen will. Es wirkt für mich so, als habe Wilson eine Vision, die er selbst nicht ergründen will. Aber wie er Marguerite Hauser sagen lässt, es läuft auf das Geschichten Erzählen hinaus, es bleibt dem Menschen angesichts von Fremdheit und Größe des Kosmos nichts anderes übrig, als alles in eine Erzählung zu fassen, mit der Anteilnahme und Bedeutung erzeugt werden kann.
January 17, 2019
LE 17.01.2019: Nerissa Iverson did appear in another book and that is Burning Paradise. Bob kept his word, lol!
---
If you are familiar with Wilson's style, you know that his works are not action packed. There is a plot, usually centered on a peculiar and unearthly event, but the focus is on the people involved: they all have flaws - could be any of us; they are not really heroes, nor villains - just people on the edge, confronted with death and they deal with it each in their own way.
This novel follows the same pattern: Blind Lake base - actually a city built around the observation center for alien worlds - is being quarantined, with no contact whatsoever with the outside world and nobody is being told why. The quantum computer used to observe the natives on planet UMa47/E starts to act incomprehensible and scientists can't figure out what is going on. On top of that, the subject under observation from the planet above also starts to drift from usual routine. Moreover, rumor has it that another similar base was shut down due to strange events - so, paranoia takes over on some; others bond and romances are being born.
Another plus for me was that, like in The Chronoliths, there are no black and white resolutions. The author weaves the web, you are caught in it, but even when you escape, you don't know exactly what happened. He leaves you to draw your own conclusions. I really enjoy these sort of stories; it puts your neurons and imagination to work.
Bottom line: it's a story about people but also about the immensity of the universe and his mysterious ways; worth your while if you like this kind of stories.
PS: if you're wondering why in the novel's blurb appears Nerissa Iverson, who in the book doesn't, here is the answer:
"This question has come up so often I had to boilerplate an answer. This is it:
"Nerissa Iverson" was the name I gave Marguerite in the book proposal I first submitted to Tor. She was Marguerite in the ms, but production and advertising must have worked from the proposal. "Nerissa" shows up not only on the flap copy of the hardcover and the back of the mass market edition, but in reviews from Booklist and elsewhere. I did bring all this to the attention of my editors before the pb was printed, but Nerissa slipped through yet again.
I'm reminded of an old (1960s) Signet edition of Heinlein's Orphans of the Sky, with a plot description on the back cover that was not only near-incoherent but described some other book altogether. ("Moon cities plunge underground!" it began.)
Maybe I'll name a character Nerissa Iverson in some future book, just to confuse the hell out of everybody.
Again, thanks for asking -- one of the nice things about this is that I'm reminded that people really do read my books. Including the back cover!
Bob"
Source: https://everything2.com/title/Blind+Lake
---
If you are familiar with Wilson's style, you know that his works are not action packed. There is a plot, usually centered on a peculiar and unearthly event, but the focus is on the people involved: they all have flaws - could be any of us; they are not really heroes, nor villains - just people on the edge, confronted with death and they deal with it each in their own way.
This novel follows the same pattern: Blind Lake base - actually a city built around the observation center for alien worlds - is being quarantined, with no contact whatsoever with the outside world and nobody is being told why. The quantum computer used to observe the natives on planet UMa47/E starts to act incomprehensible and scientists can't figure out what is going on. On top of that, the subject under observation from the planet above also starts to drift from usual routine. Moreover, rumor has it that another similar base was shut down due to strange events - so, paranoia takes over on some; others bond and romances are being born.
Another plus for me was that, like in The Chronoliths, there are no black and white resolutions. The author weaves the web, you are caught in it, but even when you escape, you don't know exactly what happened. He leaves you to draw your own conclusions. I really enjoy these sort of stories; it puts your neurons and imagination to work.
Bottom line: it's a story about people but also about the immensity of the universe and his mysterious ways; worth your while if you like this kind of stories.
PS: if you're wondering why in the novel's blurb appears Nerissa Iverson, who in the book doesn't, here is the answer:
"This question has come up so often I had to boilerplate an answer. This is it:
"Nerissa Iverson" was the name I gave Marguerite in the book proposal I first submitted to Tor. She was Marguerite in the ms, but production and advertising must have worked from the proposal. "Nerissa" shows up not only on the flap copy of the hardcover and the back of the mass market edition, but in reviews from Booklist and elsewhere. I did bring all this to the attention of my editors before the pb was printed, but Nerissa slipped through yet again.
