The Mountain in the Sea, Ray Nayler
The Mountain in the Sea, Ray Nayler
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The Mountain in the Sea
A Novel

Author: Ray Nayler

Narrator: Eunice Wong

Unabridged: 11 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/04/2022


Synopsis

“Eunice Wong’s measured pacing and mellow tones perfectly complement Nayler’s provocative exploration of memory, minds, and consciousness.” - Booklist

"The theme of the nature of consciousness is equal parts intriguing, thrilling, and eerie. Best of all, it's always compellingly narrated, making for a performance that's difficult to pause."- AudioFile Magazine

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 than DIANIMA close in to seize the octopuses for themselves.

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

About Ray Nayler

Ray Nayler is the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Mountain in the Sea, which won the Locus Award for “Best First Novel,” and was a finalist for the Nebula Award and the Los Angeles Times' Ray Bradbury Prize. Called “one of the up-and-coming masters of SF short fiction” by Locus, Nayler’s stories have been published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, Analog Science Fiction & Fact, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed, Vice, and Nightmare, as well as in many “Best Of” anthologies. His stories have won the Clarkesworld Readers’ Poll and the Asimov’s Readers’ Award, and his novelette “Sarcophagus” was a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Award.Born in Quebec and raised in California, Nayler lived and worked abroad for two decades in Russia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, and Kosovo. A Russian speaker, he has also learned Turkmen, Albanian, Azerbaijani, and Vietnamese. He is currently a visiting scholar at the Institute for International Science and Technology Policy at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. He holds an MA in global diplomacy from the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS University of London.

About Eunice Wong

Eunice Wong is a Juilliard-trained actor, listed among Audible's Best Women Narrators, who has recorded over 150 books, for publishers like Macmillan, Penguin Random House, & Simon & Schuster. She is the winner of 2 Audie Awards (Mystery, Multi-Voiced), 14 AudioFile Earphones Awards (8 for solo performances), and the American Library Association's RUSA Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration. Eunice was also an Audie Finalist for "Audiobook of the Year" [lost to Ms. Streisand!], "Best Fiction Narrator" [against Meryl Streep & Ethan Hawke], "Nonfiction" & "Short Stories."Her theater awards include the Helen Hayes Award for Lead Actress, the My Boston Theatre Award for Best Actress, and a Barrymore nomination for Lead Actress. As a writer, she won the L.A. Press Club Award (1st Place), and the Maggie Award.Flipping to 1st person now (hi!): The job is not to read the words; the job is to transport the listener. I aim always to inhabit characters, emotions, and journeys honestly, spontaneously, and with psychological depth, while staying true to the book's unique voice. My narration styles range from intimate and intuitive, channeling emotions from beneath the surface of the text, to wacky and comic, with distinct and laugh-out-loud character creations.EuniceWong.actor


Reviews

Goodreads review by Alex on June 07, 2022

Whether you're new to Ray Nayler's work or a longtime reader, this book will keep you trying to work through its puzzle-box nature. Themes of consciousness, sentience, thought, language, and person-hood suffuse this book. What does it mean to think? What does it mean to be? And how might these questi......more

Goodreads review by La Crosse County Library on January 09, 2023

Two staff members wrote reviews for this book. Happy reading! Jeremy's review 3.5/5 stars “…[S]pecies of hyperintelligent octopus…” This phrase, from the first sentence of the publisher’s marketing description, was all I needed to know in order to decide that I needed to read thi......more

Goodreads review by Overhaul on May 24, 2023

Y si una nueva especie de pulpos hiperinteligentes tuviera la clave para el futuro de la humanidad? Empiezan a difundirse rumores sobre una especie de pulpos peligrosa y extraordinariamente inteligente que podría haber desarrollado un lenguaje y una cultura propios. Ha Nguyen, una bióloga marina que......more

Goodreads review by Angie on March 04, 2023

A sure-fire Hugo contender (and probable winner)! No matter what you are looking for in a novel, The Mountain in the Sea is a real winner. You do not have to be a science-fiction fan to love it. The plot is gripping, with various groups in fierce competition as humans explore the nature of minds and......more

Goodreads review by Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) on October 30, 2022

4.0 stars This was a smart science fiction novel that studies the fascinating world of cephalopods. These animals are so intelligent so it doesn't feel like much of a strange to imagine them being conscious. This book also includes prominent AI characters which adds to the discussion of personhood. I......more


Quotes

"Exciting, cerebral, and surprisingly compassionate, The Mountain in the Sea shines a light on the importance of our fragile ecosystem. Read this riveting novel if you love fresh takes on science fiction or you’re just fascinated by the mysteries of nature."
Apple Books Review

"Nayler’s masterful debut combines fascinating science and well-wrought characters to deliver a deep dive into the nature of intelligent life. . . As entertaining as it is intellectually rigorous, this taut exploration of human—and inhuman—consciousness is a knockout."
Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Less a science-fiction adventure than a meditation on consciousness and self-awareness, the limitations of human language, and the reasons for those limitations, the novel teaches as it engages." Kirkus Reviews

"With a thriller heart and a sci-fi head, The Mountain in the Sea delivers a spooky smart read. Artificial intelligence, nascent animal sentience, murderous flying drones: like the best of Gibson or Atwood, it brings all of the plot without forgetting the bigger questions of consciousness, ecocide, and scientific progress. Truly a one-of-a-kind story"
—Kawai Strong Washburn, author of Sharks in the Time of Saviors

“I came to The Mountain in the Sea for the cephalopods (I love cephalopods) but I stayed for the fascinating meditation on consciousness and personhood. I loved this book.”
—Ann Leckie, author of Ancillary Justice

“Ray Nayler has taken on the challenge of a near future that's less certain than ever, and made it gleam -- not only with computer terminals and sentry drones (we love those, sure) but also polished coral and cephalopod eyes. From these pages, I got the sense of William Gibson, and Paolo Bacigalupi -- and Donna Haraway, and Octavia Butler. This is a planetary science fiction, and a profound new kind of adventure, featuring — among so many other wonders — the best villain I’ve read in years. In the end, the enormity and possibility of this novel's vision shook tears loose. What a ride; what a feeling; what a
future.”
—Robin Sloan, author of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore and Sourdough

The Mountain in the Sea is a first-rate speculative thriller, by turns fascinating, brutal, powerful, and redemptive. The book poses profound questions about artificial and nonhuman intelligence, and its answers are tantalizing and provocative.”
—Jeff VanderMeer, author of Annihilation

"I loved this novel’s brain and heart, its hidden traps, sheer propulsion, ingenious world-building and the purity of its commitment to luminous ideas."
—David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas

The Mountain in the Sea is a wildly original, gorgeously written, unputdownable gem of a novel. Ray Nayler is one of the most exciting new voices I’ve read in years.”
Blake Crouch, author of Upgrade and Dark Matter


Awards

  • Slate Book Review Best Books of the Year
  • Locus Awards - Winner
  • Nebula Awards - Nominee
  • Slate Best Books of the Year