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Blind Lake (Mass Market Paperback)

by Robert Charles Wilson (Author) "It could end at any time ..." (more)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
Price: CDN$ 9.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
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  • This item: Blind Lake by Robert Charles Wilson

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Product Description

Amazon.ca

Robert Charles Wilson has made a career out of reinventing science fiction, mainly by taking the classic elements of the genre and updating them to the 21st century. Darwinia returned to the fantastic adventure writing of Jules Verne and Arthur Conan Doyle by transforming Europe into a new Lost World, while The Chronoliths used time travel to comment on the future direction of our civilization. Now, with Blind Lake, Wilson revisits perhaps the most classic of sci-fi subjects: first contact with aliens. Set in the Blind Lake research facility, the book follows a group of scientists who are using a form of quantum technology they don't understand to study aliens on a distant planet. The scientists are unable to communicate with the aliens, who are apparently unaware of the humans. There is little chance of the two species ever meeting, and an even smaller chance of the humans ever understanding the workings of the alien society. The situation becomes even more frustrating for the scientists when the facility is sealed off after a mysterious incident at a sister installation and the quantum technology begins to malfunction.

The book has a few flaws--the characters are sometimes little more than ciphers, and the plot occasionally stretches the believability factor--but these are minor points. This is a novel of ideas, and Wilson explores some very big ideas here as the study of the aliens becomes a thoughtful meditation on our own place in the universe. In the process, the book touches on a range of present-day issues, from the politics surrounding space exploration to new forms of spirituality. The book rejects closure throughout, instead embracing uncertainty and ambivalence. Wilson doesn't want to leave us with neat, simple answers to complicated questions; he wants us to question where we go from here. --Peter Darbyshire --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



From Publishers Weekly

Wilson (The Chronoliths) grapples with the ineffable in a superior SF thriller notable for credible characters and a well-crafted plot. In the mid-21st century, revolutionary new technology allows scientists to watch life forms on planets circling other stars as if they were just a few feet away. At Blind Lake, one of two installations devoted to this purpose, Marguerite Hauser studies an enigmatic alien being who has been dubbed Subject, while also dealing with her ex-husband, Ray Scutter, a mid-level bureaucrat who constantly questions her fitness to have custody over their daughter, Tessa. Then Blind Lake mysteriously goes into lockdown the day after Chris Carmody, a journalist beset by self-doubt and a sordid past, arrives in hopes of finding a story that will restart his career. Automated trucks continue to deliver food, but all communication with the outside world is cut off. Military drones kill anyone attempting to break the quarantine. As the months pass, the installation's large population begins to come unglued. In particular, Ray, who disapproves of Marguerite's new relationship with Chris, starts to stalk his ex-wife. Tessa's possible contact with an alien even stranger than Subject adds to the suspense. Thoughtful and deliberately paced, this book will appeal to readers who prefer science fiction with substance.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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It could end at any time. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews
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 (9)
4 star:
 (8)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars MIRROR, MIRROR, THROUGH MY TELESCOPE, Aug 8 2007
By Bernie Koenig (London, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Given all that has been said about this book so far, I have little to add, except a different perspective.

To touch on what everyone else has said, I found the characters generally believable. But, as in most novels of big ideas, at times some of the characters became less than real. Ray was real enough to dislike. Chris was real enough to like. And, of course, Tess, the real focus of the story, as find out later, but should have realized sooner, was quite well developed.

In all the other reviews no one has mentioned Arthur Clarke or 2001. In some ways I see parallels between the monolith and the eye. In 2001 the pilot goes through the monolith for a kind of rebirth. Here people go through the starfish. We don't know where they go, but we can speculate they meet 'mirror girl' or one of her siblings and join some transcenedental existence.

And, ultimately, isn't that what the book is all about? How we are connected to the rest of the universe whether we know it or not?

