The late Ian Watson's sci-fi The Embedding is intriguing – but dated

The late Ian Watson's sci-fi The Embedding is intriguing - but dated Watson's death last month prompted sci-fi columnist Emily H. Wilson to read his acclaimed 1973 debut and find out what she'd been missing. The acclaimed British science-fiction writer Ian Watson, author of more than two dozen novels, died this April. His fame may have faded over the decades, but his debut novel The Embedding was greeted with acclaim when it was published in 1973. The Spectator declared it "the most spectacular thing in science fiction since the outstanding Solaris by Stanisław Lem". Watson's later work, both sci-fi and fantasy, included novels relating to Warhammer 40,000 games and a stint developing the script of A.I. Artificial Intelligence with Stanley Kubrick.