Maelstrom
Maelstrom by Peter Wattsby Peter Watts
Shares rank 63 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Second book of Peter Watts's Rifters trilogy, praised as incredible and well-executed, and different in feel from Starfish.
Second book of Peter Watts's Rifters trilogy, praised as incredible and well-executed, and different in feel from Starfish.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Well-executed and incredible in its own way
“Maelstrom, the second book, is also incredible, in very different ways.”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “Starfish by Peter Watts (1999)” “Maelstrom wasn't really original, it was well-executed.”
Comment from 29 Nov 2025 in “Apple and Intel Rumored to Partner on Mac Chips”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Maelstromby Peter WattsThis page | 7 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“give plenty of good reasons why this might not be the best idea”
“has some incredibly prescient descriptions of the Internet as this overwhelming useless medium”
“Deepwater biology in the Rifters trilogy (Starfish, Maelstrom, βehemoth) is interesting.”
“Maelstrom, the second book, is also incredible, in very different ways.”
“So many great games - Maelstrom, Ambrosia and the EV saga!”
“pretty neat to see the adjacent problem being worked on”
“Maelstrom wasn't really original, it was well-executed.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.