The mountain in the sea

Title:

Author:

Summary:

The transnational tech corporation DIANIMA has sealed off the remote Con Dao Archipelago, where a species of octopus has been discovered that may have developed its own language and culture. The marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen, who has spent her life researching cephalopod intelligence, will do anything for the chance to study them. She travels to the islands to join DIANIMA’s team: a battle-scarred securityagent and the world’s first (and possibly last) android. The octopuses hold the key to unprecedented breakthroughs in extrahuman intelligence. As Dr. Nguyen struggles to communicate with the newly discovered species, forces larger than DIANIMA close in to seize the octopuses for themselves. But no one has yet asked the octopuses what they think. Or what they might do about it. -- Amazon.

Physical Description:

456 pages : black and white illustrations ; 21 cm

Genre:

Science fiction.

Thrillers (Fiction)

Subject Term:

Octopuses -- Fiction.

Marine biologists -- Fiction.

Women marine biologists -- Fiction.

Animal intelligence -- Fiction.

Androids -- Fiction.

Consciousness -- Fiction.

Publisher:

MCD Picador, Farrar, Straus and Giroux,

Publication Date:

2023

2022

ISBN:

9781250872272

Publication Information:

New York : MCD Picador, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023.

Call Number:

NAYLER

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003692244	New Adult Fiction	NAYLER Ray	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

*WINNER OF 2023 LOCUS AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL * FINALIST FOR THE NEBULA AWARD, and THE LOS ANGELES TIMES RAY BRADBURY PRIZE

" The Mountain in the Sea is a wildly original, gorgeously written, unputdownable gem of a novel. Ray Nayler is one of the most exciting new voices I've read in years."
-- Blake Crouch , author of Upgrade and Dark Matter

Humankind discovers intelligent life in an octopus species with its own language and culture, and sets off a high-stakes global competition to dominate the future.

The transnational tech corporation DIANIMA has sealed off the remote Con Dao Archipelago, where a species of octopus has been discovered that may have developed its own language and culture. The marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen, who has spent her life researching cephalopod intelligence, will do anything for the chance to study them. She travels to the islands to join DIANIMA's team: a battle-scarred securityagent and the world's first (and possibly last) android.

The octopuses hold the key to unprecedented breakthroughs in extrahuman intelligence. As Dr. Nguyen struggles to communicate with the newly discovered species, forces larger than DIANIMA close in to seize the octopuses for themselves.

But no one has yet asked the octopuses what they think. Or what they might do about it.

A near-future thriller, a meditation on the nature of consciousness, and an eco-logical call to arms, Ray Nayler's dazzling literary debut The Mountain in the Sea is a mind-blowing dive into the treasure and wreckage of humankind's legacy.

Author Notes

Ray Nayler 's critically acclaimed short fiction has appeared in many magazines and anthologies, including The Very Best of the Best: 35 Years of The Year's Best Science Fiction . For nearly half his life, he has lived and worked outside the United States in the Foreign Service and the Peace Corps, including a stint as the environment, science, technology, and health officer at the U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. He currently serves as the international advisor to the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Nayler's masterful debut combines fascinating science and well-wrought characters to deliver a deep dive into the nature of intelligent life. Marine biologist Ha Nguyen gets the opportunity of a lifetime when she's invited to study a recently discovered society of intelligent octopuses in Vietnam's Con Dao archipelago. Aiding her are Evrim, the world's first android, and Altantsetseg, a human expert drone operator, both of whom add nuance to Nayler's thematic exploration of consciousness through their vivid personalities and backstories: Evrim's programming gradually breaks down, leaving them contemplating the nature of self, meanwhile drones enhance Altantsetseg's natural awareness as she uses them to both observe the octopuses in their natural habitat and defend the archipelago from rivals eager to capitalize on Nguyen's research. Throughout, Nayler provides a tightly focused framework for the challenges Nguyen faces as she attempts to decipher octopus language and culture, which will especially please science-minded readers. Subplots featuring genius hacker Rustem and Eiko, a man trafficked into slavery aboard a fishing vessel, expertly weave into the narrative while also offering readers a broader understanding of the political and technological state of this near-future world. As entertaining as it is intellectually rigorous, this taut exploration of human--and inhuman--consciousness is a knockout. (Oct.)

Library Journal Review

DEBUT A community of intelligent octopuses has been discovered off the southern coast of Vietnam. Access to the animals is tightly controlled by the international corporation DIANIMA, which hopes to study and exploit the octopuses for their development of artificially intelligent androids. They hire Dr. Ha Nguyen, an expert on cephalopods, to lead the research into the octopuses' language and culture. It quickly becomes clear that DIANIMA's plans to cash in on the results of Dr. Nguyen's efforts is not something the octopuses agree with--and no one can foresee what the octopuses will do to make their resistance understood. VERDICT Drawing on decades of experience in overseas service (including time with the United States Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), Nayler infuses his debut novel with fantastic elements grounded in real contemporary topics and tackles moral issues related to artificial and animal intelligence without sacrificing plot or pacing. This is a classic sci-fi thriller that's easy to read and will have broad appeal for fans of speculative fiction.--Lydia Fletcher