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    Echopraxia
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    Echopraxia
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    Echopraxia
    Audiobook12 hours

    Echopraxia

    Written by Peter Watts

    Narrated by Adam Rough

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    It's the eve of the twenty-second century: a world where the dearly departed send postcards back from Heaven and evangelicals make scientific breakthroughs by speaking in tongues; where genetically engineered vampires solve problems intractable to baseline humans. And it’s all under surveillance by an alien presence. Daniel Bruks is a field biologist in a world where biology has turned computational. He’s turned his back on humanity, but awakens one night to find himself at the center of a storm that will turn all of history inside-out. He’s trapped on a ship bound for the center of the solar system. A vampire and its entourage of zombie bodyguards lurk in the shadows behind. And dead ahead, a handful of rapture-stricken monks takes them all to a meeting with something they will only call “The Angels of the Asteroids.”
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media Audio
    Release dateAug 26, 2014
    ISBN9781629238920
    Author

    Peter Watts

    Peter Watts is the Hugo and Nebula nominated author of Blindsight.

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    Reviews for Echopraxia

    4/5

    180 ratings8 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Echopraxia, along with its predecessor Blindsight, is some of the best hard Sci-Fi to come out in a long time. Like all good Sci-Fi, Watts given us a very human story (ironic, given many of the characters are "post"-human) and uses it to introduce interesting ideas. The book moved quickly, and was quite the page turner.

      However, this book is a tough read. It took me a little bit of thinking to realize exactly what happened in the end (which is appropriate, given how the main character is surrounded by beings who are much smarter than he is). Compared to Blindsight, there is less time out of the action where the ideas and the significance of plot items could be discussed. This puts more on the reader to actively think through what has happened.

      Watt's writing remains witty, and everything has a slightly sardonic taste. And you have to love Sci-Fi with footnotes.

      Bottom Line: Read it. Read Blindsight too, and spend some time thinking about both.
    • 4/5
      enjoyed it from a brain stretching viewpoint- worlds away and imagination twisting realities...
    • 3/5
      I came to this book directly after Blindsight, still buzzing from its challenge and depth. In some ways this book is bigger and more profound than Blindsided, but in others it is less engaging and accessible.

      Echopraxia backs off the investigation of consciousness and free will, to look at how God can exist in the context of a rational universe. It's a dizzying exploration of faith, the mind, science and the bounds of human identity...but it can be tedious in a way that Blindsight never was.
    • 4/5
      The world is outlandish and hard to grasp and I really don't like the high energy writing through out, it's like the narrator is shouting all the time. The excitement gets tiring. And yet I enjoyed this immensely for reasons I find hard to articulate. I like the original take on post singularity world.
    • 4/5
      Like a lot of people I've been wondering how Watts would top the bracing existential adventure that was "Blindsight" and, at least for me, "Echopraxia" just falls a little bit short. The problem might be one of definition, as Watts is taking you to the brink of a real singularity of consciousness, where humanity as it has been is about to be left behind, and my response, as one of those obsolescent meatbots, is why should I care? Don't get me wrong, I can quite easily believe that Humanity is too stupid and limited in the aggregate to survive, but in the time we have left I have better things to do than to beat myself up over the coming denouement; Watts is a tougher soul than I and I do respect him for it.
    • 4/5
      After many years, Watts delivers the second half of the story he began in "Blindsight". Like the earlier novel, this one grapples with large, serious questions while depicting a dangerous, fascinating world.
    • 4/5
      I started reading this while I was sick, which was a terrible mistake, because I can barely keep up with Peter Watts on a good day. Once I was on top of things, though, it was a great book - and, frankly, less depressing than Blindsight. I don't know if I'm less insecure about free will than consciousness, or if it was just that I liked the characters better (maybe a little of both?) but this seemed generally a little more upbeat.
    • 3/5
      I thought I would be going into Echopraxia with two strikes against me. First, the fact that I haven’t read Blindsight which is the first book in the Firefall series, and second, there was the worry that the book would be too “hard sci-fi” for my tastes. Fortunately, neither really ended up being an obstacle. Sure, I had my issues with this novel, but those have little to do with my original concerns.It’s hard to explain a book like Echopraxia; this is one of those cases where it’s probably better to just let the publisher description do the talking: “The eve of the twenty-second century”, “a world where the dearly departed send postcards back from Heaven and evangelicals make scientific breakthroughs by speaking in tongues”, “genetically engineered vampires solve problems intractable to baseline humans”, “soldiers come with zombie switches that shut off self-awareness during combat”.It’s a whole other world, with a very different status quo. People like biologist Daniel Bruks who is adamant against upgrading himself with any implants or enhancements are seen as “old school”, living fossils that are still clinging on to an extinct way of life. While working in the field in the middle of the Oregon desert, he finds himself entangled in a conflict between a vampire and her entourage of zombie bodyguards versus a faction of technologically advanced Bicameral monks. Now he’s trapped on a ship headed to the center of the solar system to learn what happened to Blindsight, the expedition which took off years ago to investigate what appeared to be an alien signal.The ideas here are wild, spectacular and ambitious. The plot, on the other hand, is quite thin – another reason why it would be difficult to describe this novel. Echopraxia is a book that feels less concerned with providing a cohesive narrative, instead focusing more heavily on philosophical discussion and debate on the human condition. Great if like these kinds of books, not so great if you don’t. Personally, I really enjoyed the first hundred pages or so because it contained most of the story. Watts established the setting, the main characters and the conflict. But everything started unraveling after that point, and became unfocused and disorganized.The challenge for me was in trying to tease apart the jumble of ideas without allowing myself to be driven to distraction. Watts’ writing is laden with scientific jargon and not very easy on the eyes, making this one a slower read. Given the heavier themes and tinge of gloom, not to mention the fact there’s barely any plot, there’s just not too much energy to push it along. Not that I’m saying Echopraxia is a bad book. Far from it, in fact. I feel it has all the right ingredients, but the actual execution of all those great ideas leaves something to be desired.Over the years, I think I’ve come to gain a deeper appreciation for hard sci-fi. It’s still a struggle sometimes, I admit, but it’s no longer the insurmountable hurdle it once was. However, plot and characters rank high on my priority list. Compelling and cogent storytelling is still somewhat of a requirement in the question of whether or not I’ll enjoy a book. Unfortunately, parts of Echopraxia are just too inconsistent for me to embrace it with open arms, but Watts should be recognized for his incredible talent of making everything he writes about sound fascinating and convincing. This is not a book you’ll want to pick up for a light afternoon of reading, but it’s worth it if you’re up for a thoughtful discourse on the complexities of the human mind and consciousness.