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Robert J. Sawyer

Wake Mass Market Paperback – March 30 2010

by Robert J. Sawyer (Author)

341 ratings

Book 1 of 3: WWW Trilogy

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Caitlin Decter is young, pretty, feisty, a genius at math—and blind. But, she can surf the Net with the best of them, following its complex paths in her mind.

When a Japanese researcher develops a new signal-processing implant that might give her sight, she jumps at the chance, flying to Tokyo for the operation.

But the visual cortex in Caitlin's brain has long since adapted to allow her to navigate online. When the implant is activated, instead of seeing reality, she sees the landscape of the World Wide Web spreading out around her in a riot of colours and shapes. While exploring this amazing realm, she discovers something—some other—lurking in the background. And it's getting smarter…

Reading age

12 years and up
Book 1 of 3

WWW Trilogy
Print length

368 pages
Language

English
Dimensions

10.67 x 2.01 x 17.02 cm
Publisher

Penguin Canada
Publication date

March 30 2010
ISBN-10

0143056301
ISBN-13

978-0143056300
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by Robert J. Sawyer Mass Market Paperback
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Product description

About the Author

Robert J. Sawyer was born in Ottawa and lives in Mississauga with his wife, poet Carolyn Clink. He has won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel. The ABC TV series FlashForward was based on his novel of the same name.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Canada (March 30 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0143056301
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143056300
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 454 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.67 x 2.01 x 17.02 cm

Best Sellers Rank: #301,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,944 in Baking (Books)
- #2,046 in Science Fiction for Children (Books)
- #2,080 in Technology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
341 ratings

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Robert J. Sawyer

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Robert J. Sawyer is one of only eight writers ever to win all three of the world’s top awards for best science-fiction novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He has also won the Robert A. Heinlein Award, the Edward E. Smith Memorial Award, and the Hal Clement Memorial Award; the top SF awards in China, Japan, France, and Spain; and a record-setting sixteen Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards (“Auroras”).

Rob’s novel FlashForward was the basis for the ABC TV series of the same name, and he was a scriptwriter for that program. He also scripted the two-part finale for the popular web series Star Trek Continues.

He is a Member of the Order of Canada, the highest honor bestowed by the Canadian government, as well as the Order of Ontario, the highest honor given by his home province; he was also one of the initial inductees into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

Rob lives just outside Toronto.His website and blog are at sfwriter.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Patreon he’s RobertJSawyer.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

341 global ratings

5 star		56%
4 star		26%
3 star		14%
2 star		3%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from Canada

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Ariane

Read the whole trilogy

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 3, 2020

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Wake is the first in a wonderful trilogy featuring a blind girl who is connected physically to the internet, in an attempt to help her to see. What follows is amazing and beautifully written. Sawyer's research into whatever science he writes about is most instructive and interesting!

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lucian_blaga

Sawyer is a remarkable writer

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 10, 2013

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Sawyer is a remarkable writer. I used to read classical SF and I stop for many years. Sawyer brought back my attention to Science Fiction.
He is mixing delicately the reality with elements of SciFi. Also his imagination still keeps a contact with now a days facts, science and social changes. I like the introspective thinking of all characters. He also brings to front page nowadays researches and hot subjects from science and social/behaviour changes in our society. I like him because he talks about future but he talks mainly from human and moral thinking perspective.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 3, 2013

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I loved the 3 books, it's anticipation at it's best, and has that human touch.

working in projects I realize how much organization helps avoid pain and efficiencies make people happier with the same resources.
If you can add morals and ethics to that you should have a winning combination.

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JOANNE B.

Excellent Canadian Author

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 30, 2013

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I am not a great science fiction fan - but I love everything Sawyer has written. This book is part of a trilogy and I recommend you read all three. My young adult children have enjoyed this set as well as hubby (who NEVER reads this genre).

