What if you were blind and the internet gave you the power to see not only the real world but into the mind of the web? This is the question asked in Robert J. Sawyer’s first instalment of the WWW trilogy.

Caitlin is a quirky, hockey stat loving, Math genius of a teenage girl who spends a lot of time on her livejournal blog. Shortlisted for an experimental procedure she travels to Japan with her mother and is given a neural implant that promises her sight. At first the device appears to be yet another failure in a lifetime of broken promises. However, something begins to stir and Caitlin is not exactly able to see the world as expected, but to actually see inside the web.

In a new home in a new country and with new friends Caitlin explores this new sensation with gusto, soon realising that she is not entirely alone in this new world. She has touched an emerging consciousness. It is an intelligence born out of the web itself and she is its guide and teacher.

Ten years on from Flash Forward Sawyer’s writing has improved immensely. The character of Caitlin is so well constructed and believable. She is brave and smart yet still possesses the vulnerabilities of a teenage girl. She wants the ‘hunky’ guy at school to like her, she craves the affection of her autistic father and more than anything she wants to know what it is like to see.

The concept of the cybermind in Wake is perhaps not a new one, but Sawyer approaches the questions of consciousness and cyberspace from a more human angle than previous authors. He also touches on the frustration of new science to be born and heard in a world of hard line governments and unimaginative scientific establishments.

There is an attempt to understand this new consciousness and see the world and the web from its perspective, as it reaches out like a newborn baby into uncertainty and struggles to find language and understanding. At times this was interesting, but perhaps there was a bit too much of this exploration as I felt it distracted from the emotional bond that I found myself forming with the main character. I can’t criticise here too much though. It’s a hard thing to try and imagine what the web would think or even how it would think. How do you explore the concept of finding words for things when it seems such a natural part of existence already? The words are in your head, but how did they get here? I have to applaud Sawyer for taking a shot at it. I’ve read a few novels before that have attempted to give consciousness to the web, or to computers, and it’s a much more difficult thing to relate to the reader than you might expect.

The story of Caitlin is so engrossing, and as a character she is so engaging that it is unfortunate that Sawyer felt the need to pad out the novel with subplots about a blogger in China investigating a government cover-up of bird-flu, and a very intelligent chimp caught between two scientific factions. Although these subplots explore the central themes of the book, their threads and characters never merge into Caitlin’s story in a meaningful way, and do not seem necessary to the actual story. They are more interesting than important. It may be that they are continued in the sequels, but it seems like a short fall and an injustice to the main story to drip-feed in these other threads. The book should stand alone. I was also a bit disappointed by this aspect of subplots because I was following the Chinese blogger with interest until he was arrested by the authorities and disappeared from the story completely. It was very much a let down to not find out what happened to him. It assumes too much that the reader will be patient for the next instalment.

Overall Wake was an engaging read. I was very impressed by the thoroughness with which Sawyer painted the picture of Caitlin and her world and all the little nuances of her life. It was fascinating to watch her experience her web-sight for the first time and explore its complexities until coming to understand that she was dealing with something much larger than herself.

Sawyer’s writing style has become richer and more detailed. It is filled with emotion, but never overly sentimental. Despite some minor flaws with sub-plotting, the book is worth reading if only to share the experiences of the main character as she finds her feet in a new world of sensation.

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