I'm reminded of an old (1960s) Signet edition of Heinlein's Orphans of the Sky, with a plot description on the back cover that was not only near-incoherent but described some other book altogether. ("Moon cities plunge underground!" it began.)
Maybe I'll name a character Nerissa Iverson in some future book, just to confuse the hell out of everybody.
Again, thanks for asking -- one of the nice things about this is that I'm reminded that people really do read my books. Including the back cover!
Bob"
Source: https://everything2.com/title/Blind+Lake
September 11, 2009
In future America, a scientific installation observes life on a very distant planet through complicated quantum whatsits, trying to make sense of behavior with no commonality or context. But then the facility is locked down from the outside with no communication or explanation, leaving an astrobiologist, her troubled daughter and crazy ex-husband, and a reporter inside.
All right, now there's a book. A three-star Wilson book is a four-star for most other scifi authors. This isn't the best of him – it has some timing problems, and he shorthands some of the emotional depth. But there's such thematic richness here: it's a book about transitioning from objective observationalism to subjective narratives. It's about Heisenberg uncertainty and observer effects and subject/object positioning. And it's all tense and clever and mysterious, right up to the very end.
Not the best of Wilson, like I said. He handicaps himself a bit by closing the universe of the book down to the facility, because one thing he's very good at is depicting global crisis in meaningful and personal ways (see Spin, which I still really, really like). And this book doesn't quite juggle the interpersonal intensity against the nifty science with the grace he does later. But it's still a damn good book.
All right, now there's a book. A three-star Wilson book is a four-star for most other scifi authors. This isn't the best of him – it has some timing problems, and he shorthands some of the emotional depth. But there's such thematic richness here: it's a book about transitioning from objective observationalism to subjective narratives. It's about Heisenberg uncertainty and observer effects and subject/object positioning. And it's all tense and clever and mysterious, right up to the very end.
Not the best of Wilson, like I said. He handicaps himself a bit by closing the universe of the book down to the facility, because one thing he's very good at is depicting global crisis in meaningful and personal ways (see Spin, which I still really, really like). And this book doesn't quite juggle the interpersonal intensity against the nifty science with the grace he does later. But it's still a damn good book.
March 1, 2017
There are hints of interesting ideas here, but the characters are straight out of central casting. The women's lives largely revolve around men, but then, the men's lives largely revolve around women; it's been a long time since I read a book so . . . relentlessly heterosexual, I guess. I don't see myself reading another Wilson book.
August 9, 2024
Observing unfathomable aliens from northern Minnesota . . .
Smart, engaging, thought-provoking and suspenseful. Every now and then you pick up a book and it totally overwhelms. Blind Lake was just such a book. Very rewarding.
Smart, engaging, thought-provoking and suspenseful. Every now and then you pick up a book and it totally overwhelms. Blind Lake was just such a book. Very rewarding.
May 24, 2019
Leben ist Evolution weniger Religion
February 23, 2015
Tres estrellas que podrían haber sido tres estrellas y media.
Por lo general, en una novela nos esperamos una introducción, un nudo y un desenlace. A veces encontramos un epílogo, si así lo quiere el autor. Lo que ocurre es que también esperamos que la introducción sea CORTA, no el 70% de la novela, que es lo que ocurre con Testigos de las estrellas: más o menos 250 páginas de construcción de personajes y ambientación para llegar al nudo. Los personajes quedan muy bien perfilados pero cuando ya me enteré, por pasiva y por activa, de cada manía y peculiaridad de los protagonistas, ya estaba un poco cansado de la novela. 250 páginas sería la dimensión ideal, 450...
Por lo general, en una novela nos esperamos una introducción, un nudo y un desenlace. A veces encontramos un epílogo, si así lo quiere el autor. Lo que ocurre es que también esperamos que la introducción sea CORTA, no el 70% de la novela, que es lo que ocurre con Testigos de las estrellas: más o menos 250 páginas de construcción de personajes y ambientación para llegar al nudo. Los personajes quedan muy bien perfilados pero cuando ya me enteré, por pasiva y por activa, de cada manía y peculiaridad de los protagonistas, ya estaba un poco cansado de la novela. 250 páginas sería la dimensión ideal, 450...