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Lifelong Reader

Complex and Thought-Provoking

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 8, 2015

When blind fifteen-year-old Caitlin Dector has an opportunity to see for the first time via an innovative programming experiment, she and her parents are hopeful. The procedure doesn’t quite go as planned, however, as Caitlin winds up seeing web connections instead of the physical world. After a couple of tweaks and reboots, she eventually sees both worlds. But something else is going on in web world, an unknown entity appears that Caitlin realizes is a form of intelligence. Meanwhile, research scientists in the U.S. are discovering that a chimpanzee named Hobo can do much more than sign a few words. And in China, a young hacker wants to know why his government has shut down net access.

It was disappointing that the three separate stories do not converge. In fact, the Chinese storyline has fallen off the grid by the last third of Wake. Hobo’s story isn’t resolved either, but given the complex concepts author Robert Sawyer brings to light, this is one of the few stories where a sequel is essential.

The theme in all three plots is about what happens when technology advances to the point where fearful individuals resort to irrational and destructive behavior to stop it. Although Caitlin is a great character and the book certainly poses interesting questions and possibilities, many of the programming details were way over my head. Still, I enjoyed this read, and was left pondering the perplexing, hi-tech world a little differently and with more wariness.

One person found this helpful

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David Burton

Brilliant!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 21, 2009

The last time I did a book review was in high school, and if I'm not mistaken, it was likely for THE CHRYSALIDS; which was a brilliant science fiction novel by the way!

With that said, I am going to try to do justice to the latest book I've read: Robert J. Sawyer's WAKE - the first in his WWW trilogy.

Here is a blurb from Robert's site about the book:

'Caitlin Decter is young, pretty, feisty, a genius at math ' and blind. Still, she can surf the net with the best of them, following its complex paths clearly in her mind. When a Japanese researcher develops a new signal-processing implant that might give her sight, she jumps at the chance, flying to Tokyo for the operation.

But Caitlin's brain long ago co-opted her primary visual cortex to help her navigate online. Once the implant is activated, instead of seeing reality, the landscape of the World Wide Web explodes into her consciousness, spreading out all around her in a riot of colors and shapes. While exploring this amazing realm, she discovers something ' some other ' lurking in the background. And it's getting smarter ''

In addition to Caitlin's story are a couple of seemingly unrelated events in other parts of the world. In China an outbreak of the bird flu (H5N1) is handled by the Chinese government by culling the humans that are infected as well as shutting the country off from the rest of the outside word by cutting its internet and phone connections to hide their transgression. Elsewhere, in a research facility, a Bonobo/Chimpanzee hybrid that can use ASL (American Sign Language), produces art that defies what they are 'supposed' to be capable of. Youtube videos and political strife follow. Thirdly, a growing intelligence on the world wide web begins to take form. It strains to come to terms with itself and its surroundings, yet it begins to evolve. And, like Annie Sullivan, reaching down into the depths of Helen Keller's mind, Caitlin makes a connection with this web-based entity and strives to teach it.

I consumed this book. Like with his Neanderthal Parallax novels, I completely empathize with these characters. They lift off the page and pull you along with them, particularly Caitlin. Her ability to 'see' through people and her edgy humour are brilliantly achieved and you can't help but admire her strength of character and resolve. The use of biological terms and technology are meshed throughout the story in a way that it isn't dumped on you. (It should be noted that I have a biology and information technology background, so I felt like this book was written for me. But with that said, the way he reveals the information would easily engage anyone without this knowledge.)

There are wonderful parallels and references to Helen Keller and her rise to awareness from the dark place in which she once lived as well as timely topics and subject matter that is deftly interwoven in the story. He engages in real world debates (i.e. the intelligence of apes and their ability to use sign language, the cross-breeding of species, the potential self-awareness of the internet, etc.) and employs throughout some some witty references and poignant gibes. It is obvious that Mr. Sawyer took his time to research well before writing this and it is no wonder he was won such honours as the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award.

This is a fantastic beginning to a much anticipated series. It ends well, but leaves you hungering for more. I very much look forward to what will come in the next novel and how Mr. Sawyer is going to engage me further in the coming books, WATCH and WONDER. Whether you are a science fiction aficionado or not, add this book to your Must Read list. It will not disappoint.

