Blood Music by Greg Bear is a classic you should read (but might not like)
A paperback copy of Blood Music by Greg Bear has been sitting on my bookshelf for years. I knew it was a classic but only just got round to it after a Brandon Sanderson binge and a desire for something a bit different.
It is certainly different.
The story is kind of familiar at the start but really didn’t go where I thought it was going. It starts with a genius, slightly oddball scientist who doesn’t play by the rules called Vergil Ulam. He has something of a breakthrough in designing intelligent microbiological cells but his work is dangerous. In fact, he wasn’t even supposed to be working on it. But as I said, he doesn’t play by the rules.
When the lab he works for quite rightly says it is dangerous and his work should be destroyed, he disobeys. He injects the cells into himself. Soon, they start talking to him…
Is Blood Music any good?
The book came out in 1985 and is based on a short story he wrote for Analog Science Fiction and Fact (www.analogsf.com) in 1983. In many ways, you can tell that and I think that is where some of the negativity around the book originates. On both Amazon and Goodreads it has a rating of around 4 out of 5 stars, yet it has won a ton of accolades and awards.
Blood Music is a great book with a lot of hard science mixed with ideas. It is definitely worth a read. However, don’t be expecting a standard story centred around a protagonist who goes through a story arc to a satisfactory ending. It is different and many find the novel a bit disjointed. I really can’t explain more without giving too much away but I was surprised at the direction it went.
I really enjoyed Blood Music but I can totally see why others weren’t so enthused. It is really short, so I suggest giving it a try. It is a classic, after all, and you should Greg Bear if you like scifi.