Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, Bookish Wisdom earns from qualifying purchases. This doesn't change our picks or your price.
Quick answer: If you loved Blindsight, try Echopraxia, Solaris, Children of Time, Embassytown, The Three-Body Problem and Rendezvous with Rama. Each one is hard, idea-heavy science fiction about consciousness, first contact or minds unlike ours.
Peter Watts's 2006 novel sends a crew of enhanced humans toward the edge of the solar system after thousands of alien probes photograph Earth. The team includes a man with half his brain removed, a linguist with multiple personalities and a vampire, a resurrected predator, as captain. What they find forces them to question whether consciousness is useful at all. Readers love its unsettling ideas. These books share its hard science and its strange aliens.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Style | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Echopraxia | Peter Watts | Sequel | readers who want more Watts |
| Solaris | Stanisław Lem | First contact | readers who like unknowable aliens |
| Children of Time | Adrian Tchaikovsky | Evolution | readers who like nonhuman minds |
| Embassytown | China Miéville | Language | readers who like alien languages |
| The Three-Body Problem | Cixin Liu | First contact | readers who want big ideas |
| Rendezvous with Rama | Arthur C. Clarke | First contact | readers who like exploring alien objects |
| Annihilation | Jeff VanderMeer | Weird | readers who like eerie mysteries |
| Anathem | Neal Stephenson | Philosophy | readers who like big thinking |
| Diaspora | Greg Egan | Posthuman | readers who want hard sci-fi |
| Permutation City | Greg Egan | Consciousness | readers who like simulated minds |
| The Left Hand of Darkness | Ursula K. Le Guin | Anthropology | readers who like alien societies |
| Roadside Picnic | Arkady and Boris Strugatsky | First contact | readers who like unknowable visitors |
| Hyperion | Dan Simmons | Epic | readers who like layered stories |
| Story of Your Life and Others | Ted Chiang | Stories | readers who like brilliant short fiction |
| Project Hail Mary | Andy Weir | First contact | readers who want a hopeful alien story |
1. Echopraxia by Peter Watts
A biologist is caught in a strange mission after Blindsight.
Best for: readers who want more Watts.
2. Solaris by Stanisław Lem
Scientists study a living ocean planet.
Best for: readers who like unknowable aliens.
3. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Spiders evolve intelligence on a terraformed planet.
Best for: readers who like nonhuman minds.
4. Embassytown by China Miéville
Humans and aliens communicate through a strange language.
Best for: readers who like alien languages.
5. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
Humanity's first contact goes wrong.
Best for: readers who want big ideas.
6. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
Astronauts explore a vast alien ship.
Best for: readers who like exploring alien objects.
7. Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
Scientists enter a strange zone.
Best for: readers who like eerie mysteries.
8. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
Scholars face an alien threat.
Best for: readers who like big thinking.
9. Diaspora by Greg Egan
Digital minds explore the universe.
Best for: readers who want hard sci-fi.
10. Permutation City by Greg Egan
People live as computer copies.
Best for: readers who like simulated minds.
11. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
An envoy visits a planet with no fixed gender.
Best for: readers who like alien societies.
12. Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
Stalkers enter zones left by aliens.
Best for: readers who like unknowable visitors.
13. Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Pilgrims share tales on a journey.
Best for: readers who like layered stories.
14. Story of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Stories about language, time and minds.
Best for: readers who like brilliant short fiction.
15. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
A teacher wakes in space to save Earth.
Best for: readers who want a hopeful alien story.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Blindsight: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
If you are not sure where to begin, start with the first three picks in the table: they are the closest match to Blindsight. The rest of the list moves further out, so it works well once you know which part of the original you liked most. If a pick is part of a longer series, read the first book before you commit, and check the age or content notes in the table before passing a book to a younger reader.
How to Choose
Continue with Echopraxia. For unknowable aliens, Solaris and Roadside Picnic are classics. If you loved the questions about minds, Permutation City and Story of Your Life and Others are brilliant. Children of Time is a gripping read about nonhuman intelligence. For something more hopeful, try Project Hail Mary.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Blindsight about?
A crew of enhanced humans meets an alien intelligence and questions the value of consciousness.
Is Blindsight hard to read?
Yes. It is dense, with lots of science and endnotes.
Is Blindsight free online?
Peter Watts released it under a Creative Commons license.
Is there a sequel?
Yes. Echopraxia, published in 2014.
Why is there a vampire?
Watts imagines vampires as an extinct human subspecies revived by science.
What is blindsight?
A real condition where people respond to things they do not consciously see.
Who should read Blindsight?
Readers who enjoy challenging, idea-driven hard science fiction.