July 6, 2018
Este libro me atrapó completamente. Me encantó la historia de principio a fin, aunque hubo algunos conceptos un poco complicados de entender para mí, pero es un libro que seguramente vale la pena leer. Lo recomiendo mucho y va directo a mis favoritos.
January 8, 2012
This is not your traditional Science Fiction novel. It has a really cool concept, but one which left me feeling a little like saying (in my head) yeah, right . . .
You see the central idea is that we humans have built supercomputers of the quantum type, and well, these computers are able to examine and study planets many light years away. Follow me yet.
The science behind the quantum computers is (how shall I say) never explained, but they just sort of work and observe in close detail (visually) other worlds. So close as to see every colour, every leaf on every tree . . . yeah, right . . .
Well there are two such setups, and the story we read takes place in Blind Lake, once such facility run by the government of course. And you just know it is only a matter of time before something goes wrong. And, sure enough, it does. A complete lock-down of the facility with no communications in or out at all.
We follow several researchers inside the electric fence of the facility (rather large with school, houses, etc.) and three journalists have just shown up before the seal off. The science behind the novel leaves me kind of cold - however - one really cool (literally) part is that the platens of these computer need to remain at -451 Fahrenheit.
Hey, hey. 451, hey? A homage to Ray Bradbury and his dystopian censorship and suppression novel? I think. Same kind of thing happens here at Blind Lake with the government suppressing what is going on and sealing the facility.
Overall this novel is more about human reactions to extraordinary circumstances so the “science” of the story is really secondary - I know, I know, most novels are about characters . . . but still . . .
I enjoyed most of the novel because of the characters and their interactions, but was left at the end feeling like I went on a big mysterious journey only to find Wally World closed and no John Candy at the gate with a set of keys . . .
The highlight for me was the character of Ray and his descent into madness. That was fun to watch unravel. The other interesting character was Tess and her “seeing” Mirror Girl, a “person” exactly like herself reflected back in shiny surfaces.
Again, the characters and their reactions are the main meat fo the novel. Sure there are aliens on other planets, mysterious constructs - or are they just quantum computer delusions. You will need to read this novel if you want to find out.
I am giving Blind Lake a 3 out of 5 just because the characters (at least some of them) were a fun read. I would drop that down to two if I was relying only on the “science” of the work. Interesting idea, but I just couldn’t take the leap over the unexplained science.
You see the central idea is that we humans have built supercomputers of the quantum type, and well, these computers are able to examine and study planets many light years away. Follow me yet.
The science behind the quantum computers is (how shall I say) never explained, but they just sort of work and observe in close detail (visually) other worlds. So close as to see every colour, every leaf on every tree . . . yeah, right . . .
Well there are two such setups, and the story we read takes place in Blind Lake, once such facility run by the government of course. And you just know it is only a matter of time before something goes wrong. And, sure enough, it does. A complete lock-down of the facility with no communications in or out at all.
We follow several researchers inside the electric fence of the facility (rather large with school, houses, etc.) and three journalists have just shown up before the seal off. The science behind the novel leaves me kind of cold - however - one really cool (literally) part is that the platens of these computer need to remain at -451 Fahrenheit.
Hey, hey. 451, hey? A homage to Ray Bradbury and his dystopian censorship and suppression novel? I think. Same kind of thing happens here at Blind Lake with the government suppressing what is going on and sealing the facility.
Overall this novel is more about human reactions to extraordinary circumstances so the “science” of the story is really secondary - I know, I know, most novels are about characters . . . but still . . .
I enjoyed most of the novel because of the characters and their interactions, but was left at the end feeling like I went on a big mysterious journey only to find Wally World closed and no John Candy at the gate with a set of keys . . .
The highlight for me was the character of Ray and his descent into madness. That was fun to watch unravel. The other interesting character was Tess and her “seeing” Mirror Girl, a “person” exactly like herself reflected back in shiny surfaces.
Again, the characters and their reactions are the main meat fo the novel. Sure there are aliens on other planets, mysterious constructs - or are they just quantum computer delusions. You will need to read this novel if you want to find out.
I am giving Blind Lake a 3 out of 5 just because the characters (at least some of them) were a fun read. I would drop that down to two if I was relying only on the “science” of the work. Interesting idea, but I just couldn’t take the leap over the unexplained science.