Hominids: Volume One Of The Neanderthal Parallax

5 people found this helpful

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Howso

wake, an optimistic beginning

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 24, 2011

Like all of Mr. Sawyer's books, this one is a joy to read, full of interesting ideas and written with far more human insight and foresight than is common to the genre. I'll admit, the brilliant 15 year-old heroine does seem more male than female while the the webmind has an oddly female feel to me but this may just be a personal point of view. I was disappointed, like many others, to find that Jagster doesn't really exist which made me wonder about a lot of the other information about web function that is mentioned in the book, but at least it made me look into it which, to my mind is very good sign in any book. But why is the fictional group Lee Amodeo mentioned so often. It felt like Mr. Sawyer was trying to plug something, I hope there is an answer to this mystery in upcoming books.

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Jo

a gripping read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 1, 2014

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A sympathetic view of the awakening of sight in a previously blind girl, mixed with detailed descriptions of aspects of 'webology', done in such a way that the narrative unfolds logically and evoking emotion. I am looking to see where the next in the series goes.

D. R. Cantrell

Technologically laughable but a great story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 31, 2010

Verified Purchase

The premise of this story - a blind girl gets a Device to make her see, and ends up being able to see the structure of the world wide web - was a real turn-off for me. It's ludicrous, is one of the worst-explained parts of the story, and given my profession it's a great big flashing warning that we have here an author who's going to write wrongly about something I am an expert in. However, I already know from several of his previous works that Sawyer writes good stories, so I decided to risk it and buy the book second-hand for a pittance.

I'm glad that I did. Thankfully, while he does get the technology wrong on so many levels, the story is indeed a good one, and we also have believable characters and sound dialogue. That papers over the technological cracks that would otherwise have spoilt it for me. There is another weakness though - the ending leaves far too much dangling. Of course, there's a sequel, so no doubt things will get tidied up there, but I so much prefer series where each individual episode at least tries to work on its own.

Recommended, apart from to sad sacks who insist on rigourous hyper-correctness in their fiction.

2 people found this helpful

J. J. G. Quesada

Un libro irregular

Reviewed in Spain 🇪🇸 on November 18, 2012

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Esta es una opinión sobre la versión original en inglés de WWW: Wake. Hasta donde yo sé, no hay edición en español, claro que tampoco nos perdemos mucho...

En general, me gustan los libros de Sawyer que he leído. No es especialmente brillante ni ingenioso, pero es competente y suele hilar razonablemente las historias y las motivaciones.

De las novelas que han pasado por mis manos, esta es la más floja. El problema del nacimiento de la consciencia es interesante y ha ido ganando "momento" en estos últimos años, pero Sawyer elige un camino simplón y absolutamente predecible. Aunque tiene algunas referencias a estudios (reales) sobre la consciencia que son curiosos, en general la trama presenta muchas inconsistencias.

Si nos olvidamos de esto, la historia en sí es perfecta para leer de camino al trabajo: nunca me pasé de estación, ni me costó apagar el kindle. Es decir, no consigue enganchar; es simplemente correcta.

El inglés de la novela es asequible (aunque cada uno de nosotros es un mundo en esto del "nivel" de inglés) y tener el diccionario a una presión de dedo (en el Touch) es una gozada. Es más, posiblemente, si no llega a ser por el hecho de leer en inglés, hubiese preferido leer otra cosa.

La edición en kindle es buena y puedes ver algún que otro comentario de los compartidos por losusuarios, así como las frases más marcadas (si tienes activada la opción, claro).

One person found this helpful

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Mac

Una bella sorpresa

Reviewed in Italy 🇮🇹 on January 2, 2014

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Non conoscendo Sawyer ho comprato il libro sulla base di recensioni positive lette sulla stampa di settore.
Devo dire che è stata davvero una bella sorpresa e a metà del libro sono corso a ordinare gli altri due libri della trilogia.
Ora sto leggendo il secondo volume (WWW: Watch) che trovo ancora più bello del primo.
Vivamente consigliato.

One person found this helpful

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Oscar D. Albis Donado

Trilogía espectacular

Reviewed in Mexico 🇲🇽 on January 9, 2018

Verified Purchase

Podrían ser 20 estrellas, para releer. Y ahora dice que tengo que poner 14 palabras más, no hacen falta más.

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Robert J. Sawyer

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