2019 Locus Recommending Reading List
[STARRED REVIEW] “Former marine biologist and Hugo Award–winning sf author Watts has collected over 50 essays from his blog, Crawl, and other sources from as far back as 2004. His writing is irreverent, self-depreciating, profane, and funny, showcasing a Hunter S. Thompson–esque studied rage and dissatisfaction with the status quo combined with the readability and humor of John Scalzi. These thought-provoking essays rail against hypocrisy, question the usefulness of consciousness, and explore counterrhetorical biases and how they impact our society. With intellectual rigor, clarity, and dark humor, Watts covers subjects as widely divergent as holidays, law enforcement and surveillance, homelessness, and the intersection of science and sf in the study of dolphin language. His film criticism covers J. J. Abrams' Star Trek movies, Blade Runner 2049, and the fallacy of oppression in the X-Men franchise. He shares personal stories, too: a lifethreatening illness, the death of his brother. This collection of well-written essays has actual science backing up most of Watts' opinions about politics and humanity. Give it to readers looking for a deep dive into privacy, antirhetorical biases, and other sociological issues.
—Booklist
“Watts, a former marine biologist and Hugo Award-winning Canadian science fiction writer, rails against climate change one moment and movingly describes his relationship with a cat the next. You never know where his writing’s going to lead, and reading his essays is an exciting, energizing, and occasionally bewildering journey.”
—Strange Horizons
“[F]unny, scathing, and depressing as fuck.”
—Antisocial Socialist
“Peter Watts will shatter your illusions, crush your dreams, and vaporize your defense mechanisms, because he cares. He cares deeply about our world, and he respects you enough not to coddle you with reassurances. These essays are proof of that—they are tough love for the mind.”
—Karl Schroeder, author of Ventus and Permanence
“The world is on fire, and Peter Watts wants everyone to know it. In this collection of revised and updated writings from his blog, Watts is loud, smart, abrasive and refreshingly candid as he traverses an array of topics with philosophical and scientific savvy, unperturbed by whom he may offend along the way.”
—Shelf Awareness
“You may not agree with every opinion Watts has, but you will have to admit he is an excellent writer, presents his opinions and facts clearly and concisely, and he is passionate about what he thinks.”
—She Treads Softly
“There's an underlying feeling to the pieces presented in the book that Watts cares He cares about the planet, he cares about humanity, he cares about everything. He gets angry at things precisely because he cares so much. And it really does show.”
—MT Void
“Full of intelligent, and frequently original discourse and though, very much worth reading and getting entertained (and challenged) by. Go get yours, now!”
—Theirstein
Praise for Peter Watts
“Watts, undoubtedly, is a genius.”
—Medium
“Peter Watts is some precisely engineered hybrid of Lucius Shepard and Gregory Benford, lyrical yet hard-edged, purveyor of sleek surfaces and also the ethical and spiritual contents inside.”
—Locus
“Known for his pitch-black views on human nature, and a breathtaking ability to explore the weird side of evolution and animal behavior, Watts is one of those writers who gets into your brain and remains lodged there like an angry, sentient tumor.”
—io9
“Peter Watts blows my mind every single time.”
—Kelly Robson, author of Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach
“Watts ranges from huge-scale ideas (“The Island,” with a living membrane surrounding a star) to the immediate (what if airport scanners grew sophisticated enough to detect even potential criminals, in “The Eyes of God”)? He asks the questions that the best science fiction writers ask, but that the rest of us may be afraid to answer.”
—Chicago Tribune
“A sharp and incisive stylist with a rather tragic, if clear-eyed, view of human nature, and the capacity for some remarkable hard-SF inventions.”
—Locus
“Watts continues to challenge readers with his imaginative plots and superb storytelling.”
—Library Journal
“Possessing the stern moral acuity of James Tiptree, [Watts] also exhibits the intellectual zest of Arthur C. Clarke.”
—Paul Di Filippo, Barnes and Noble Review
“It seems clear that every second Peter Watts is not actually writing must be spent reading, out at the cutting edge of all the sciences and all the arts at once.”
—Spider Robinson, author of the Callahan Series
“Holding himself to a higher standard of storytelling, Watts uses the effects of mainstream sci-fi, yet continually aims at something deeper in humanity and society’s soul.”
—Speculiction
Praise for The Freeze-Frame Revolution
2018 British Science Fiction Award nominee
Publishers Weekly Staff Pick
Goodreads Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy titles
Locus Recommended Reading List
“This—THIS—is the future of science fiction." —Richard A. Morgan, author of Altered Carbon
"The Freeze-Frame Revolution is a delicious morsel of hard science fiction . . . The setup of the book is irresistible, and the science is high-concept.”
—Washington Post
“Brilliant and enticingly acute.”
—Seattle Review of Books
"Outstanding, exciting, and terrifying.”
—Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother and Walkaway
“The latest from Watts (Blindsight, 2006) packs a significant punch into a small package.”
—Booklist
[STARRED REVIEW] “SF fans will love this tale of bizarre future employment and genuine wonder.”
—Publishers Weekly
[STARRED REVIEW] “Entertaining and provocative, brilliant and ambitious, The Freeze-Frame Revolution is compelling science fiction with heart.”
