In the tradition of the greatest cyberpunk novels, Blood Music explores the imminent destruction of mankind and the fear of mass destruction by tec...
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reviews
Nov 14, 2011
karen
rated it: 
(dude, you seriously want an audio version of this??)
so i read this because bird-brian told me to.
i don't know that i am the best person to review sci-fi books. i have zero background in the genre, but for whatever reason, brian thought it would be amusing if i reviewed this.
so i will try.
soooo - okay - quick plot for you plotty folks out there - genius bad boy scientist gets fired from job for meddling with mammalian cells and conducting experi More...
so i read this because bird-brian told me to.
i don't know that i am the best person to review sci-fi books. i have zero background in the genre, but for whatever reason, brian thought it would be amusing if i reviewed this.
so i will try.
soooo - okay - quick plot for you plotty folks out there - genius bad boy scientist gets fired from job for meddling with mammalian cells and conducting experi More...
61 comments
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Jul 20, 2011
Bird Brian
rated it:
Karen asked me why I gave her this book to read, when I only rated it three stars. That seems like a very reasonable question.
Well, for one thing, I am very inconsiderate of other peoples' time. Seriously though, asking somebody to read a three star book is not a major offense to me, if it means they might have some fun, and I might get to read an entertaining review of it later. For another thing, I think Karen is a way-fast reader, and the truth is she probably blew through this wh More...
Well, for one thing, I am very inconsiderate of other peoples' time. Seriously though, asking somebody to read a three star book is not a major offense to me, if it means they might have some fun, and I might get to read an entertaining review of it later. For another thing, I think Karen is a way-fast reader, and the truth is she probably blew through this wh More...
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(18 people liked it)
Apr 21, 2011
Paul
rated it: 
FRANKENSCIENCE AND MIRTH
In Greg Bear's funny and creepy and REALLY insane story, the rogue scientist invents a virus which... goes viral. Well, what did he expect? That it would stay where he told it and just watch tv? It develops intelligence. Learns the art of conversation. Says stuff like
WORDS communicate with *share body structure external* is this like *wholeness WITHIN* *totality* is EXTERNAL alike COULD DO WITH A BEER
No, sorry, I added the last b More...
In Greg Bear's funny and creepy and REALLY insane story, the rogue scientist invents a virus which... goes viral. Well, what did he expect? That it would stay where he told it and just watch tv? It develops intelligence. Learns the art of conversation. Says stuff like
WORDS communicate with *share body structure external* is this like *wholeness WITHIN* *totality* is EXTERNAL alike COULD DO WITH A BEER
No, sorry, I added the last b More...
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(13 people liked it)
Dec 17, 2009
Lasairfiona
rated it: 
I can't decide: should I burn this book because it is the most horrible piece of trash I have ever read or should I frame it?
Why is this book so horrible? It is because the concept is so _cool_. I couldn't put it down because it is just neat that a virus could become sentient! There is also some cool (though completely bogus) science and theory on observations of time. The only character worth caring about is the virus!
But I had to wade through bad sentence structure, More...
Why is this book so horrible? It is because the concept is so _cool_. I couldn't put it down because it is just neat that a virus could become sentient! There is also some cool (though completely bogus) science and theory on observations of time. The only character worth caring about is the virus!
But I had to wade through bad sentence structure, More...
Feb 14, 2012
David
rated it: 
Unfortunately, this book does not improve the short story upon which it is based; the main characters are either unsympathetic or two-dimensional, and Bear doesn't provide more than a glimpse of the world created by the Blood Musicians (so to speak). Also, the book's title just doesn't work with the "In My Pants" game.
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Mar 13, 2011
Eerie.: With an apocalyptic vision at its heart, Blood Music is escapist reading with high drama, though its excitement has been somewhat muted by time and the magnitude of the real events which have transpired since its publication in 1985. Here a genetic experiment goes awry, and the whole world is endangered. .
