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  • The Mountain in the Sea

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Ray Nayler
  • Narrated by: Eunice Wong
  • Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (19 ratings)

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The Mountain in the Sea

Written by: Ray Nayler
Narrated by: Eunice Wong
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Publisher's Summary

2022 Slate Book Review Best Books of the Year, Long-listed
2023 Locus Awards - Winner
2023 Nebula Awards - Nominee, Short-listed
2022 Slate Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

“Eunice Wong’s measured pacing and mellow tones perfectly complement Nayler’s provocative exploration of memory, minds, and consciousness.” - Booklist

"The theme of the nature of consciousness is equal parts intriguing, thrilling, and eerie. Best of all, it's always compellingly narrated, making for a performance that's difficult to pause."-
AudioFile Magazine

Humankind discovers intelligent life in an octopus species with its own language and culture, and sets off a high-stakes global competition to dominate the future.


Rumors begin to spread of a species of hyperintelligent, dangerous octopus that may have developed its own language and culture. Marine biologist Dr. Ha Nguyen, who has spent her life researching cephalopod intelligence, will do anything for the chance to study them.

The transnational tech corporation DIANIMA has sealed the remote Con Dao Archipelago, where the octopuses were discovered, off from the world. Dr. Nguyen joins DIANIMA’s team on the islands: a battle-scarred security agent and the world’s first android.

The octopuses hold the key to unprecedented breakthroughs in extrahuman intelligence. The stakes are high: there are vast fortunes to be made by whoever can take advantage of the octopuses’ advancements, and as Dr. Nguyen struggles to communicate with the newly discovered species, forces larger than DIANIMA close in to seize the octopuses for themselves.

But no one has yet asked the octopuses what they think. And what they might do about it.

A near-future thriller about the nature of consciousness, Ray Nayler’s The Mountain in the Sea is a dazzling literary debut and a mind-blowing dive into the treasure and wreckage of humankind’s legacy.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

©2022 Ray Nayler (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

What the critics say

"With a thriller heart and a sci-fi head, The Mountain in the Sea delivers a spooky smart read. Artificial intelligence, nascent animal sentience, murderous flying drones: like the best of Gibson or Atwood, it brings all of the plot without forgetting the bigger questions of consciousness, ecocide, and scientific progress. Truly a one-of-a-kind story"—Kawai Strong Washburn, author of Sharks in the Time of Saviors

"Nayler’s masterful debut combines fascinating science and well-wrought characters to deliver a deep dive into the nature of intelligent life. . . As entertaining as it is intellectually rigorous, this taut exploration of human—and inhuman—consciousness is a knockout." Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Less a science-fiction adventure than a meditation on consciousness and self-awareness, the limitations of human language, and the reasons for those limitations, the novel teaches as it engages." Kirkus Reviews

"With a thriller heart and a sci-fi head, The Mountain in the Sea delivers a spooky smart read. Artificial intelligence, nascent animal sentience, murderous flying drones: like the best of Gibson or Atwood, it brings all of the plot without forgetting the bigger questions of consciousness, ecocide, and scientific progress. Truly a one-of-a-kind story" —Kawai Strong Washburn, author of Sharks in the Time of Saviors

What listeners say about The Mountain in the Sea

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

deep, rich, thoughtful, compelling

I have just begun enjoying the occasional sci-Fi book, which is outside of my normal listening habits (I tend toward nonfiction). I am studying psychology in school, and have been very curious about consciousness. Somehow I came across a recommendation for this book. I am so grateful that I did. it is very well written, brilliantly creative and thoughtful. it explores deep questions about the nature of the mind, society, and more, but within the framework of an incredible vision of the future. if you enjoy sci Fi, and are curious about psychology and philosophy, this will be a joy, as it was for me. And this must be Emphasized: I have been listening to audiobooks for years. This narrator may be the best yet. I will be looking into her other works and choosing other things she has done. it is a dramatic reading, and wow does she exceed expectation. Every character is distinctive, emotion is on point. Wow.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

High Eight

Fun combination of AI/robotics, linguistics, “alien cultures” with an ocean-environmental backdrop. Excellent performance.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

amazingly written and read

captivating in every sense and a new favorite of mine. the performance was one of the best

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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Falls off of a pretentious cliff

An interesting premise and some strong elements completely betrayed by its author. The story ultimately boils down to a pretentious, hectoring lecture from the characters in the final act capped off with a completely ‘fall on its face’ twist which provides no closure, no surprise, and is ultimately intellectually insulting to the reader. Avoid.

The reader does the best they can with the work however, kudos to them.

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