—Foreword
Praise for Peter Watts is an Angry Sentient Tumor2019 Locus Recommending Reading List
[STARRED REVIEW] “Former marine biologist and Hugo Award–winning sf author Watts has collected over 50 essays from his blog, Crawl, and other sources from as far back as 2004. His writing is irreverent, self-depreciating, profane, and funny, showcasing a Hunter S. Thompson–esque studied rage and dissatisfaction with the status quo combined with the readability and humor of John Scalzi. These thought-provoking essays rail against hypocrisy, question the usefulness of consciousness, and explore counterrhetorical biases and how they impact our society. With intellectual rigor, clarity, and dark humor, Watts covers subjects as widely divergent as holidays, law enforcement and surveillance, homelessness, and the intersection of science and sf in the study of dolphin language. His film criticism covers J. J. Abrams' Star Trek movies, Blade Runner 2049, and the fallacy of oppression in the X-Men franchise. He shares personal stories, too: a lifethreatening illness, the death of his brother. This collection of well-written essays has actual science backing up most of Watts' opinions about politics and humanity. Give it to readers looking for a deep dive into privacy, antirhetorical biases, and other sociological issues.—Booklist
“Watts, a former marine biologist and Hugo Award-winning Canadian science fiction writer, rails against climate change one moment and movingly describes his relationship with a cat the next. You never know where his writing’s going to lead, and reading his essays is an exciting, energizing, and occasionally bewildering journey.”—Strange Horizons
“[F]unny, scathing, and depressing as fuck.”—Antisocial Socialist
“Peter Watts will shatter your illusions, crush your dreams, and vaporize your defense mechanisms, because he cares. He cares deeply about our world, and he respects you enough not to coddle you with reassurances. These essays are proof of that—they are tough love for the mind.”—Karl Schroeder, author of Ventus and Permanence
“The world is on fire, and Peter Watts wants everyone to know it. In this collection of revised and updated writings from his blog, Watts is loud, smart, abrasive and refreshingly candid as he traverses an array of topics with philosophical and scientific savvy, unperturbed by whom he may offend along the way.”—Shelf Awareness
“You may not agree with every opinion Watts has, but you will have to admit he is an excellent writer, presents his opinions and facts clearly and concisely, and he is passionate about what he thinks.” —She Treads Softly
“There's an underlying feeling to the pieces presented in the book that Watts cares He cares about the planet, he cares about humanity, he cares about everything. He gets angry at things precisely because he cares so much. And it really does show.” —MT Void
“Full of intelligent, and frequently original discourse and though, very much worth reading and getting entertained (and challenged) by. Go get yours, now!”
—Theirstein
Praise for Peter Watts
“Watts, undoubtedly, is a genius.”—Medium
“Peter Watts is some precisely engineered hybrid of Lucius Shepard and Gregory Benford, lyrical yet hard-edged, purveyor of sleek surfaces and also the ethical and spiritual contents inside.”—Locus
“Known for his pitch-black views on human nature, and a breathtaking ability to explore the weird side of evolution and animal behavior, Watts is one of those writers who gets into your brain and remains lodged there like an angry, sentient tumor.”—io9
“Peter Watts blows my mind every single time.”—Kelly Robson, author of Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach
“Watts ranges from huge-scale ideas (“The Island,” with a living membrane surrounding a star) to the immediate (what if airport scanners grew sophisticated enough to detect even potential criminals, in “The Eyes of God”)? He asks the questions that the best science fiction writers ask, but that the rest of us may be afraid to answer.”—Chicago Tribune
“A sharp and incisive stylist with a rather tragic, if clear-eyed, view of human nature, and the capacity for some remarkable hard-SF inventions.”—Locus
“Watts continues to challenge readers with his imaginative plots and superb storytelling.”—Library Journal
“Possessing the stern moral acuity of James Tiptree, [Watts] also exhibits the intellectual zest of Arthur C. Clarke.”—Paul Di Filippo, Barnes & Noble Review
“It seems clear that every second Peter Watts is not actually writing must be spent reading, out at the cutting edge of all the sciences and all the arts at once.”—Spider Robinson, author of the Callahan Series
“Holding himself to a higher standard of storytelling, Watts uses the effects of mainstream sci-fi, yet continually aims at something deeper in humanity and society’s soul.”—Speculiction
Praise for The Freeze-Frame Revolution
2018 British Science Fiction Award nomineeA Publishers Weekly Staff Pick / Summer 2018 ReadA Goodreads Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy title of Jan-August 2018Locus Recommended Reading List
“This—THIS—is the future of science fiction." —Richard A. Morgan, author of Altered Carbon
"The Freeze-Frame Revolution is a delicious morsel of hard science fiction . . . The setup of the book is irresistible, and the science is high-concept.”—Washington Post
“The Freeze-Frame Revolution (Tachyon), the shortest and latest novel from Canadian Peter Watts, is as brilliant and enticingly acute as any of his earlier and longer work.”—Seattle Review of Books
“The Freeze Frame Revolution is the purest driven high concept.”—Richard Morgan, author of Altered Carbon
"This is definitely vintage Watts—outstanding, exciting, and terrifying.”—Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother and Walkaway
“The latest from Watts (Blindsight, 2006) packs a significant punch into a small package.”—Booklist
[STARRED REVIEW] “SF fans will love this tale of bizarre future employment and genuine wonder.”—Publishers Weekly
[STARRED REVIEW] “Entertaining and provocative, brilliant and ambitious, The Freeze-Frame Revolution is compelling science fiction with heart.”—Foreword
“A gripping story of a deep human future—the dependent relationship between human and AI tangles and grows with the delicious creep of suspense to the very last page. Watts is a poet when it comes to science..”—Justina Robson, author of Keeping it Real
“Watts takes familiar-seeming SF tropes and accelerates them towards lightspeed, until they become something chillingly other. A gripping tale where galactic timescales collide with biology and age-old human dilemmas.”—Hannu Rajaniemi, author of The Quantum Thief
"You may not agree with every opinion Watts has, but you will have to admit he is an excellent writer, presents his opinions and facts clearly and concisely, and he is passionate about what he thinks." -She Treads Softly "There's an underlying feeling to the pieces presented in the book that Watts cares He cares about the planet, he cares about humanity, he cares about everything. He gets angry at things precisely because he cares so much. And it really does show." -MT Void
