Starfish

In a biotech future of gelatinous AI cubes, exploding human populations, and resource scarcity, Starfish focuses on a crew of mentally unwell deep sea divers, who are altered significantly both physically and mentally to adapt them to the environment of the ocean floor. Their job is to maintain a geothermal energy system on the edge of the Juan De Fuca plate, which teems with gigantic, fragile sea monsters, and unpredictable thermal vents. It's a dangerous job, and an emotionally taxing one, since the entire crew is cramped in the tiny quarters of a dark and creaking substation situated right in the constantly shifting subduction zone.

The crew themselves were selected for the job because of their sordid history with abuse. Both abusers and the abused coexist here, creating a fraught set of relationships that develop realistically over the course of the story. I was captivated by most of the characters from beginning to end.

This was Watts' first full length published novel, something you can certainly feel in the prose and structure; it's not perfect in the slightest. Watts writes heavily in dialogue-only mode. Whole passages are nothing but conversations between the rifters, interposed with the internal thoughts of the point of view character. This style grows tedious over time, and can make the work feel more juvenile, even though the subject matter or tone certainly aren't.

A stupendous premise and gripping atmosphere are slightly let down by a lacking second-half where Watts strays into a pacing that he wasn't yet adept at writing. I couldn't help but love it though. This is thrilling, dark, rough around the edges SF at its best.