Seconding _Blindsight_, which is a great book (which he describes as 'a philo­soph­i­cal ru­mi­na­tion on the na­ture of con­scious­ness with an un­healthy focu

Seconding _Blindsight_, which is a great book (which he describes as 'a philo­soph­i­cal ru­mi­na­tion on the na­ture of con­scious­ness with an un­healthy focus on space vam­pires') You won't think about consciousness the same way again. And it's free! This book also led me to discover _Portia Labiata_, a bewilderingly intelligent spider --- and so cute! https://www.flickr.com/photos/hirzi/6285232356 https://www.flickr.com/photos/hirzi/6285232356 There's an accessible paper on what makes it so interesting here: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Duane_Harland/publication/238671399_%27Eight-legged_cats%27_and_how_they_see_-_a_review_of_recent_research_on_jumping_spiders_%28Araneae_Salticidae%29/links/0deec525c9f5e52ae5000000.pdf http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Duane_Harland/publicatio... I wonder if Watts' suggestion that it timeshares its brain has any truth to it? _Echopraxia_ is also superb, but I thought it was disappointingly similar to _Blindsight_. That doesn't mean it's not in any way a good book, but it's very much based on the same themes. Be aware that the book called _Firefall_ is an omnibus edition of both books. I haven't read any of the Rifters books. Worth checking out?