Blindsight

Peter Watts's novel "Blindsight" is quite possibly one of the best books I have read in the last few years. Watts combines a chilling first contact with scary speculation on the nature of consciousness and humanity. The narrator is an emotional cripple with half a brain, just one of a crew of freaks journeying to the edge of deep space. It is quite possibly one of the disturbing books I have read, but not in the conventional horror book sense. It blew my mind and made me wonder if I really am here, thinking what I'm thinking. Instead of scaring you with gore, it fills you with a sort of existential dread. Even the footnotes are scary (and there are a lot of them, because Watts really did his research). If this book doesn't unsettle you, I'd question whether you really understood it. It is the pinnacle of what science fiction should be. I highly, highly recommend it.

Oh yeah. It has vampires. In space.

Addendum: you can read it for free online.

0765319640
978-0765319647