David Brin is my favorite science fiction writer.
The uplift universe is very vivid and original.
And it has a positive spin in the areas of genetic
research and using it for the benefit of mankind
(and animals). This is uplifting after constantly
hearing genetic engineering slammed in the media.
I will be putting up my own reviews as I have
time.
Uplift
Novels
Sundiver
-
Startide
Rising - David Brin's tales are set in a
future universe in which no species can reach
sentience without being "uplifted" by a patron
race using genetic engineering. But the greatest
mystery of all remains unsolved: who uplifted
humankind? The Terran exploration vessel Streaker
has crashed in the uncharted water world of
Kithrup, bearing the discovery of ships which
could date back to the days of the fabled progenitors
that started the cycle of uplift so long ago.
Images of these ships and their artifacts throw
the five galaxies into turmoil, as fanatic religious
sects fight for the possession of streaker and
it's secrets to try to prove their version of
the progenitors story.
Masterfully written,
I still think this is the best Science Fiction
book I have ever read. The influence of eastern
culture and the "whale dream" flows
naturally to create a reasonable "culture"
that operates in the Dolphin community. The
book also shows the good and bad side of the
human intervention in the development of sapience
in dolphins.
The
Uplift War - Billions of years ago, an alien
race known as the Progenitors began the genetically
engineered techniques by which non-intelligent
creatures are given intelligence by one of the
higher races in the galaxy. Once "Uplifted," these
creature must serve their patron race before they,
in turn, can Uplift other races. Human intelligence,
which developed by itself (and brought about the
Uplifting of chimpanzees and dolphins), is an
affront to the aliens who plan an attack, threatening
a human experiment aimed at producing the next
Uplift. Such is the premise of this novel, which
won the 1988 Hugo Award. - Amazon.com
Brightness
Reef - Millennia ago the Five Galaxies decreed
the planet Jijo off limits. But in the last
thousand years six races have begun resettling
Jijo, embracing a pre-industrial life to hide
their existence from the Galactics. Overcoming
their differences, the Six have built a society
based on mutual tolerance for one another and
respect for the planet they live on. But that
has all changed with an event the Six have feared
for hundreds of years: the arrival of an outside
ship. Author David Brin has returned to his
popular Uplift universe in this, the first book
of a new trilogy. - Amazon.com
Infinity's
Shore - This second volume in David Brin's
new Uplift trilogy is an epic tale that artfully
combines dozens of unique characters and their
individual stories. The planet Jijo, which has
been settled by six separate races despite a decree
that it remain barren for a million years, is
about to change. The exploration ship Streaker,
on the run since discovering the secrets of a
two-billion-year-old derelict fleet, has arrived
with virtually the entire universe in pursuit.
Overnight the peaceful, technologically backwards
Jijoan society erupts into civil war, creating
a chaotic tapestry of grief, sorrow, joy, love
and, ultimately, hope. - Amazon.com
Heaven's
Reach - Heaven's Reach is the final volume
of the Uplift trilogy, which begins in Brightness
Reef and continues in Infinity's Shore. It chronicles
the adventures of a handful of primitives from
the planet Jijo who have left or been taken from
their homes only to be swept into the intrigues
of galactic politics. The novel also continues
the story of the fugitive Earth starship Streaker,
pursued across the galaxy for its precious cargo
of ancient artifacts. Just when it looks like
things can't get worse for Streaker, the foretold
Time of Changes rocks the galaxy. Devastating
"space quakes" shake every planet and star, and
some of the particularly unscrupulous alien races
attempt to use the disaster to further their bizarre
goals. There's danger and excitement on almost
every page (in contrast to much of the first two
books in the series) and Brin finally delivers
on many of the mysteries of the Five Galaxies.
The Progenitors, the Hydrogen Breathers, Streaker's
cargo--these and more are explained at last. Or
are they? Each seemingly ultimate truth tends
to dissolve a chapter later, revealing a new and
more complex truth. New adventures and mysteries
await. - Amazon.com
Contacting
Aliens (An Illistrated Guide to David Brin's
Uplift Universe) - A great book for someone
who has read the entire series and wondered
what a Soro or Tandu actually looks like! Reads
like a manual for terragens agents, so it is
actually an enjoyable read as well as being
a handy reference!
Other
Novels
The
Postman - Gordon Krantz survived the Doomwar
only to spend years crossing a post-apocalypse
United States looking for something or someone
he could believe in again. Ironically, when
he's inadvertently forced to assume the made-up
role of a "Restored United States" postal inspector,
he becomes the very thing he's been seeking:
a symbol of hope and rebirth for a desperate
nation. Gordon goes through the motions of establishing
a new postal route in the Pacific Northwest,
uniting secluded towns and enclaves that are
starved for communication with the rest of the
world. And even though inside he feels like
a fraud, eventually he will have to stand up
for the new society he's helping to build or
see it destroyed by fanatic survivalists. This
classic reprint is not one of David Brin's best
books, but the moving story he presents overcomes
mediocre writing and contrived plots. - Amazon.com
Kiln
People - Just about everyone's had a day
when they've wished it were possible to send
an alternate self to take care of unpleasant
or tedious errands while the real self takes
it easy. In Kiln People, David Brin's sci-fi-meets-noir
novel, this wish has come true. In Brin's imagined
future, folks are able to make inexpensive,
disposable clay copies of themselves. These
golems or "dittos" live for a single day to
serve their creator, who can then choose whether
or not to "inload" the memories of the ditto's
brief life. But private investigator Albert
Morris gets more than he, or his "ditective"
copies, bargain for when he signs on to help
solve the mysterious disappearance of Universal
Kilns' co-founder Yasil Maharal--the father
of dittotech.
Brin successfully interweaves
plot lines as numerous as our hero's ditectives
and doggedly sticks to the rules of his created
dittotech while Morris's "realflesh" and clay
manifestations slowly unravel the dangerous
secret behind Maharal's disappearance. As Brin
juggles his multiple protagonists and antagonists,
he urges the reader to question notions of memory,
individualism, and technology, and to answer
the schizoid question "which 'you' is 'you?'"
Brin's enjoyment is evident as he plays with
his terracotta creations' existential angst
and simultaneously deconstructs the familiar
streetwise detective meme--complete with a multilayered
ending. Overall, Kiln People is a fun read,
with a good balance of hard science fiction
and pop sensibility. - Amazon.com
