Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.

7 used & new from CDN$ 7.56
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
The Embedding
  
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Embedding (Paperback)

by Ian Watson (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


3 new from CDN$ 7.56 4 used from CDN$ 7.56

Product Details

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most helpful customer reviews

 
5.0 out of 5 stars Transcendent otherness, April 11 2004
By Doug Mackey (Fairfield, IA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The embedding (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.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2.0 out of 5 stars A slow read, confusing at times., Oct 16 1999
By A Customer
This book tells three stories about: an experiment involving children, to find out if they can develop their own language with the aid of computer altered English; a secluded Brazilian tribe of people who speak two languages, one which is a drug enhanced version of the other; aliens who are discovered orbiting Earth in a ship while taking an extraordinary interest in the English language. Throw in some politics, and you have a story with much potential. Unfortunately, I found some of the ideas and details a bit hard to follow at times. The overall pace was mostly slow. These factors made it difficult for me to maintain any interest in the ultimate connection of the stories, and I'm certain the author's intended effect escaped me. Interesting at times, though finishing the book was an exercise of discipline. I hoped it would pay off. It didn't.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking with original SETI implications., Jun 28 1999
By wawright@ozemail.com.au (Melbourne Australia) - See all my reviews
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!
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject







i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.