Blind Lake

Starred review from June 16, 2003
Wilson (The Chronoliths) grapples with the ineffable in a superior SF thriller notable for credible characters and a well-crafted plot. In the mid-21st century, revolutionary new technology allows scientists to watch life forms on planets circling other stars as if they were just a few feet away. At Blind Lake, one of two installations devoted to this purpose, Marguerite Hauser studies an enigmatic alien being who has been dubbed Subject, while also dealing with her ex-husband, Ray Scutter, a mid-level bureaucrat who constantly questions her fitness to have custody over their daughter, Tessa. Then Blind Lake mysteriously goes into lockdown the day after Chris Carmody, a journalist beset by self-doubt and a sordid past, arrives in hopes of finding a story that will restart his career. Automated trucks continue to deliver food, but all communication with the outside world is cut off. Military drones kill anyone attempting to break the quarantine. As the months pass, the installation's large population begins to come unglued. In particular, Ray, who disapproves of Marguerite's new relationship with Chris, starts to stalk his ex-wife. Tessa's possible contact with an alien even stranger than Subject adds to the suspense. Thoughtful and deliberately paced, this book will appeal to readers who prefer science fiction with substance. (Aug. 7)FYI:
The Chronoliths won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel of 2002, and was nominated for both the Hugo and Aurora awards for that year.

July 1, 2003
When the research facility at Blind Lake, MN, is placed under military blockade and quarantine, the scientists and workers who live and work there can only connect their enforced isolation with their research on a newly discovered form of alien life on a distant planet. Journalist Chris Carmody, trapped in Blind Lake, finds his life transformed by his chance encounter with researcher Marguerite Hauser and her troubled daughter, Tess, a young girl whose unusual mind may hold the key to unraveling the alien mystery. Veteran sf author Wilson (The Chronoliths; Darwinia) crafts a taut sf suspense tale featuring compelling personal dramas and hard science in a story of alien contact and the mysteries of the universe. For most sf collections.

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2003
An expert creator of sf thrillers provides another superior example. Blind Lake is Minnesota's version of the Area 51 of that series (see " Area 51: Nosferatu" [BKL Jl 03]), but, thanks to as-yet incomprehensible technology, Blind Lake researchers study live, lobster-like aliens on a distant planet, not crashed UFOs. Nerissa Iverson and Raymond Scutter face personal and professional conflicts since their recent divorce, and she believes there are features common to all sentient beings' thought, while he believes that culture is arbitrary and aliens will always be incomprehensible. Then, without warning, the military seals the facility off, Scutter starts stalking his ex-wife, and she suspects that at least one alien is aware of being observed and may be trying to communicate. Wilson builds suspense superlatively well, to a resolution that packs all the emotional wallop anyone could wish. Wilson's fans will come looking for this one, and others will follow.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)