Though only seventeen years have passed since its publication, the book feels old--eerily so. Gene therapy is now a reality. The Soviet Union, which here rattles its nuclear sabers in a
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Jul 26, 2011
Nicholas
rated it:
Usually, I am not a fan of the results of taking good short stories/novellas and making novels out of them. This is part of the reason it has taken me so long to get around to reading Greg Bear's Blood Music, based off of the award winning short story of the same name. Bear does not simply flesh out and pad his excellent short story (in which a young biochemical researcher develops a way to make blood cells intelligent, and then when his employers demand he destroy his work, decides to preserv
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May 05, 2010
Christina
rated it:
This novel really irked me, for several reasons. I think my primary complaint is in the characters - they were undeveloped, unrealistic, and clearly vessels for the science and story rather than dynamic individuals. I didn't care about any of them, except for maybe the intelligent cells themselves.
It didn't help that the plot was slow-moving and required a lot of suspension of disbelief. I don't know enough about hard science to judge the likelihood of any of this novel's events, More...
It didn't help that the plot was slow-moving and required a lot of suspension of disbelief. I don't know enough about hard science to judge the likelihood of any of this novel's events, More...
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Sep 03, 2009
Patrick
rated it:
Not excellent--but not bad. Blood Music is the story of a brilliant but troubled and careless scientist named Vergil Ulam, who accidentally creates cells capable of high-speed learning and intelligent growth. The cells teach themselves to evolve and remember, and adapt their environment. They are an intelligent species, and Vergil loves them, calling them noocytes. Until his work is uncovered and shut down. Knowing the immeasurable value of, and acting on personal love for, his cells, he injects
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Oct 07, 2010
Roger Loran
rated it:
This is really a pretty fascinating book. It could be classified as a science fiction thriller with the kind of excitement that makes you keep wanting to turn the next page to see what happens next even if you do have responsibilities that must be attended.
A biotech scientist does some bioengineering on his own lymphocytes and somehow endows them with high intelligence. Yes, they are individual cells that are each and every one self aware and conscious. When he injects them back into hims More...
A biotech scientist does some bioengineering on his own lymphocytes and somehow endows them with high intelligence. Yes, they are individual cells that are each and every one self aware and conscious. When he injects them back into hims More...
Jan 09, 2012
Pizza Girl
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Aug 07, 2011
Excellent work of cyberpunk / sci-fi. I didn't realise until after I'd finished reading that this book was written in the mid 80's - it's 'near future' style felt just as ominous to me today as it may have felt 20 years ago (though this may be due to my only very basic understanding of the science involved).
Very movie-like narrative, having just watched Stephen King's 'The Mist' the day before starting to read this, I could easily envision this as a film. The language used when describing landsc More...
Very movie-like narrative, having just watched Stephen King's 'The Mist' the day before starting to read this, I could easily envision this as a film. The language used when describing landsc More...
Feb 04, 2012
Frank
rated it:
I thought this was a very good apocalyptic novel with a large helping of science thrown in. This novel was originally published in 1985 and in some ways it was very prophetic although somewhat dated. It's the story of a genetic experiment gone wrong resulting in the end of the world as we know it. The book was sometimes quite eerie to me, especially the scenes taking place in an empty New York City and a devastated World Trade Center with images very reminiscent of 9/11 including the collapse of
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Nov 15, 2011
01MirandaH
rated it:
Meh. I figured I'd read it because of the shiny stuff on the cover. Part of the book was cool, and I couldn't wait to find out what happened, and others less so. I wasn't fond of this book, because it felt like a short story blown into a regular story. The ending disappointed me, and I was pissed because all the main characters kept dying. Seriously. I'd learn to begrudgingly tolerate one character, and then 12 pages later they would be dead. Whoop-de-doop. But it's not the worst book I'v
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Apr 17, 2011
Don
rated it:
Great, great story which has an incredible premise at its heart - that genetic engineering might produce intelligence in body cells. Bear develops this speculation very credibly, with the science of microbiology weaving an account of RNA proteins and chemcial changes being the basis for conveying information between the trillions of lymphocytes that course through our bloodstreams.