June 4, 2008
I read this the way I have read all of Robert Charles Wilson's novels, obsessively over one or two afternoons. I don't know how he does it, but he crafts stories that are impossible to put down willingly, or to stop thinking about when you aren't reading them. But his is a funny kind of suspense, equal parts moral, intellectual, emotional, and purely plot-driven. And it is totally free of the obvious manipulations of lesser pop-fiction writers. Wilson's suspense is quiet and slow, maddeningly impossible to ignore.
The thematic material is similar to BIOS and Spin, but this novel succeeds in creating totally memorable characters where the other two books fail. And it is for this reason that Blind Lake has the most emotional impact of all of Wilson's novels that I've read. It isn't as compact, polished, or genre friendly as BIOS, but it has instead the moral weight of a literary novel. And it does succeed in imparting that sense of wonder and strangeness that all good science fiction has got to have.
Robert Charles Wilson is to Stanislaw Lem what John Le Carre is to Graham Greene, except that Wilson is a vastly superior writer to John Le Carre.
The thematic material is similar to BIOS and Spin, but this novel succeeds in creating totally memorable characters where the other two books fail. And it is for this reason that Blind Lake has the most emotional impact of all of Wilson's novels that I've read. It isn't as compact, polished, or genre friendly as BIOS, but it has instead the moral weight of a literary novel. And it does succeed in imparting that sense of wonder and strangeness that all good science fiction has got to have.
Robert Charles Wilson is to Stanislaw Lem what John Le Carre is to Graham Greene, except that Wilson is a vastly superior writer to John Le Carre.
August 6, 2020
I've now read a good number of books by Robert Charles Wilson; enough to see some recurring ideas in his writing. This book, like many of his others, examines how regular people cope with extraordinary and unexplained significant events. In this book, like in his earlier MYSTERIUM, a small town in the upper midwestern US is cut off from it's near future world, for reasons unknown to its residents. These circumstances seem to bring out the worst in some characters in which unhealthy impulses are latent, and the best in ordinary people. I have noticed that Wilson books often contain an especially penetrating exploration of the parent-child relationship, and this book is an outstanding example of that. The developing family relationship of Chris, Marguerite, and Tess resonates with reality, while their world goes bizarre. Unlike MYSTERIUM, however, BLIND LAKE stays within the bounds of plausible realism. The explanation for why the town is quarantined is given without metaphysical ambiguity. So while BLIND LAKE bears some similarities to MYSTERIUM initially, it ends a very different book.
December 5, 2007
I loved this book.
One of the cool things is that the reader is in the dark about what is really going on for almost all of the book, and so are the characters. The characters desperately want to know why they have been locked up in total quarantine, what is going on in the outside world, and so on, and so does the reader. The tension builds in small but constant increments. Each page taking you closer to the mystery at the heart of the story, but never giving it away.
I enjoyed most of the characters, with the exception of Ray, who was too two dimensional. There are big ideas and concepts here: truth, god, trust, belief... Yum.
This is the second Robert Charles Wilson book I've read ( Darwinia was the first), and it won't be my last. I'm glad a friend recommended him to me. I think I'll read Spin next.
One of the cool things is that the reader is in the dark about what is really going on for almost all of the book, and so are the characters. The characters desperately want to know why they have been locked up in total quarantine, what is going on in the outside world, and so on, and so does the reader. The tension builds in small but constant increments. Each page taking you closer to the mystery at the heart of the story, but never giving it away.
I enjoyed most of the characters, with the exception of Ray, who was too two dimensional. There are big ideas and concepts here: truth, god, trust, belief... Yum.
This is the second Robert Charles Wilson book I've read ( Darwinia was the first), and it won't be my last. I'm glad a friend recommended him to me. I think I'll read Spin next.
April 2, 2012
A mysterious and original story, complete with superb characters, and, as I have come to expect Robert Charles Wilson, a great big science fiction idea. Physically big, not as large as in Spin, but still, it satisfies that urge for huge spooky structures! The exobiology in this book is very exiting.
I was sort of annoyed by the recurring theme, "it could end at any time", which I assume is some literary device. The repetitive phrase made me cringe after a while, though.
Robert Charles Wilson really knows how to dole out a mystery over the course of a book. Every chapter was fascinating and kept me guessing.
