Wake Book Reviews

Wake by Robert J. Sawyer Book Summary

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 from Toronto 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...
Winner of the Aurora Award for Best Novel of the Year!Finalist for the Hugo Award!A Globe and Mail and Locus bestseller!
"Wildly thought-provoking. The thematic diversity — and profundity — makes this one of Sawyer's strongest works to date." —Publishers Weekly (starred review, denoting a book of exceptional merit)

"Sawyer's erudition, eclecticism, and masterly storytelling make Wake a choice selection." —Library Journal

"From an author who has won just about every award a science-fiction author can comes one of the most original and fascinating novels to be published in a long time." —Sacramento Book Review

"The first SF novel to use solid, real-world data to show the spontaneous emergence of an AI convincingly without too much plot convenience or hand-waving over details." —Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction

"A return to the hard science fiction of the old school, blending theories from pure science with imaginative speculation." —The Guardian

"Emotionally satisfying and intellectually stimulating. Along with William Gibson's Neuromancer and Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, Robert J. Sawyer's Wake presents a unique perspective on information technology. I eagerly await its sequels." —SFFaudio

"Excellent. Sawyer roots his SF in real science; the novel refers to Julian Jaynes's The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. A fascinating story." —Fortean Times

"A brilliant look at interspecies communication with some remarkable insights into the future of artificial intelligence; one of Sawyer's best. He's likely to score a hit with everyone from Gibson and Stephenson's crowd to science-oriented young-adult readers of both genders." —SFRevu

"Sawyer's take on theories about the origin of consciousness is fascinating, and his approach to machine consciousness and the internet is surprisingly fresh." —Booklist
Originally published in hardcover by Ace Science Fiction (US), Penguin (Canada), and Gollancz (UK)Serialized in Analog Science Fiction & FactA Main Selection of The Science Fiction Book Club

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Wake (Robert J. Sawyer) Book Reviews 2024

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