Thank you for writing this up. Blindsight to me is exactly as good as it is hyped up to be. I think it crops up in all recommendations lists because regardless of what you’re looking for, it is something one should at least try to read. It’s one of the only books that I will actually reread every now and then. But I won’t pretend that Watts’ pros or character work is what brings me back. It’s purely the scope and delivery of his ideas that makes the book so fascinating and the atmosphere of the novel completely supports the abstract nature of his arguments.
The fact that Echopraxia is not as praised as Blindsight has always led me to believe that the book was missing the parts that made blindsight so great, and frankly without those parts blindsight would be a below average sci fi novel. I will move this up my TBR list based on your recommendation.