Rating: 
Summary: Starfish-cold-as-ice-so-are-the-people
Review: I just finished reading this book over the Memorial Day weekend-
in three days. Towards the the last part, it gets a trifle on the slow side, you are kept in the dark when one of the "vampir-
es" swims up the line-WHY she was trapped, and it IS a long time
before you do find out just what the nameless terror from below
exzctly IS-but once you do, hold onto your hats-it races to a
no-holds-barred conclusion that is terrifying in its implications
---one nervy, scary read, full of warnings not heeded.
Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: i picked up the book starfish as a fluke (hah). The premise sounded fascinating and i took it home, but more often than not a good premise does not equal good writing technique and a hook that grabs readers in and makes them read (whether or not they have papers to write. . .) starfish was disgusting, disturbing, fascinating, eerie, engrossing, and all of those things that made it impossible for me to put down. It's out of print, but you might try to get your hands on Dougal Dixon's Man after Man: an anthropology of the future.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic combination of ideas, characters, scene, and plot
Review: I simply can't say enough good about Peter Watts' debut novel Starfish. It is rare enough when a "hard" science-fiction novel tells a fascinating story rich with ideas in an interesting setting, but Watts goes one better and builds his novel around very compelling characters in a grim and dark "coming-of-age" tale. The plot is first rate--full of plausible ideas with their consequences well thought-out. The science involved is in many fields--we have biology, evolution, geology, and psychology, among others--and all are convincingly done. But what makes the book so vivid is not the story as much as watt's mature characterisations. I can't agree at all with those critics here who have written that the ending is truncated--I think they missed the point. Starfish is a tale of how the main character, Lenie Clarke, "matures" thoughout her travails. What she does next, fodder for a possible sequel, we can easily imagine; as we have learned about her and understand her motivations. Such a sequel will likely be mundane and obvious (although I have enough respect for Watts that I believe if anyone could do such a book well, he could)--a typical "monster" story. Instead, it is Lenie's journey, not her destination, which is of the most interest. At any rate, this is a terrific read--by far the best sci-fi book I have read in years. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it is one of the best books of any sort I've read in years. Starfish has my highest recommendation. I'm looking forward to further Peter Watts' writing with great anticipation.
Rating: 
Summary: A hard, boring, and ultimately pointless slog
Review: I was astounded to find that this mediocre effort had spawned a sequel and even more astounded to find that it had this many supporters. Setting aside the unrelentingly dystopic theme (which is fine if you like that sort of thing) this is still a first novel that needs a lot of work. The characterization is haphazard at best and truly awful at worst. We get characters who are introduced early on, then ignored again until the last few pages. We get characters with poorly-fleshed backgrounds that hint of detail, but never deliver. We get characters with dark secrets that are hinted at...and then ignored. Some of the plot devices were laughably bad, like the background character who steps forward at the climax to suddenly reveal that he's some sort of super secret agent with detailed knowledge of the exact machinery that's causing the crisis. This is never explored, the rationale for this character is poorly explained and then he's completely ignored for the rest of the book. This is supposed to make sense?
Frankly, there's not a single character that holds the reader's interest. Most of them are unlikeable to start with and the author never makes them interesting enough for us to care about. A perfect example is the climax which is almost completely seen through the eyes of a minor character who was introduced in the last 20 pages of the book and then only as a stereotypical evil corporate executive.
The real pity is that there's some potential here. The future is dark place with a variety of interesting things to come - except we never see anything but brief glimpses. Instead we spend all our time on the bottom of the ocean in unrelenting blackness with either the broken, damaged head-cases who live there or the petty, two-dimensionally evil beaurocrats who sent them there. At the end we're supposed to feel something when the world is threatened, but why should we care? We've been told almost nothing about this future and can't tell if it should continue or be destroyed! We simply don't have any reason to care about the characters or the world they inhabit.
The tone is also problematic. After far too many pages exploring the dark and dangerous sea bed and the dark and dangerous psyches of the nutjobs sent to live in it (yes, we got the symbolism the first ten time, thank you) we're suddenly faced with a completly new threat that will destroy the entire human race. How's that for a shift in detail? We're suddenly expected to go from caring about a couple of unpleasant characters and their personal demons to caring about the fate of the entire planet! This sort of hackneyed plotting should never have made it past the first round of editing.
