- Hardcover
- Publisher: Scribner; First American Edition edition (April 1975)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0684142058
- ISBN-13: 978-0684142050
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,894,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
The author's first novel.
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7 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Transcendent otherness
11 April 2004
Format:Paperback
Ian Watson's first novel, published in 1973, was one of his best, and an acknowledged classic of science fiction. Its theme is not a traditional sf topic, but a very intellectually challenging one: language as the means to bridge the gap between human consciousness and the otherness of the objective world. In Watson's fictional "embededed" language of the Xemahoas, a Brazilian Indian tribe, "This-Reality" is converted into the transcendent pattern of "Other-Reality," which is the world of pure being. The Sp'thra (who represent the essential otherness of the objective world, everything about it that we do not understand) bargain for the brains of speakers of this language, which they desire to learn. At the end, the main character experiences a breakdown of reality and a cognizance of a new state of being, reminiscent of such occurrences in the work of Philip K. Dick.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Thought provoking with original SETI implications.
28 Jun 1999
Format:Paperback
Contrary to the other reader review of this book I found it to be one of the most thought provoking SF novels ever (this from a thirty year afficianado of Clarke, Asimov, Bradbury et al). Watson weaves an engrossing tale with tanatlising sub plots and questions the very fundementals of language and communication with massive implications for SETI planners and participants. I heartily reccomend this novel to any reader capable of discerning original SF thought from Star Wars 9. It is dissappointingly currently out of print so get down to your library or nag the publisher!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Full of v interesting ideas.
17 Jan 2005
Format:Paperback
In terms of interesting ideas, this book is one of the best in SF I have read. If you are even vaguely interested in language theory, you will like the interesting twists the author gives to the ideas in that field. In terms of developing these ideas to their full potential, the book is not so good. It makes a v fine start but leaves you a little dissatisfied in the end. If you like SF for ideas, this is a good choice. But if you are looking for characterization or action, there are lots of other far better ones.
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