The emergence of the new intelligent life form assumes the form of a catestrophic plague, sweeping acro More...
The emergence of the new intelligent life form assumes the form of a catestrophic plague, sweeping acro More...
Mar 09, 2009
Alexandra
rated it:
Blood Music starts out so well that I had high hopes of it being a thoroughly riveting read...sadly, however, it quickly devolved into my going 'wtf?'
This is clearly a case of a short story having been stretched way too thin and spun into a dreadful novel, with the excellent concept coming at the start, and then? Less than half way through the initial story stops and is supplanted by a whole other story and set of characters that, well, quite frankly have little if nothing to do wit More...
This is clearly a case of a short story having been stretched way too thin and spun into a dreadful novel, with the excellent concept coming at the start, and then? Less than half way through the initial story stops and is supplanted by a whole other story and set of characters that, well, quite frankly have little if nothing to do wit More...
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Jul 27, 2011
Blood music is a great addition to the future classics series. A novel written in the classic sf mode, it is readable, yet hard to grasp in equal measure. Starting very small with a scientists forays into making intelligent cells, this novel becomes something completely different very quickly - a world wide epidemic of intelligent cells, taking over america and eventually the world, through a myriad of awesome concepts to do with having to many thought processes in one place - and ripping the ti
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Jan 31, 2009
Robert
rated it:
This novel surprised me with how enjoyable it actually was. The title and cover conspired to give me the distinct impression of "generic SF."
A more up-to-date look at the worries of genetic engineering, "Blood Music" moves from an "Andromeda Strain" bio-thriller into speculation of physics and the nature of reality. It manages to do so smoothly, and without invoking any mystical hand waving, which adds greatly to its effect.
A solid read, More...
A more up-to-date look at the worries of genetic engineering, "Blood Music" moves from an "Andromeda Strain" bio-thriller into speculation of physics and the nature of reality. It manages to do so smoothly, and without invoking any mystical hand waving, which adds greatly to its effect.
A solid read, More...
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(2 people liked it)
Apr 19, 2010
Viktor
rated it: 
Blood Music begins as Vergil Ulam, a “rogue” biotechnologist, creates lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, that become sentient, self-organizing into their own civilization inside Ulam’s body. Of course, the newly intelligent organisms soon escape the confines of Vergil Ulam and begin infecting the world, with disastrous results for mankind. Blood Music is thoroughly intriguing, suffering only from a few shallow characters towards the end of the book. Flaws aside, the concepts discussed in B
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(1 person liked it)
Dec 17, 2009
Abe
rated it:
My first of many (and still my favorite) Greg Bear book. This guy is good!
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(2 people liked it)
Feb 07, 2010
Geoff
rated it:
The novel begins following maverick biotechnologist Vergil Ulam, and his 'after-hours' creation of lymphocytes capable of passing information between one-another. His research is considered too dangerous, but rather than destroy his work, he injects his masterpiece into his bloodstream - their only chance for survival. This leads to the evolution of intelligence in the noocytes (from the greek word for mind, 'noos'), and they begin to rapidly multiply and evolve further. Vergil begins to notice
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(1 person liked it)
Apr 26, 2010
michael
rated it:
i picked this up after seeing it referenced in pretend we're dead, because i thought it sounded like an idea ripe for a film adaptation by david cronenberg. while reading it, i waffled often as to whether or not there was a DC movie in here, or whether it could be filmed at all.
blood music is at times quite compelling, but greg bear's ponderously overdescriptive, cold style of writing has a tendency to put me off a bit. bear seems uncertain how to wrap things up about 3/4 of the More...
blood music is at times quite compelling, but greg bear's ponderously overdescriptive, cold style of writing has a tendency to put me off a bit. bear seems uncertain how to wrap things up about 3/4 of the More...
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Oct 09, 2008
Noah
rated it:
A lovely little novel. Finished in less than 24hrs, so I certainly enjoyed it.
