Brightness Reef

Quite some time ago, David Brin wrote a neat series of books involving his fictional galaxy(ies), putting into play a number of interesting alien races and a plausible future history that managed to be both compelling and realistic and mythical. In those books we learned that races, in order to be become sentinent, have to be sponsored and uplifted by another race and in doing so are ready to join the larger galactic community. Of course, plucky humans come along and spoil it by essentially jumping the chain and becoming uplifted without the proper channels, barging right into everything as they so often do. The first series of Uplift novels (comprising "Sundiver", "Startide Rising" and "The Uplift War") were linked themetically but didn't really form a single plotline, in fact at the time I read them I remember being very annoyed that the intriguing thread involving the ship and crew from "Startide Rising" basically discovering something they shouldn't have and making a break for it wasn't picked up in "The Uplift War" except for very tangentially (ie they're still running for it at the end). Time passed, both between Brin writing new books and me getting around to reading them. So here we are, at the start of the new trilogy. My advice: brush up. Seriously. I read the first series probably when I was in college, which is not in the Dark Ages but probably a good seven or eight years ago, at best. But a good background in what's gone before will probably help you a great deal here. Not at first becausre the initial setup is that a handful of races have been living on isolated/off-limits planet Jijo for a number of years, in secret. Everything has been going pretty swell, until the rest of the galaxy figures it out and decides to show up. Things quickly become very complicated as the colonists have to figure out whether the newcomers are there to punish or study them while the new arrivals find there are bigger issues to worry about. Oh, and did I fail to mention that there's like ten alien races all with different mannerisms and points of view all sprinkled throughout the novel? The fact that Brin makes this work at all speaks to how underrated a writer he is. He switches points of view often, going from race to race and manages the neat trick of being able to convey a character as alien while still allowing you to relate to them. Often you'll forget that someone isn't human until they mention they have gills or something. With the constant shifting of events you tend to get a crosssection, which means you have to pay attention to piece things together as most of the time nobody sticks around to explain recent plot developments. His prose is also surprisingly sharp for a guy with a doctorate in science, although he has been writing for some time now. The biggest mark against this book is that it's very hard to keep all the races straight without some kind of checklist and there are so many factions and areas on the planet that

I recommend this and all of Brin's work. This book and the following two are perhaps my favorites by one of my favorite authors. Engaging characters, interesting storyline, and fresh plausible alien races that are really brought to life. You may want to start with Startide Rising and The Uplift War, but you don't have to. By the time you are into the third book, Heaven's Reach, you will find yourself slowly savoring each page as you won't want to reach the end and part ways with the truly enjoyable characters. I hope to be able to re-visit these characters and places sometime in the near future.

This is the first instance of David Brin writing a trilogy. As a book in his Uplift universe, it continues to introduce us to new races, viewpoints and ideas, with a complex plot and interesting characterizations. While it is a bit too long (things don't get happening quite fast enough in this 650 page book), it is fairly well paced. I look forward to reading the next book, Infinity's Shore, ASAP. Buy this and read it soon! (I would warn readers new to the Uplift Universe to read his other novels first, most especially Startide Rising, an excellent book that is the predecessor of Brightness Reef.)

After the ho-hum "Sundiver," the astounding "Uplift War," and the unreproachable "Startide Rising," Dr. David Brin has returned to his "Uplift" universe with nothing less than book one of a new trilogy!And he does so with his usual uncomparable skill at inventing bizarre yet believable alien species, deep and personable characters, and thorough and interesting story-telling. Best of all, this book brings back some of our favorite characters from "Startide Rising," continuing the story that I thought was over.Although this trilogy doesn't end quite as spetacularly as it begins, this first book is a must-read for those who want to know the latest developments of the Uplift universe.

Having read David Brin's previous Uplift Trilogy such a long time ago I was surprised to find his latest book, 'Brightness Reef', in the book store; I hadn't heard that he was working on a new trilogy. So, it was with much anticipation that I plunked down my twenty dollars and headed home for a nice weekend of reading. True to my expectations, Brightness Reef didn't dissapoint. While it was at first (like many great sci-fi novels) a little hard to 'get into' the story, I soon found myself immersed in a truly creative and fascinating world, stocked with people and events that drew me in even deeper. Although the book started off a little slow, by the time I got to the end I couldn't wait for more. 'Brightness Reef' is a challenging and intellectual work along the lines of 'Speaker for the Dead' (by Orson Scott Card), but it does have pleanty of good ol' science fiction action. I liked this book because of its blending of imagination (especially the fascinating alien species, who take on much more depth than in the original trilogy) and well-thought story line. By the time I was done with the book I not only felt I had visited Jijo but that I knew its inhabitants well and cared what happened to them. To conclude, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a great read with a little bit of challenge behind it.