![]() A big aspect of the book’s momentum is thanks to the subversive quality which permeates every chapter. ![]() And part of its success is in how it fools you into believing things about the plot and characters which turn out to be so much more than they appear. You’re expecting something huge - a big AHA moment - but instead of resolution, what you get is meaning. And part of the fun is anticipating how the separate strands of these characters and stories come together in a web. It toggles between a few different characters’ perspectives, each exploring a certain aspect of the main theme of the book. The book subverts the norms when it comes to both character and plot. The chapters flow naturally and at an impressive pace without you ever feeling like you’re on the receiving end of a lecture, and yet, I felt like I had so many new things to think about as I read this book. And it allows the story to plunge into serious depths without the need for lengthy exposition or heady dialogue. The scope of these snippets is immense, ranging from the nature of communication to the role of language, the evolution of our biases, and how the bodies we inhabit impact the fabric of our reality. These quotes drench the story in philosophy and observation. Before every chapter, an excerpt from one of these books is quoted, and the effect is dazzling. Two of the main characters are scientists who have written seminal works in a) how oceans talk, and b) how to build an artificial human mind. So let’s briefly talk about some of those layers, and what made it really work for me. Part of what makes the story so engaging are the layers built into it. It’s written so brilliantly and so sincerely that I bought into the idea of a sentient cephalopod before the characters had even dipped their toes in the water. If you’re thinking that the concept of an intelligent octopus sounds like a joke, this book will make you think again. It disguises its speculation about what it means to be human in a first contact story that takes place, not with aliens, but an octopus. It left me lost for words, and I can’t stress how appropriate that is, because this book is all about language, communication, and connectivity. DIANIMA - a transnational tech corporation best known for its groundbreaking work in artificial intelligence - has purchased the islands, evacuated their population and sealed the archipelago off from the world so that Nguyen can focus on her research.īut the stakes are high: the octopuses hold the key to unprecedented breakthroughs in extra-human intelligence and there are vast fortunes to be made by whoever can take advantage of their advancements.Īnd no one has yet asked the octopuses what they think. When pioneering marine biologist Dr Ha Nguyen is offered the chance to travel to the remote Con Dao Archipelago to investigate a highly intelligent, dangerous octopus species, she doesn’t pause long enough to look at the fine print.
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