The details of deep-ocean life and exploration are well researched and well described, if in far too much detail. If you like your science delivered in Tom Clancy-like chunks of detail you'll find this familiar, but it's not particulary fun to read. That's enough to lift this item up to two stars, but I certainly wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Go read some non-fiction on deep-sea exploration and your time will be much better spent.
Rating: 
Summary: A bit abrupt on the ending...
Review: I'm in agreement with others' comments, but I thought the ending was rather truncated. We spend much of the book with Lenie as she comes to terms with her surroundings (and a number of other fascinating characters), and just as she figures out what she's about, the book ends.Can you say sequel?
Rating:
Summary: Dark, Misanthropic, and highly Nihilistic, one of the best.
Review: I've never read a book quite like this. No author has been able to write out a fiction book that caught my eye quite like this one. The pain and sorrow is sort of over-rated in books, they give the books no taste, and throw them off a bit, but this book is quite a bit better than that. Expressing dark, misanthropic, and nihilistic themes is all this author is about, and I love every minute of it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Sci-Fi read
Review: I've searched long and far for a science fiction book with an intrigueing concepts as well as excellent characters and all of the other good stuff, and I've found it. Never before have i read a book with so many fascinating characters. Put a bunch of psychotic people in an enclosed space, each with their own multitude of problems and discrepencies, and get a great book. I read that Peter Watts is working on a sequel called "Hydra" and I can't wait. I think, for a fairly new writer ( at least with fictional novels) Watts has done exceptional job. Bringing to life a fairly unexplored world with a sense of great style, It couldnt have been done better. Basically if you like science fiction in any way, shape or form, read this book! Matt
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling and plausible: a must
Review: It's probably no coincidence that the first characters introduced in Peter Watts' deep-sea psycho-thriller are named Clarke and Ballard; "Starfish," Watts' debut novel, shares the speculative edge of Arthur C. Clarke as well as the environmental tension explored by J.G. Ballard's science fiction. In "Starfish," Watts develops a gritty, dysfunctional near-future where surgically adapted misfits are sent to tend geothermal power generators deep below the Pacific. With taut, charged prose and a cyberpunkish attention to technological extrapolation, Watts weaves familar SF concepts into a harrowing tale of dark psychology, artificial intelligence, and the future of the human species. "Starfish" succeeds on multiple levels. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant debut novel - very hard SF psychothriller
Review: It's the near future, some multinationals have got the bomb, and in order to keep the electricity-rationed Pacific Rim afloat, one ruthless power company decides to tap the geothermal energy of the Mid-Ocean Ridges. Logistical problems include the crushing pressure of the water, the dark, earthquakes, volcanism, giant hungry beasties...Only a raving psycho could adapt. So a bunch of differently-damaged, highly abnormal people are used to crew the new power station after some surgical modification, usually as an alternative to prison. Are they also part of a secret psychological experiment? What is the company's real agenda? Is the Pacific North-West safe? Just how much *should* you trust an AI made from a slab of cultured gray matter? Is one of the Beebe crew a company agent? Watts raises all these questions deliciously, and answers some of them. The old six-loonies-in-a-cage scenario is given a new lease of life by his excellent characterization and detailed, *very* well-researched depiction of life on the deep ocean floor. The only problem with the book is that some of the biggest mysteries (e.g. who the real bad guys are) are only revealed very near the end, which makes for a rushed, superficial and *incomplete* finale. I hope that the sequel, "Hydra", takes up the story, ties up the (few but tantalizing) loose ends, and weaves it all to a satisfying conclusion. Without dropping spoilers, some of our (anti)heroes die, some disappear, but at least one survives. This one is seriously on the warpath on the last page and hasn't had chance to do anything about it, so there *has* to be a continuation...doesn't there?
Rating: 
Summary: Dark, intelligent story
Review: Lots of original elements to the book, a great story and a good dose of technical detail. Watt peoples his book with a fascinating and repulsive collection of antiheroes who operate in a setting that is described with perfect, illuminating detail. The most notable flaw of the book is the heavy-handed, fanciful ending that was jarring in its contrast with the subtly of the rest of the story. Also, Watts seems to be one who likes his science but the "psychological science" aspects of the novel came across as unsophisticated and folklore-ish relative to the other technological bits. Minor points, I'll be reading his other books.
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