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Blood Music (S.F. Masterworks) | 
| Author: Greg Bear
Publisher: Gollancz
Category: Book
List Price: £6.99
Buy New: £6.49
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Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 126954
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1857987624
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781857987621
ASIN: 1857987624
Publication Date: April 12, 2001
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Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
Haunting August 27, 2008
Having read this story when it was first released, it has managed to haunt me across the years.
I may have forgotten the title at times - and sometimes even who wrote it - but the general theme of humanity's change to something either glorious, or horrific, depending on your personal point of view, is something I've never forgotten!
The story is short on characterisation, but it overflows with a haunting description of the demise of humanity as we know it, and the use of familiar places, especially significant today, is eerie.
Blood Music is a perfect title for the rhythm of change that travels through the bloodstream of humanity - like a serenade to lost time.
Comforting apocalypse August 11, 2008
I found myself thinking about this as I drove home today - and I read it about a year ago.
I remember reading John Wyndham as a child and being guiltily thrilled by the way would kill of most of the planet by the end of the first chapter.
This seems like a fairly natural successor to Wyndham - and others who spot similarities to J G Ballard are in the right area too. Though it's Ballard's naively sadistic tone rather than his literaty voice.
If you like Ballard and Wyndham, you'll love this. I haven't read any of the SF Masterworks that weren't fantastic.
 Entertaining but the science is pure fantasy May 21, 2008
I was intrigued by the ideas presented in the the original novelette that was later extended to produce this book, but found I had to suspend my disbelief throughout which rather spoilt the experience for me.
This is the story of the engineering of complex 'intelligent biochips', their incorporation into single cells and the account of the runaway-train scenario that ensues.
The scientific theory put up holds no water at all, but it must be taken into account that it was written in the early 1980s when the study of molecular genetics was in its infancy. There is simply no way that a single cell could have a 'brain' consisting of DNA, RNA and/or ribosomes- they are coded information (DNA and RNA) and machinery (ribosomes) for translating that code into proteins. They bear no comparison with the multiple input-output system that is the neural circuit and the billions of nerve cell interactions required for consciousness and independent thought.
Whilst there is no fear of genetic material or individual cells gaining a 'mind of their own' in the future, I think the author's ideas were certainly pertinent in relation to nanotechnology, nanomachines and their potential dangers.
A thought provoking read, but now a little dated.
Complex science but a very interesting exploration of micro-biology gone wrong April 14, 2008
As with many Masterworks books, this isn't the easiest book in the world to read, which is why I always recommend people should approach some of the titles in the Masterworks series with caution. But Bear gives a very interesting angle on traditional sci-fi, that of the 'micro-universe' of molecular biology. Instead of adventures in space, this is the complete antithesis, adventures at a molecular level. A biological experiment goes wrong, and soon people are consumed into a huge micro-biological entity. The entity isn't necessarily malevolent, but it has independent intelligence and transforms everything into a huge micro-organism like itself, effectively taking every living being into a new 'micro universe' where life is lived at the molecular level. Heavy stuff and hard to keep up with at times, but definitely worth the effort.
 Interesting plot, well told January 8, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Greg Bear draws us into an apocaliptic situation which, one day, could very well become real. Of course, as a gifted storyteller, he not only adds suspense and psychology to his plot, but much more so surprises us with unexpected developments. Thoroughly enjoyed reading the book.
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