Otherness

Some of the best, most interesting sci-fi short stories I've read (reread) in a long while. As this was a reread, I'd forgotten they were written by David Brin, but some of these stories have stuck with me as my all-time personal favourites for years. And just to show there's something for everyone, my favourite 5 star stories were the ones only rated *** by another reviewer - Natulife, Detritus Affected, and we agree on Piecework, and then I'd give at least a 4 for The Giving Plague - nice use of the rationalising mechanism of consistency, and good insight/character progression for such a short story! I hope I don't spoil anyone here - I'm trying to be ambiguous, but skip this if you're really worried... It wasn't until a re-read or two that I realised one of the stories could be a conceptual sequel/spin-off of the original 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' movie. Duh! Took me awhile to catch on, but worth it. ;) Was less interested in his essays, but still, they're not un-intelligent, but the ideas are less revolutionary or interesting than his stories. His otherness meme suffers from a major flaw - as a culture, we *don't* like 'otherness', we like nice, safe, *exotic* otherness that we can pat ourselves on the back for our acceptance of. Eg Dolphin intelligence over Pig intelligence, even if they were both to be uplifted. Acceptance of different cultures is better for immigrant populations, especially the new and different, than for already existing 'different' cultures, ie historical immigrant communities or (especially) black communities in America (referring to a study done recently, sorry for not referencing).

This book was great. I had to read it for a project in Chemistry. I loved the colection of stories in it. My favorite was The Giving Plague. I want ot deal with things like this in the future and I liked the story line. I also liked Dr. Pek's Preschool. I like how it brought every one to this place to have their children used to help man kind. I have always thought that the fetus is the best time to ask questions. They have no preconceptions of anything and David Brin sees that too. This is an excelent book and I would/have recomended it to others. For I am a nerd and I know this but this book would interest anyone.

While sifting through the rows of paperbacks on my dusty bookshelf, I came across Otherness. It had been given to me for one of my birthday's a few years ago, but I'd never read it. Too busy to venture into a new author, I had stuck it on my shelf. However, one day, looking for something to read, I found this book, and on a whim, picked it up and started it. And boy was I entranced! From the first few stories I was hooked. Later, however, my entusiasum died down I and puttered through, to be picked up again at the end. It was a great book. Full of insightful thought provoking observations or statements that really make you ask yourself, "What if that was true?". Purely, one of the best short story coladborations I have read. I'd reccomend it to anyone with a mind that thinks out of the box. Thought it was a little slow in the middle, one is rewarded at the end. I give it five stars for its in-depth thinking, and especially the putting of American views into a Dogma, the Dogma of Otherness. Excellent! Wonderful! A+. By Gosh, he's done it again!

Years after reading this collection, it stays with me. A treatise on natural selection, even to universes. I've read SF from all the eras. For provoking thought, this is the best.

I've tried to read David Brin books before and found them either too subtle for me, or just plain boring. Though, I have read the blurbs on many of his books, and always thought he had some surprising ideas -- as if he'd been practicing those lateral-thinking puzzles for years. I was quite surprised to find a great collection of very provocative ideas that kept me interested all the way through. From a Japanese culture where the ultimate work-ethic means babies are tutored within the womb and are hooked up to computers at their birth, to "organic humans" discovering themselves useful again after years of uselessness in a culture and society of ultimate "cryo-mechanical humans": I was impressed. He even touches on theories of the existence of the entire universe(s) in a highly entertaining way. My recommendation is forget his longer (and long-winded) novels and devour his short-fiction. The ideas/stories in this collection are crystalised and involving. This one may actually cause me to look more closely at his other novels...