Blindsight reminded me a lot of Lem's Fiasko[1] which I read as a teenager in the 80's.

It's worth to read all of his 'first contact' themed ones. They all use a slightly different lens on the same theme:

Eden, Solaris, The Invincible & His Master's Voice

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiasco_(novel)

Also, The Europa Report film, where astronauts search for life in the liquid ocean beneath ice on one of Jupiter's moons.

The second book in the Children of Time series by A. Tchaikovsky deals with rapidly-evolved octopus intelligence. Similar vibe.

Somewhat off-topic, but I just couldn't get into the second book, whereas I loved the first book.

I think it's because Children of Ruin didn't have as much of the way relatable human (or Human, as the book goes into) characters to latch onto as an anchor while they explore the evolution of a different kind of intelligence. I was really rooting for some of the human characters in Children of Time, namely Lain, whereas Children of Ruin just felt a little too, uh, alien.

Was wondering why I had to scroll this long for this to be recommended.

The two books in the series are both fascinating for trying to imagine thinking in the manner of another species evolved to be "human level intelligence."

I enjoyed the first book more, but the second does an admirable job exploring what communication, thought processes, and technology look like from an octopodes perspective.

To this day I wonder if consciousness is needed, or a hindrance for intelligence. That is that SF is all about, raising and play with these kind of questions. Can truly recommend Blindsight.

Coincidentally (or not?), Peter Watts is also marine biologist.

Interesting! From reading the book I started to think that was the case!