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The Mountain in the Sea
- Narrated by: Eunice Wong
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
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The Mountain in the Sea
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Summary
There are creatures in the water of Con Dao.
To the locals, they're monsters.
To the corporate owners of the island, an opportunity.
To the team of three sent to study them, a revelation.
Their minds are unlike ours.
Their bodies are malleable, transformable, shifting.
They can communicate.
And they want us to leave.
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. 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.
But the stakes are high: the octopuses hold the key to unprecedented breakthroughs in extrahuman intelligence and there are vast fortunes to be made by whoever can take advantage of their advancements. And no one has yet asked the octopuses what they think. And what they might do about it.
Critic reviews
'I loved this novel's brain and heart' DAVID MITCHELL, AUTHOR OF CLOUD ATLAS
'A first-rate speculative thriller, by turns fascinating, brutal, powerful, and redemptive' JEFF VANDERMEER, AUTHOR OF ANNIHILATION
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What listeners say about The Mountain in the Sea
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 21-05-23
Fantastic
Highly original multi layered science fiction that surprises at every turn. The narration is good and adds to the story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Richard
- 05-01-24
Superb
This was my favourite audible listen of 2023. I thought the novel was compelling, the performance, dynamic and emotive.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Kathy
- 22-02-24
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⭐ 3/5 ⭐
A complex sci-fi. There is an archipelago where the octopuses may have evolved advanced intellect. A scientist goes to research them and figure out their society.
- This book was pretty confusing. I like a good complex sci-fi but this was more convoluted. I also couldn't decide what the actual plot or message of the book was. There were overlapping themes of environmentalism, non-human and AI intelligences, the ethics of AI, human-caused planetary destruction and consequences, what it means to be human and honestly a few others. None particularly dominate or guide the narrative.
- The characters I didn't particularly care about for the most part. The exceptions being Evrim, who I found to be the most relatable oddlly, and the octopuses which a million times more personality and interesting interactions than most of the rest of the book.
- The octopuses and the study of their society was awesome and I would have loved the book if it was more focused on this. However, the author seems to have used this novel as a "sci-fi ideas I think are cool" dumping exercise and most of them do not add anything of value. More focus on one or two themes or ideas would have been much more interesting.
Sadly disappointed with the lack of cephalopod offerings. However, a reader may like this book if they enjoy exploring many sci-fi concepts superficially or wandering narratives.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- NICK DE SOUZA
- 07-01-24
Incredibly tense and yet beautiful
A mash up of AI, environment and human dislocation is a dystopian world that’s our future unless we reverse course
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kathryn E. Goldin
- 05-10-23
A reckoning of the mind and human nature
This really is a story of mind over matter, And that matter might be human or machine or sea creature. It's science over science fiction, care over indifference and hope over fear that seem to drive the real life and death and the more more philosophical conflicts that pose themselves throughout this thought provoking tale set mostly on an island and the oceans surrounding it. It's both classic sci-fi and yet not. Told through the lens of a scientist, a sailor and a spy, the writing is framed by passages from the books of two of the characters. There are twists and revelations and lots of human stories, but the most human of these of all are the those of the AI beings who reside alongside their human counterparts, each experiencing this world in distinctive ways, From android monks, to shape shifting octopus, this story feels part allegory, part thriller but is always moving whilst thinking.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ellie Rose
- 05-09-23
Great concept, too much philosophy
I really wanted to love this book. the descriptions of octopus intelligence combined with a society that may not be too far on our future we're enough to keep me going.
The characters were a bit one-dimensional though, and the philosophical ramblings were too long and too preachy. it would have been nice if the author had trusted their reader to reach some conclusions themselves.
Good narrator.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Cr Box
- 20-12-22
Read brilliantly. Well researched.
Well worth the read and has some good insights into what consciousness may be. if not convinced by the book watch My Octopus Teacher to fall in love.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anastasia F
- 17-06-23
Narrator was fine, story was boring
I was bored most of the time, though interested enough in the underlying ideas to want to continue. Nice tie-ins between storylines (eventually)
The story uses so many words without actually getting into the philosophical ideas it mentions and relies on and also fails to have any further depth.
I would not recommend this to anyone honestly.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- cjf
- 25-04-23
Timely and moving
The chapter introductions in this book are thought provoking and the narrative provides the emotional depth that carries this remarkable book to its conclusion. I highly recommend this for anyone who cares about the future of all species on our small planet.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Becky
- 18-03-23
Great story
A lot of fantastic information about octopuses, an reflection of our current world and where it is heading. What we do as a species to each other and to other animals, and how we could be better.
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