The Mountain in the Sea

A Novel

by Ray Nayler

Hardcover, 456 pages

English language

Published Oct. 4, 2022 by MCD.

ISBN:: 978-0-374-60595-7
ASIN:: 0374605955
Goodreads:: 59808603

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(66 reviews)

Humankind discovers intelligent life in an octopus species with its own language and culture, and sets off a high-stakes global competition to dominate the future.

Rumors begin to spread of a species of hyperintelligent, dangerous octopus that may have developed its own language and culture. Marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen, who has spent her life researching cephalopod intelligence, will do anything for the chance to study them.

The transnational tech corporation DIANIMA has sealed the remote Con Dao Archipelago, where the octopuses were discovered, off from the world. Dr. Nguyen joins DIANIMA’s team on the islands: a battle-scarred security agent and the world’s first android.

The octopuses hold the key to unprecedented breakthroughs in extrahuman intelligence. The stakes are high: there are vast fortunes to be made by whoever can take advantage of the octopuses’ advancements, and as Dr. Nguyen struggles to communicate with the newly discovered species, forces larger …

Humankind discovers intelligent life in an octopus species with its own language and culture, and sets off a high-stakes global competition to dominate the future.

But no one has yet asked the octopuses what they think. And what they might do about it.

A near-future thriller about the nature of consciousness, Ray Nayler’s The Mountain in the Sea is a dazzling literary debut and a mind-blowing dive into the treasure and wreckage of humankind’s legacy.

7 editions

Martin reviewed The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

None

4 stars

This book was fascinating. I read it too slowly, and was easily distracted from it, and I'm not exactly sure why. Possibly, it was just a little too cerebral, a little too philosophical at times. The story was also broken up by some number of side-stories that may have been as few as only a couple, but might have been several more than that. And I'll admit that I got a bit lost with some of them, wondering if I'd read this character before, or if it was a new one. There were at least two distinct viewpoint characters who weren't the main character. I enjoyed all of them, but we didn't get enough of some of them to really care too much about their conclusions. There were several big reveals in this book, and I won't go into them in detail. I really liked all the ones I can …

Arturo Serrano reviewed The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

Review of 'Mountain in the Sea' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I reviewed this novel for the Hugo-winning blog Nerds of a Feather:

http://www.nerds-feather.com/2023/02/review-mountain-in-sea-by-ray-nayler.html

patchworkbunny reviewed The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

Review of 'Mountain in the Sea' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

If you liked the ideas behind Arrival, this one's for you. I loved the science and philosophy, exploring what consciousness and language is. Very nearly a 5 star read but it did use monologues to explain the conclusions rather than letting the reader reach them by themselves.

Full review to follow.

Gossamerchild reviewed The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

The Mountain in the Sea

3 stars

Another one I'm not sure what to say about, but this time for negative reasons. The premise is amazing, and I adore every scene with the octopuses themselves. But pretty much nothing else-plot, characters, dialogue, writing style-worked for me. However, it's a debut novel so perhaps the next one will be better.

Erin reviewed The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

Review of 'Mountain in the Sea' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

Thought this was for sure a winner for me, but I was quickly zoning out with all the wordy description..

Gabe reviewed The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

Review of 'Mountain in the Sea' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

This book is precisely what I yearn for in science fiction as a whole. Deeply hopeful and carefully crafted. The entire story felt like a puzzle that fit together in a precise way, all the way to the very end.

Gabe reviewed The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

Review of 'Mountain in the Sea' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Spencer Williams reviewed The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

Review of 'Mountain in the Sea' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

It does the thing all good sci-fi should do: use the sci-fi setting.to examine and interrogate questions of ethics and society.

The narrative is fairly engaging, even if the characters' dialogue leaves them with very little in the way of distinct voices — perhaps for reasons that are maybe explained in-world.

Overall, it's a fun summer read that raises a lot of interesting ideas about what it means to be a person and how our actions impact those around us.

For parents of sci-fi readers, there's enough casual (but not really described in detail, thankfully) sex in the book that it's probably not one to hand to teenagers — so be aware of that.

Zivan reviewed The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

Review of 'The Mountain in the Sea' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

All the right elements are there, but the writing feels clunky.

In a dystopic cyberpunk near future Ray Mayler explores forms of intelligence, consciousness and communication.

I found the ideas to be interesting, though rarely ground breaking.

I love chapters that begin with a quote especially when the quote comes from a fictional book within the novel's universe. I wish they were more diverse sources.