He really does a good job at writing a bad guy in this book. Ray is a believably evil son of a bitch.
I was sort of annoyed by the recurring theme, "it could end at any time", which I assume is some literary device. The repetitive phrase made me cringe after a while, though.
Robert Charles Wilson really knows how to dole out a mystery over the course of a book. Every chapter was fascinating and kept me guessing.
He really does a good job at writing a bad guy in this book. Ray is a believably evil son of a bitch.
December 23, 2017
This was rather an accidental find when talking to a friend about Robert Wilson, until it turned out we were talking about different people. He refered to Robert Charles Wilson, an author of science fiction novels. So later on I ordered a book of his, Blind Lake. I must say it is really well written and also had a nice idea. But… well, the novel turned out to be rather longish and the story is closer to a fiction soap than thrilling science. Especially, as a regular scifi reader, the core idea is soon known and fleshed out, while the book has so many more pages, overall going on over a love plot that ends as expected, too.
June 19, 2021
Another fine novel by R. C. Wilson. This one, unlike most of his other works, is set in rather tight quarters; a pop up settlement set near a seti-like facility that is unexpectedly, and mysteriously, quarantined. A situation that was a ‘by chance read’ during a pandemic and while my own city still under lock-down. Well, I was in the right frame of mind anyway.
I enjoyed the book overall, it was somewhat slower than most I have read by this author but included all of his best elements: great premise, interesting real life characters interacting with one another in plausible ways...
I recommend it for those who want a straight forward light sci-fi read.
I enjoyed the book overall, it was somewhat slower than most I have read by this author but included all of his best elements: great premise, interesting real life characters interacting with one another in plausible ways...
I recommend it for those who want a straight forward light sci-fi read.
November 29, 2019
Loved it! A great story with much vivid detail of the alien world, very cool science involved. Hard SF with heart, wonderfully written.
*****
My heart did go out to (X) it was like the story needed one (Z) to (Y) everything on. So I felt compassion for (X), even though (X) was a (Q) (something).
(I was just trying to see if I could add a spoiler that would only be understood by those who weren't afraid.)
*****
My heart did go out to (X) it was like the story needed one (Z) to (Y) everything on. So I felt compassion for (X), even though (X) was a (Q) (something).
(I was just trying to see if I could add a spoiler that would only be understood by those who weren't afraid.)
May 28, 2017
What is a person?
A new technology (that is not understood) allows us to see, through a screen, other planets. We're watching two different ones. One has a sentient, alien life that builds cities and makes things, but seems entirely unlike humans. And the base using this technology is suddenly cut off, quarantined, from the outside world. Left alone, to wonder what happened.
A good, old sci-fi tale about scientists playing with stuff they don't understand, vast alien societies (or not), even vaster alien intellects (or not). And some basic human insanity, to spice things up.
Young Tess may be crazy... or she may be communicating with an alien presence. Her mother may be overly-sentimental... or onto a breakthrough of galactic proportions. Her ex-husband almost certainly is crazy... and suddenly, due to the quarantine, he's in charge. And then there's the weird stuff.
Robert Charles Wilson is another writer that I find easy to read. And fun. Certainly, this is not as good as Darwinia, but it's just about as strange.
A new technology (that is not understood) allows us to see, through a screen, other planets. We're watching two different ones. One has a sentient, alien life that builds cities and makes things, but seems entirely unlike humans. And the base using this technology is suddenly cut off, quarantined, from the outside world. Left alone, to wonder what happened.
A good, old sci-fi tale about scientists playing with stuff they don't understand, vast alien societies (or not), even vaster alien intellects (or not). And some basic human insanity, to spice things up.
Young Tess may be crazy... or she may be communicating with an alien presence. Her mother may be overly-sentimental... or onto a breakthrough of galactic proportions. Her ex-husband almost certainly is crazy... and suddenly, due to the quarantine, he's in charge. And then there's the weird stuff.
Robert Charles Wilson is another writer that I find easy to read. And fun. Certainly, this is not as good as Darwinia, but it's just about as strange.
September 26, 2018
Not my favorite book by Robert Charles Wilson. There were some interesting ideas here but the characters seemed as another reader said, "Straight out of central casting." Also, the overly wordy descriptions of almost everything were tiresome and often comical.
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