Rating: 
Summary: A dysfunctional voyage to the bottom of the sea...
Review: Very solid Science Fiction novel which is somber in tone and a very compelling read. I read this novel not long after Allen Steele's undersea novel "OceanSpace" and found a few bits and pieces of parallel storylines -- but the character of the novel is totally different. "Starfish" is more cerebral while "OceanSpace" is more action oriented. And the plethora of dysfunctional characters, both above and below the sea, create a feeling of dystopia while laying a basis for the story's conclusion.As a first novel for Peter Watts, this is an exceptional accomplishment. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: An Ingenious Debut Science Fiction Thriller
Review: _Starfish_ is one of the most enjoyable books I've read in sometime. The premise of Peter Watts' debut is that a multinational company is seeking personnel for its deepsea geothermal stations, located near thermal vents. Through trial and error, they find that only psychotic, damaged, abused people can withstand the pressures of working in such an environment, some of them actually growing to like being there. The lead character, Lenie Clarke, is an adult survivor of abuse and one of the earliest success stories. She's grown to be comfortable with the bioengineering and implants which are necessary for anyone to survive at 3000 feet down. She's become the unacknowledged leader at Beebe station on the Juan de Fuca rift. Also stationed at Beebe are a variety of pedophiles, manic depressives, and those who've volunteered to avoid a prison sentence. The undersea world is vividly imagined, complete with horrific, overgrown fish-monsters who make periodic appearances and attacks. Some of the crew begin to "native," preferring the cold, dark sea to the oppressive interior of the station. One, pedophile Gerald Fischer, actually begins to devolve into something not entirely human anymore, in a very emotional, tragic development. About the only flaw the story had was the rushed, hurried ending, with a threat to the existence of life as we know it suddenly thrust into the midst of an otherwise very grim, yet satisfying story. The book might have used another hundred pages or so to adequately contain all the ideas on display. Despite this, I'd still recommend the book very highly.
Rating:
Summary: Watts' Debut Novel an Incredible Read
Review: _Starfish_ was a great book! The day my order arrived in the mail, I sat down to start reading and I did not get up until the book was done. Peter Watts does a great job here of setting up a believable group of misfits, biologically enhanced so they can survive underwater and at great depths. Through some trial-and-error, it is discovered that only those who have some sort of mental imbalance can survive in such a hostile atmosphere. Coupled with the marvelous descriptions of the weird and grotesque life forms which thrive in the deep, this novel really creates a grim, believable portrait of the world. About the only drawback I noted was the conclusion, which, ironically, one of the other reviewers holds up as the book's high point. I'm looking forward to more thoughtful science fiction from Mr. Watts.
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