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Read Starfish (2000)

Starfish (2000)

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3.96 of 5 Votes: 3
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ISBN
0812575857 (ISBN13: 9780812575859)
Language
English
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tor science fiction

Starfish (2000) - Plot & Excerpts

Some "science-fiction" writers have an excellent understanding of science. The science and technology employed in their stories is gritty and realistic, even when the story itself is thin and uninteresting. Others write great story. Their science is flaky and their characters often one dimensional but their novels are jam-packed with high stakes, high action and high adventure from start to finish. Others still are strong on character. Their characters are fully-developed, well-rounded individuals who would no doubt be fascinating if their stories weren't so flat and soap-opera-ish. Once in a while, however, that rare gem comes along amidst the ranks of SF writers who can integrate science, story and character. Peter Watts is one such writer.The characters of Starfish are society's detritus. Child molesters, murderers and other violent offenders, along with the victims addicted to their abuse. Society cannot help them. There is no rehabilitation for the criminals - none that works. They rape and beat and murder again. As for the victims, there is no help for them either. They seem to seek out abusive situations again and again. They are unable to integrate into "normal", "healthy" society. These are humanity's lost children. There is no place for them in the world. At least, there is no place for them on the world.When humanity's ever growing needs for energy entice giant corporations to build facilities along the Earth's deep ocean rifts where energy from the Earth's core spews out of sea-bottom vents ripe for harvesting, humans are needed to live down on the rifts to babysit the operations. Life on the rift is a strange enterprise; dark, isolated, claustrophobic, and bereft of many sensory stimuli which humans living on the Earth's surface enjoy. It also requires bio-mechanical and electro-chemical modifications to the body. "Rifters" sacrifice one of their air-breathing lungs to make room in their chests for machinery which allows them to electrolyze oxygen from their aqueous environment. They also bear other implants which regulate chemicals and internal pressure; modifications necessary to allow the Rifters to survive in their high-pressure, high-saline, ocean-floor homes. The Rifters aren't entirely human.It turns out, however, that bio-tech alone cannot create a Rifter. There are psychological considerations which science has not yet learned to overcome. Most people crack when exposed long-term to the distorted life imposed by the rift environment. Most, but not all.Society's lost ones; both the abused and the abusers; prove to be the only ones able to adapt to the Rifter lifestyle. They not only survive on the rift; they thrive there. Sociopaths and psychopaths all, they find on the rift what they were never able to find on land: friendship, peace, belonging.Peter Watts' Starfish is an expert weaving of the lives of seven such Rifters and their interactions with each other, their environment and the world above. It is a fascinating and thoughtful study of how an environment shapes both the individuals and the society which inhabit it.Starfish is far more than merely an excellent psychological exploration, however. There is plenty of intrigue and plenty of danger within the pages of this novel to keep them turning. The Rifters' adventures are not merely psychological but also physical - in extreme ways - as the Rifters are forced to fight for their lives, both with the monsters of the deep and the monsters from above and within.Starfish examines what it means to be human by stretching its characters to the very limits of existence. How do people behave when faced with the threat of extinction - both that of their own lives and of the entire human species? When survival is on the line, do the psychopaths on the ocean's bottom behave any differently than the so-called "normal" "drybacks" on land? How does evil manifest in a human? In a machine?Starfish is an example of science fiction at its best: great science, great story, and, ultimately, profound humanity.

When reading I find it difficult to overcome the editor, the cynic, the person sitting there blue pencil in hand ready to pounce on clumsy characterization and phraseology, implausible premise and plotting.Happily, Peter Watts, author of Starfish, put that editor and cynic to sleep, so that for the first time in several novels I was drawn in and engaged. It is a dark, inner world into which Watts calls us, made chilling by his choice of a cool, third person point of view.I found myself immersed, indeed overwhelmed, by the pressures of the deep sea, by the pressures of living with your own psychosis let alone the psychosis of others, and Watts' use of metaphor in the outer world reflecting the inner is subtle, compelling, and utterly convincing.There were a few moments dissemination of scientific information interfered with the narrative flow, but those moments were, thankfully short and not enough to completely arrest the action. My only other complaint was the ending begs a sequel, which perhaps is the intent. As a stand-alone novel, however, Starfish does not satisfactorily conclude all plot threads. It should be noted that complaint is minor indeed.Altogether a very memorable read. I'd easily recommend Starfish and Peter Watts to anyone.

What do You think about Starfish (2000)?