I read the short story this novel was built from a few months ago, and it is definitely the better version of the two. The novel had a bad habit of killing off interesting characters and replacing them with less interesting characters.
You really get a feel for the first two main characters. I'd have liked to spend more time with them, though it was perfectly logical that they should meet thei More...
I read the short story this novel was built from a few months ago, and it is definitely the better version of the two. The novel had a bad habit of killing off interesting characters and replacing them with less interesting characters.
You really get a feel for the first two main characters. I'd have liked to spend more time with them, though it was perfectly logical that they should meet thei More...
Jul 03, 2008
Nicolas
rated it:
Dans ce roman, tout commence assez bien pour se finir mal, horriblement mal. Et encore, quand je dis que tout commence assez bien, il faut être réaliste, le savant de la première partie de ce roman ne peut être assimilé qu’à un seul archétype : le savant fou. Et c’est sans doute la seule chose qu’on puisse reprocher à cette formidable extrtapolation de Greg Bear : partir d’un archétype. D’un autre côté, le propos de cette anticipation réaliste n’est pas là. Il est tout simplement de partir d’un
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Dec 17, 2009
Josh
rated it:
Blood Music is sort of Andromeda Strain with the science kind of taking two steps further down the evolutionary chain. I liked the basis that the novel started from, but further in it starts to become undermined by the implausibility of the philosophical qualities of the scientific theories being invented. It feels like the novel was created around several good ideas of theoretical science, but the story came later and kind of got grafted on... several characters just vanish part way through,
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Oct 31, 2011
Alice
rated it:
Greg Bear stresses the science in science fiction. To the detriment of his characters, I think.
I have to admit to skimming over the very technical bits, which I'm sure made the book for some people. But the characters were flat. They're just there to be acted upon. I had no feeling for them when they were in danger. And the technical stuff was so far over my head that I really didn't understand where the author was going with the ending.
Definitely outside my entertainment zo
I have to admit to skimming over the very technical bits, which I'm sure made the book for some people. But the characters were flat. They're just there to be acted upon. I had no feeling for them when they were in danger. And the technical stuff was so far over my head that I really didn't understand where the author was going with the ending.
Definitely outside my entertainment zo
Apr 30, 2010
Andy
rated it:
I don't often read science fiction and generally not the harder stuff but this stuck out on the shelf due to the wonderful design and then I noticed the glowing review by Neil Gaiman so thought I'd give it a go.
It deals with a reckless scientist who creates intelligent cellular material and the consequences of unleashing new life. It escalates quickly and becomes rather unpredictable and very soon it's a tense and frightening look at the future of evolution. An interesting read.
It deals with a reckless scientist who creates intelligent cellular material and the consequences of unleashing new life. It escalates quickly and becomes rather unpredictable and very soon it's a tense and frightening look at the future of evolution. An interesting read.
Dec 01, 2009
Rich
rated it:
More Sci than Fi for the first half of this book, it's immensely detailed, but gets more interesting later. It begins with genetic engineering experiments, modified white blood cells that become intelligent. As they spread, they modify humans accordingly, and develop a new society of their own. North America is eventually consumed. Later, Bear adds some strange Quantum Physics talk that makes sense, but is kind of out of the blue. Overall, good ideas but a bit odd in the execution. I enjoyed it
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Feb 28, 2008
tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE
rated it:
I'd read a few bks by Bear before this one. They were ok but this one was the one that convinced me that Bear has a far-reaching imagination. A biological researcher unleashes changes in life that speed up the paradigm shifts far faster than anything before this has ever done. Basic human form will never be the same again. This cd be taken as a warning against irresponsible biological/genetic/nanotechnology research or as a harbinger of possible changes to come that might be embraced by thos
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Nov 14, 2011
Rachel
rated it:
I think this is the first book I have started reading and given up on this year. The protagonist was awful and annoying, would never have lasted in any lab I've worked in as long as he did in Genetron's, and somehow only became more insufferable when he injected himself with his experiment. Ugh. Fortunately my partner reminded me that I could stop reading the book, and I instantly became three times as happy.
