- 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
- upon
- 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....Blind
- Lake
- is
- a
- 2004
- Hugo
- Award
- Nominee
- for
- Best Novel.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
