Sawyer, Robert J. ~ WWW : Wake ~ Ace, 2009 ~ 354 pages ~ adults, some teens.
"Not darkness, for that implies an understanding of light. Not silence, for that suggests a familiarity with sound."
Wake is the first book in the WWW Trilogy. Watch...
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Sawyer, Robert J. ~ WWW : Wake ~ Ace, 2009 ~ 354 pages ~ adults, some teens.
"Not darkness, for that implies an understanding of light. Not silence, for that suggests a familiarity with sound."
Wake is the first book in the WWW Trilogy. Watch and Wonder will arrive later. Wake is science fiction within a contemporary setting. There is little action in the traditional sense. Rather it is a thoughtful story involving the nature of intelligence, how perception/reality is created, and the nature of identity. The main character is Caitlin Decter who is 15 years old, brilliant [especially with mathematics], and blind. Her father is a noted physicist and her mother has a Ph.D. with a focus on game theory. Caitlin is a whiz on the computer. In fact, the Internet plays a major role in her social life and in forming her awareness of life, culture, and society.
Caitlin is contacted by researcher/technological innovator at a Japanese University who has created a new technology that may allow her to see by providing stronger, cleaner, clearer signals from her optical system to her brain. She goes to Japan, the surgery is done, and she now has an eyepod that contains some of the technology and also sends a copy of what she "sees" to a server at the Japanese University where it will be studied and where the eyepod software may be refined and then reloaded. The major thread focuses on the nature of the barriers preventing Caitlin from seeing, how the technology may overcome those barriers, and what happens when she begins to see and what she sees. Less important in this volume, but likely important later, involves research by another group in the U.S. on the intelligence of an ape with unusual parents.
After the operation and some changes, Caitlin develops "websight" or the ability to actually see the structure of the web and how it changes from moment to moment. She contrasts this sight with "worldview" which is the ability to see as humans normally see. She also encounters an intelligence that lives on the web or may be the web itself. The growing interaction between the "webmind" and Caitlin form the larger part of this volume, establishing the setting and creating the background for a variety of interesting questions about the meaning and nature of intelligence, both "artificial" and natural.
The story unfolds easily and logically. Sawyer has certainly done his homework and there are persuasive references to relevant monographs, studies, and scholars. In particular, the Bicameral Mind by Julian Janes receives considerable attention. How objects are represented and decoded is a major theme here, provoking some thought and reflection by the reader.
Besides Caitlin, who is realistically and appealingly developed, her mother and father receive enough attention/characterization to be believable. Dr. Kuroda, the Japanese researcher, is also nicely done. Minor characters are certainly satisfactory, but the stage is small. Writing is clear and flows well although the real world science [and technology] can slow readers who need to understand what they read. In fact, there is a considerable educational component to the story.
The book is easily read with larger than normal dark print, and generous white space. The jacket design by Rita Frangie includes a photograph of a female teen surrounded by fractal images.
Recommendation:
Sawyer has won both the Nebula and Hugo awards for best novel. His work should be part of any core SF collection. Still, this series will appeal to those who like to see real science along with its social/cultural implications. The contemporary setting plus perhaps a year or two broadens appeal. Caitlin is a strong character so the series should appeal to female teens with an interest in science. Those who don't normally read SF but enjoy novels that are science based should find the series appealing.
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