All in all, a very satisfying and thought provoking read.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Great characters, great plot, lousy ending, Jul 5 2004
By Angela Boyter (Ellicott City, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Blind Lake (Hardcover)
With a Hugo nomination and a glowing review from my favorite Sf author, Rob Sawyer, to recommend it, this book looked like a sure-fire winner. I was quickly caught up in the characters and the plot, and I didn't want to put the book down! I wish I had. After about 350 pages of pure enjoyment, the book's ending is a Grade B filmmaker's delight that is not only farfetched but inconclusive, resolving the character issues but leaving the central SF question unclear.
Wilson is a very talented writer, but he does not seem to be able to handle endings satisfactorily, as both this book and Chronoliths exemplify. If he could correct this weakness, Wilson could quickly become someone to buy in hardback!
If you want to read some great Hugo-nominated SF by a Canadian writer, give this one a miss and pick up Sawyer's own Hominids, which won last year's Hugo, or its sequel, Humans, which is nominated this year.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Blind Lake by Robert Charles Wilson, Nov 4 2009
By Darryl J. Carpenter (Goderich, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I accidently discovered this author while searching for one of my favourite authors, Robert Wilson. I was reluctant to read a so-called Science Fiction novel but was pleasantly suprised to learn that the science presented was plausable and keeping an open mind, believable. I first read Axis by the same author and was impressed enough to purchase another of his novels.
Blind Lake is a research establishment and seemed set up in the Oak Ridge Tennessee fashion of WW II era but had taken place in the future. Like Oak Ridge where the entire settlement was created to study and develop an atomic bomb, Blind Lake was established to spy on an alien culture using technology that was developed but not entirely understood even by the developers. The plot develops around three journalists who visit Blind Lake only to find it suddenly under lockdown. The uncertainty of the situation affords the author to develop stories and relationships which keep the reader eager to turn pages. Several plots develop and as they always do, unfold and reveal their interconnectedness by the end of the book. I was most impressed with the character development, again believable, likable and identifiable.
My only contention is that the facility lockdown took place throughout the entire novel and it was difficult to believe there was no contact from the outside world and all the while, the occupants took this in stride. And finally, a conclusion that was a satisfying ending to the novel. An easy flowing novel that I would recommend to anyone whose first interest is not necessarily science fiction.
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 		 Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Emotionaly engaging
Believable story and characters.
Every middle-aged family man will enjoy the emotional struggle and the love/work balance portrayal. Read more
Published on Oct 3 2006 by ET

5.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable, fast moving
I was a little suspicious of this book, after having read a little of it, because:

1. There were cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. Read more

Published on Jun 26 2004

3.0 out of 5 stars A surprisingly weak novel from a talented writer
Robert Charles Wilson has written some of the best mainstream sf of the past ten or fifteen years. His last book before this one had been The Chronoliths, a riveting dystopian... Read more
Published on Jun 9 2004 by Daniel J. Linehan

5.0 out of 5 stars Best novel of any sort I've read in years!
I came across a review of this book in the New York Times and got
myself a copy for Christmas. It's a wonderful book! Read more
Published on April 26 2004 by Mark McWiggins

4.0 out of 5 stars Just okay- not as good as I expected after Chronoliths
I've read several of Wilson's books now. The Chronoliths was great. However, both Darwinia and this book, Blind Lake, struck me as much weaker. Read more
Published on Mar 13 2004 by R. Kelly Wagner

3.0 out of 5 stars Big Fan but this was just okay
I have been a great fan of Wilson for some time now. When I read Darwinia, my mind was blown. It truly qualified for that category known only as TRIPPY. Read more
Published on Feb 21 2004 by Jack Kappler

4.0 out of 5 stars Plodding start, great ending
I nearly put the book down after 2 chapters. But I am glad I stuck with it. Only slightly futuristic, and while the underlying science is unlikely, the concepts are unusual and... Read more
Published on Dec 8 2003 by V. K. Noll

5.0 out of 5 stars A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
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... Read more
Published on Dec 8 2003 by Robert J. Sawyer

4.0 out of 5 stars wilson does it again
there's no one like RCW.

i was put off by the cover art. as my friend pointed out, cover art is really something W needs to work on. Read more

Published on Oct 15 2003 by fortymile

4.0 out of 5 stars Is Science Another Sort of Dream?
I just finished Blind Lake, and I enjoyed the book very much, but with a few reservations.

The story begins with journalists visiting a scientific research facility-- an image... Read more

Published on Oct 11 2003 by Patrick J. Callahan

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