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Review
"Thoughtful and deliberately paced, this book will appeal to readers who prefer science fiction with substance."
Product Description
Robert 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 Nerissa Iverson 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.
Nerissa 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.... "Blind Lake" is a 2004 Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel.
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 Nerissa Iverson 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.
Nerissa 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.... "Blind Lake" is a 2004 Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Or so I've come to believe after reading just two of his novels, the other being the award-winning Spin.
Like Spin, Wilson sets up a rather marvellous scientific problem against a very human background. Set several decades hence, three writers arrive at a scientific complex where, via a marvellous machine, humans can observe daily life on a planet over 50 light years distant. Then, for seemingly no reason, the complex is complete cut off with supplies arriving by a robotic drone. What the heck is going on?
This isn't action SF, instead we view events through the eyes of several characters, all of whom have problems which cause them to react differently to what is happening. Not a lot actually does happen but I was rivetted and really did not want to put this book down as I wanted to find out both the nature of the mystery and its effect on the protagonists. If I say much more I'll only spoil it for you.
So, after reading just two of Wilson's novels and immediately after finishing this one, I went and ordered four more from Amazon. I don't think I'm going to be disappointed.
Like Spin, Wilson sets up a rather marvellous scientific problem against a very human background. Set several decades hence, three writers arrive at a scientific complex where, via a marvellous machine, humans can observe daily life on a planet over 50 light years distant. Then, for seemingly no reason, the complex is complete cut off with supplies arriving by a robotic drone. What the heck is going on?
This isn't action SF, instead we view events through the eyes of several characters, all of whom have problems which cause them to react differently to what is happening. Not a lot actually does happen but I was rivetted and really did not want to put this book down as I wanted to find out both the nature of the mystery and its effect on the protagonists. If I say much more I'll only spoil it for you.
So, after reading just two of Wilson's novels and immediately after finishing this one, I went and ordered four more from Amazon. I don't think I'm going to be disappointed.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
66 reviews
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
8 Dec 2003
Format:Hardcover
Need I say more? Wilson is consistently one of the finest writers in OR OUT of the science-fiction genre, and this book, like several of his previous novels, has been named a "New York Times Notable Book of the Year."
The premise is fascinating, and developed in surprising directions: new quantum-computing technologies allow the imaging of day-to-day life on alien worlds. A pair of US government labs -- Crossbank and Blind Lake -- are devoted to watching the action unfold on two separate extrasolar planets. But suddenly Blind Lake is locked down: no one can get in or out, and no communication with the rest of our world is possible. Why are the all-too-human researchers there being quarantined? And what happend at Crossbank to warrant this?
Beautiful, often poetic prose; finely nuanced characters; science right at the cutting edge; and great metaphysical/philosophical ruminations. What more could one ask? Let's hope this one snares Wilson his well-deserved Hugo and Nebula Awards.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Great Sci Fi with believable characters
18 Sep 2003
Format:Hardcover
Blind Lake is a military installation set up to observe an alien on a faraway planet through a telescope controlled by a quantum-computer AI. Three journalists, each with their own history, come to Blind Lake to write a magazine piece. Soon after they enter, and without any explanation, the entire complex is quarantined and all contact with the outside world is totally cut off, heightening tensions amongst all in the complex the longer the isolation drags on.
The alien followed by the complex provides the background for the interaction between these three journalists, Marguerite Hauser - a researcher studying the alien's behavior, her psychotic ex-husband who is left in charge of the administration of the complex and their daughter Tess - a loner who is constantly questioned by Mirror Girl, the name she gives to her reflection that keeps on asking her difficult questions.
Some great and original SF, while at the same time giving life to the characters and not losing tempo with the stoyyline. Highly recommended!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Wilson is a Master
16 Aug 2007
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Blind Lake is a typical Robert Charles Wilson novel, and I mean that in the most positive way. It is a masterful blend of hard sci-fi and human interest, of cosmic ideas playing out in the lives of real, accessible people. It is a balancing act few writers can pull off, but Wilson has honed the art to perfection.
The story is set in the near future. Blind Lake is a government research lab devoted to processing images captured by a space-based interferometric telescope array powerful enough to see the surface of planets around neighboring stars. A set of self-evolving quantum computers called "O/BECs" are brought in to enhance the signal. They succeed to the point where scientists on Earth use "the Eye" to follow the day to day life of a sentient alien, "the Subject," who lives on a planet in Ursa Majoris. However, the code has evolved beyond human comprehension. Things take a spooky turn when the telescopic array breaks down beyond repair, but the images from Ursa Majoris continue to flow... Without warning or explanation, all contact is severed between Blind Lake and the outside world. Why? What is happening outside? And what, if anything, does it have to do with the Eye?
What makes Wilson so successful is his ability to wrap big ideas like this into a genuine, human story. We view the events at Blind Lake through the eyes of Chris, a journalist with baggage; Marguerite, a mid-level researcher; Ray, her obsessive ex-husband, now chief administrator of the facility; and Tessa, their daughter, a quiet girl who seems to be hearing voices. Their stories provide the canvas on which the larger events take place. The characters are rounded and natural, with quirks, viewpoints, and histories all their own. And the same goes for the Subject and his world. You understand these people, and you go through the experience with them.
The best part, though, is the writing. Admit it: science fiction writers are great with ideas, but when it comes to aesthetics, most are merely adequate. Wilson, however, is amazing. His effortless prose can capture the subtleties of mood or emotion, or even the weather, in compact but exquisite detail. I often found myself rereading paragraphs just to savor his lyrical use of language.
I highly recommend Blind Lake. There's not a lot of action, but you will enjoy a story that is intelligent and nuanced.
The story is set in the near future. Blind Lake is a government research lab devoted to processing images captured by a space-based interferometric telescope array powerful enough to see the surface of planets around neighboring stars. A set of self-evolving quantum computers called "O/BECs" are brought in to enhance the signal. They succeed to the point where scientists on Earth use "the Eye" to follow the day to day life of a sentient alien, "the Subject," who lives on a planet in Ursa Majoris. However, the code has evolved beyond human comprehension. Things take a spooky turn when the telescopic array breaks down beyond repair, but the images from Ursa Majoris continue to flow... Without warning or explanation, all contact is severed between Blind Lake and the outside world. Why? What is happening outside? And what, if anything, does it have to do with the Eye?
What makes Wilson so successful is his ability to wrap big ideas like this into a genuine, human story. We view the events at Blind Lake through the eyes of Chris, a journalist with baggage; Marguerite, a mid-level researcher; Ray, her obsessive ex-husband, now chief administrator of the facility; and Tessa, their daughter, a quiet girl who seems to be hearing voices. Their stories provide the canvas on which the larger events take place. The characters are rounded and natural, with quirks, viewpoints, and histories all their own. And the same goes for the Subject and his world. You understand these people, and you go through the experience with them.
The best part, though, is the writing. Admit it: science fiction writers are great with ideas, but when it comes to aesthetics, most are merely adequate. Wilson, however, is amazing. His effortless prose can capture the subtleties of mood or emotion, or even the weather, in compact but exquisite detail. I often found myself rereading paragraphs just to savor his lyrical use of language.
I highly recommend Blind Lake. There's not a lot of action, but you will enjoy a story that is intelligent and nuanced.
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