3.5 Stars"Welcome to Beebe Station.You're three kilometers below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. You're perched on the shoulder of an active volcano. The local fauna is very large and very nasty. If it doesn't kill you, a mudslide or an erupting smoker probably will. Your fellow employees are rapists, pedophiles, borderline psychotics, and victims of same. You feel very lucky to be here. This is a damn sight better than the life you left behind"Starfish takes place in the year 2050 and centers around a small station located on the Juan de Fuca Ridge at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean (just west of Vancouver and Seattle). The ridge is on the Pacific Ring of Fire, so needless to say, it is a very active and perilous location to drop a facility on - unless there's good reason to. The crew of Beebe Station is comprised of "rifters" which are physically modified humans that are able and/or willing to survive and work in that high stress environment. Rifters can breathe underwater, see in the dark, and thrive under the incredible pressure living three kilometers underwater, due to their cutting edge bio-modifications. This isn't Arthur C Clarke with the well oiled crew of good natured scientists working towards a common goal, (ala Rendezvous with Rama) this this is a crew of broken people- both victims and agressors kept in the dark both literally and figuratively about just what the hell is going on. It's amazing that this is Peter Watt's debut novel because with the exception of some pacing issues, it really doesn't feel like it. The dialogue is fantastic. The prose can be almost poetic at times:"You know, when they first sent me down here I thought this place would be a real shithole. I figured I'd just knuckle down and do my time and get out. But it's not like that. You know what I mean Lenie?"I know. But she doesn't answer. "I thought so," he says, as though she has. "It's really kind of.. well, beautiful, in a way. Even the monsters. once you get to know'em. We're all beautiful (Watts, 114)."The pacing is the only reason I can't give it 4 stars. Two thirds of this book appears to be one thing, and really centers around the crew and the station and then it really takes off in another direction in the last third. It can meander a little bit in the beginning, although I really enjoyed getting to know that dysfunctional crew a lot. Despite the meandering issues, It was never boring and I was always happy to go with it. Then it really kicked into another gear. The stakes become ridiculously high, and that's the kind of drama I want in my science fiction. We went from playing for quarters to playing for the continuation of life itself as we know it in this poker game. At that point, I couldn't put it down. It should be noted that this is book 1 of a trilogy and it really ends on a cliffhanger. That may turn some people off, but this novel is only about 318 pages, so its not an enormous investment of time to read. I really enjoyed it and am hooked on for the rest of the ride. Peter Watt's 4 novels (The Rifters Trilogy and Blindsight) as well as his short stories are all available on his website http://www.rifters.com/real/shorts.htm under the Creative Commons license. So you can LEGALLY go and check it out.
—Guillermo

I have now concluded that Watts simply writes the kind of fiction that I like to read. I just wish he'd write MORE. It appears he does have two more on the way, one of which is a "sidequel" to Blindsight, so this makes me happy. I also, of course, have the rest of the Rifters series to read.A very engaging read, this is an edgy story with some very real characters, with both the hard and soft sciences playing a major role. Starfish is set in the not too distant future, with the Earth being in a downward spiral due to population and energy problems. They've begun to tap into the Earth's vast energy supply found in the geothermal vents at the bottom of the oceans. At the same time, the world is beginning to integrate "gels" (a sort of intelligent organic computer) into society. The story mainly revolves around the "rifters", which are the people who have been modified to be able to work at the bottom of the ocean. They run into something no one expected down there...and basically things get out of control.By the way, all of Watts's books are available for free at rifters.com under the Creative Commons license.
—Ben

If you like your sci-fi hard and your main characters psychologically disturbed, this is the book for you. Peter Watts takes a mission on the floor of the ocean and turns it into a crucible where some mad beings are formed. But, as Dickinson once said, much madness is divinest sense. The crazies aboard deep-sea station Beebe are smarter than their masters on the surface think they are, and they uncover a government plot with mistakes that would be comical if the circumstances weren't so dire.The first thing that struck me about this story is how detailed the science is. Peter Watts went through a lot of effort to recruit the help of scientists and military experts to get all the details as close to right as possible. Much of the science is speculative (and still is 11 years after the book's writing) but it's all based on actual research and Watts is nice enough to include the names of the journals he referenced in the acknowledgments.But what drives this story isn't the science, nor the events, nor the odd setting of the bottom of the Pacific, where bioluminescent creatures roam with giant scary fish. The real engine of this story is the cast of characters, each with their own flavor of psychosis and history of abuse. The rigors of life on the deep-sea station Beebe would drive you mad, so it helps if you were already pretty crazy when you got there.The first three quarters of the novel were riveting, but the ending leaves you hanging. That's not a major issue since this is the first of a series, but if you like your stories to have endings with everything neatly tied up, or don't have the patience to read the whole series, the ending might disappoint. But if you're looking for a new sci-fi series with absolutely fascinating characters, Starfish is a good place to start.
—Ramsey Isler

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