Caitlin Decter is a typical teen—smart, pretty, and wired ... but she's also blind. She undergoes an experimental procedure to regain her sight and the results are unexpected. She "sees" but not just the way we do—for her the world wide web is a riot of colours and shapes, its own dimension. While exploring it, she finds an "other" lurking there—and it finds her, seeing what she's seeing and learning as she learns. But that's not where it ends ...

The wildly thought-provoking first instalment of Sawyer's WWW trilogy, serialized in Analog in 2008 and 2009, explores the origins and emergence of consciousness. Blind teen Caitlin Decter gets an experimental signal-processing implant that inexplicably opens up her vision to the wondrous infrastructure of the World Wide Web. Inside the Web is a newborn "webmind," a globe-spanning self-contained consciousness that is just becoming aware of the outside world. Secondary plot threads about a highly intelligent hybrid primate and Chinese bloggers battling a repressive government extend the motif of expanding awareness. The thematic diversity—and profundity—makes this one of Sawyer's strongest works to date. Numerous dangling plot threads are an unnecessary pointer to the forthcoming books; readers will keep coming back for the ideas. (Apr.)
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Almost alone among Canadian writers, he tackles the most fundamental questions of who we are and where we might be going — while illuminating where we are now."
—National Post

"Sawyer continues to push the boundaries with his stories of the future made credible. His erudition, eclecticism, and masterly storytelling make this trilogy opener a choice selection."
—Library Journal

"Wake is, in the words of its heroine, made out of awesome."
—McNally Robinson Bookseller review

"Sawyer's take on theories about the origin of consciousness, generated within the framework of an engaging story, is fascinating, and his approach to machine consciousness and the Internet is surprisingly fresh."
—Booklist

"Emotionally satisfying and intellectually stimulating. Along with William Gibson's Neuromancer and Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, Wake presents a unique perspective on information technology. I eagerly await its sequels."
—SFFaudio