Blind Lake

By: Robert Charles Wilson

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

Robert Charles Wilson, says The New York Times, "writes superior science fiction thrillers." His Darwinia won Canada's Aurora Award; his most recent novel, The Chronoliths, won the prestigious John W. Campbell Memorial Award.

Now he tells a gripping tale of alien contact and human love in a mysterious but hopeful universe.

At Blind Lake, a large federal research installation in northern Minnesota, scientists are using a technology they barely understand to watch everyday life in a city of lobster-like aliens on a distant planet. They can't contact the aliens in any way or understand their language. All they can do is watch.

Then, without warning, a military cordon is imposed on the Blind Lake site. All communication with the outside world is cut off. Food and other vital supplies are delivered by remote control. No one knows why.The scientists, nevertheless, go on with their research. Among them are Nerissa Iverson and the man she recently divorced, Raymond Scutter. They continue to work together despite the difficult conditions and the bitterness between them. Ray believes their efforts are doomed; that culture is arbitrary, and the aliens will forever be an enigma. Nerissa believes there is a commonality of sentient thought, and that our failure to understand is our own ignorance, not a fact of nature. The behavior of the alien she has been tracking seems to be developing an elusive narrative logic - and she comes to feel that the alien is somehow, impossibly, aware of the project's observers.But her time is running out. Ray is turning hostile, stalking her. The military cordon is tightening. Understanding had better come soon....

©2004 Robert Charles Wilson (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Thoughtful and deliberately paced, this book will appeal to readers who prefer science fiction with substance." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Wilson builds suspense superlatively well, to a resolution that packs all the emotional wallop anyone could wish." ( Booklist)

Decent Tale; you could do worse

Wilson is a good writer, much better than a lot of the SciFi tripe out there. It's an interesting premise. And, the account of the debate on human narrative vs. dreaming that takes place somewhwere around Chapter 23 is insprired! It's not a bad story. (Snyder sounds like a good narrator, although his voice for the child really starts to grate after awhile.) I do have one pet peeve: what is up lately with authors layering up perfectly good stories with interminable and tiresome narratives about mothers and / or fathers endlessly obsessing about their oh-so-adorable and innocent young daughters? (For example, Matthew Reiley's "Contest") After a couple hours of this sappy filler, you just want to scream "Get on with the bloody story, why don't you!!" It's like they all want to see how many pages they can wring out of this ... and show just how parentally sensitive they are as authors.

Alien contact without the contact

Robert Charles Wilson's Blind Lake is a tale of alien encounter, but without physical contact. The title derives from the name of the town where a special installation relying on an AI-like computer system reconstructs astronomical data to provide television like quality images of another planet with apparent intelligent life. In the midst of this scientific enterprise, the facility goes into lockdown mode with no contact with the outside world and no explanation. Within the facility, there is a messy divorce between senior scientific staff, a disgraced reporter, and girl with mental issues that has some sort of connection with the AI.

Much of the tale is focused on the notion of truly being unable to interpret the actions and behaviors of another intelligent species without any context to the underlying cultural drivers for the actions. At the same time, there is the suggestion of AI powered computers displaying similar inscrutability. Lastly, the actions of most of the main characters, although seemingly arbitrary, reflect the confusing, convoluted history each person possesses.

The narration is reasonable with a decent range of voices and good pacing.

Freakishly interesting!

First time I have read this author. It is a great story. Though I did guess where it was going on several of the subplots early on...

Mediocre - not as good as Spin

I read Spin and Axis, and then A Bridge of Years.

Blind Lake isn't terrible, but it follows a similar formula - a big unknown happens which isn't understood by a population, people react, things slowly escalate, then a (in my opinion) somewhat under-satisfying conclusion is reached.

If you haven't read Spin yet, try it instead. I thought it was quite brilliant and I'm eagerly awaiting Vortex, the 3rd book of that series.

See the truth at Blind Lake

If you could sum up Blind Lake in three words, what would they be?

Big
Occasionally overdone
Entertaining

What was one of the most memorable moments of Blind Lake?

The set pieces in the middle where the author gives voice to Roy and Margaritte and allows them full throttle to frame thoughtful ( albeit somewhat obtuse ) thoughts on alien cultures, and the like.

Have you listened to any of Jay Snyder’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, and this one is excellent. Jay does a wonderful, understated job at bringing this book to life. I recommend his work always, esp. in this one.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely. Couldn't stop listening.

Any additional comments?

I feel this is Wilson's best standalone work. A fascinating concept, that requires the reader to pay attention and think ( which is , admittedly, not what everyone wants to do with a BOT).

It's easy to relate to the characters, and the story leaves just enough to reader to add their own colour and body to make the story their own. I really enjoyed this work, and I honestly feel you will as well.

Highly recommended.

Mixed

I'm not a big science fiction reader and this one got onto my list through some sale or other. That being said, I loved it at first, but it seemed to fade more near the end. The conclusion was adequate, but something was missing at times. There was very good character development, but things didn't always click together.

Amazing concept, thrilling story

In Blind Lake, Robert Charles Wilson again brings us his unique brand of science fiction: a character story wrapped around a mystery with a meaty sci-fi center. Blind Lake is set in a top-secret government research facility in Minnesota. The facility is doing ground-breaking research into what appears to be a sentient alien species. The strange thing is that no one really understands how the alien images are being recovered by the facility's self-evolving quantum computers. And when the entire facility is quarantined with no warning or explanation, things really start to get weird.

While the characters are well done, most of the story taking place at Blind Lake is actually pretty boring as far as sci-fi goes: we spend a lot of time with Chris, the self-loathing journalist, a mildly autistic little girl, and her narcissistic and paranoid father. The interaction between these characters is standard fare for daytime drama. Frankly, I found some parts of it perfectly yawn-worthy. The only other complaint I have is that the phrase "It could end at any time," was repeated so often that I felt like I was playing a drinking game.

That said, the ideas underlying Blind Lake are incredible. Not since Sagan's Contact and Wilson's later novel Spin have I found myself truly awed by a story's concepts. In addition, this novel contains some of the most beautiful passages I have ever read regarding the human species and our desire to learn and evolve. Wilson breathes life into a seemingly dead universe. He is a true genius.

The narrator a deep, commanding voice that works perfectly for Chris and Ray, but he struggles a bit with female voices. This isn't uncommon with male narrators and Snyder performs admirably. His reading is, for the most part, quite good.

Not Wilson's best, but close

If not for the male narrator rediculously trying to voice female parts, this would have been much more enjoyable. Why can't they have more thsn 1 reader on these books?

Solid, Fun, Good Sci-fi

Just well done. Solid story, good writing, good narration. It's not the best book ever written but it's definitely enjoyable, you're invested in the characters, super cool new ideas that are plausible. There's a lot to be said for a story that's just, very good. This is a very good book.

DIMINISHED EXPECTATIONS

IT COULD END AT ANYTIME
Well, that is what you keep telling yourself and hoping. I became a fan of Wilson after reading Spin. I also liked Mysterium. He has also written several books I would give four stars to. This book seemed to have little to do with the Science it advertises. It is instead another story about divorce. It is heavy on divorce. I listened for over four hours and nothing has happened on the planet they are watching. The aliens are described by those in the book as being very boring. So, why am I reading this. The stuff about the girl with Autism is interesting, but that is not what drew me to the book, nor is it interesting enough for me to care.

MISSOURI TRAILER PARK BANTER

Synder has a great narrator voice. He also does well with male voices. When he does female voices it is laughable. He makes all females and kids sound like cartoons.

PUNCTUALITY IS THE THIEF OF TIME