Firefall

Q: "What order should I read the Firefall books?"

"Read Blindsight (2006) first, then Echopraxia (2014). While Echopraxia follows different characters and takes place mostly on Earth, it builds on the events and concepts from Blindsight."

Q: "Is Blindsight a standalone book?"

"Blindsight works on its own and was published eight years before its companion novel. Many readers treat it as a standalone. Echopraxia adds to the universe but is not required to appreciate Blindsight."

Q: "What is the Firefall series about?"

"Firefall explores first contact and the nature of consciousness. Blindsight follows a crew sent to investigate an alien signal at the edge of the solar system. Echopraxia, set during the same time period on Earth, examines posthuman evolution and the limits of human intelligence."

Reading order

#	Title	Published	Author	Buy on Amazon
1	Blindsight	2006	Peter Watts	Buy
2	Echopraxia	2014	Peter Watts	Buy

The Firefall series opens with Blindsight (2006), which is Peter Watts’s most widely read novel. In 2082, sixty-five thousand objects fall into Earth’s atmosphere simultaneously, forming a grid that photographs the entire planet before burning up. Years later, a crew is sent to the outer solar system to investigate a signal from deep space. The crew includes a linguist with multiple personalities, a biologist who has been physically rewired, and a vampire — resurrected from extinction as a tactical asset.

The book’s central question is whether consciousness is necessary for intelligence. The aliens the crew encounters are competent, responsive, and dangerous, but may not be aware of anything at all. Watts, a marine biologist by training, backs up the speculation with extensive endnotes citing real neuroscience and evolutionary biology research. Blindsight was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Echopraxia (2014) takes place during the same time period but shifts the setting to Earth. It follows Daniel Bruks, an ordinary biologist caught between warring posthuman factions. Watts described it as a “sidequel” rather than a sequel. The two books share a universe and a set of questions, but they work from different angles and can be read somewhat independently.

Frequently Asked Questions

What order should I read the Firefall books?

Read Blindsight (2006) first, then Echopraxia (2014). While Echopraxia follows different characters and takes place mostly on Earth, it builds on the events and concepts from Blindsight.

Is Blindsight a standalone book?

Blindsight works on its own and was published eight years before its companion novel. Many readers treat it as a standalone. Echopraxia adds to the universe but is not required to appreciate Blindsight.

What is the Firefall series about?

Firefall explores first contact and the nature of consciousness. Blindsight follows a crew sent to investigate an alien signal at the edge of the solar system. Echopraxia, set during the same time period on Earth, examines posthuman evolution and the limits of human intelligence.

Reading order#

Frequently Asked Questions

Reading order