R- Uplift War (v,x), Startide Rising (v,x,b), Brightness Reef-Infinity's Shore-Heaven's Reach (v,maybe x,b)
PG16- Sundiver (v), The Postman (v,b)
David Brin has written quite a few novels by now, but my favorites are the Uplift series. In chronological order within the novels, these are: Sundiver, Startide Rising, The Uplift War, Brightness Reef, Infinity's Shore, and Heaven's Reach (on a side note, I love his titles, and the poetry in the books that they come from). They are not exactly light reading, but they're very well done if you like complicated plots.
In the future in which these are set, mankind has genetically altered both dolphins and chimpanzees (and are possibly going to add dogs to the list) to be more intelligent and capable of human speech. They managed to do this just before the other sentient beings in the universe discovered humanity's existence, which is the only thing that kept some of these other species from immediately taking humans in hand for some reengineering. Galactic culture is based on this proces of uplift, where more advanced races alter the genetics of proto-sentient races in a long chain back to the Progenitors. Because humanity uplifted two species before we were discovered, that gives us the status of patrons, rather than clients which can be altered in whatever manner the patron species chooses. Which leads to some messy Galactic politics, as some races are not happy at all about the status or presence of humanity, which is a "wolfling" species - a species whose patrons seem to have abandoned them. Which is where the novels begin.
The first, Sundiver, is written in the early stages after humanity learns they're not alone, and involves Jacob Demwa, a man who was working with the dolphin uplift project, being brought in on a solar research project where manned spacecraft are sent into the sun to collect information.
The rest of the novels are closer chronologically, beginning with Startide Rising. In this story, a dolphin-crewed ship, Startide, is out exploring the galaxy, and runs across something which has the other races very interested. Interested and upset enough to chase them through the far reaches of space to find out what it is, and eliminate it.
The Uplift War takes place on a human-chimpanzee colony world, where the repercussions of the Startide's discovery are making politics very problematical. The daughter of the Timbrimi ambassador (a race which is actually friendly towards mankind, if overly fond of practical jokes) is caught up in trying to find and hide the secrets humanity has hidden on the planet, and in the process learns more about herself and about what humans are capable of.
The last three (Brightness Reef, Infinity's Shore, and Heaven's Reach) are a continuous trilogy, about a planet where refugees from six races have landed illegally and are hiding from the rest of the galaxy. The Startide's discovery influences their lives as well, when the races chasing Startide find the planet and life is no longer simple. The best part of these three books is the exploration of what kind of culture might result from the free interchange of ideas and ways of life among these very physically different races.
The first "trilogy" in the Uplift saga is composed of three independent novels: Sundiver, Startide Rising, and Uplift War. They deal with three different worlds, three different sets of characters, in three different times. The thing that holds them together is the universe in which they take place, one hostile to human beings. Startide Rising received all kinds of acclaim, but I honestly prefer Sundiver. While the former shifts from viewpoint to viewpoint, the latter sticks with the main character. The essential difference between the two is that Sundiver is about a mentally skewed person trying to cope with a universe into which he doesn't quite fit, and Startide Rising is about that universe. Those of you who love dolphins, great world-building, or plots that behave like a baroque symphany may prefer the newer book. If you want a character to really care about and a little physics mystery (and a little closure!), take the older book.
Uplift War fits into this scheme after many alien races have become hostile to humanity in Startide Rising (as if they weren't hostile before...). The real focus here is on appearances versus reality, and on the culture of the modified chimpanzees. It's really amazing what Brin did with chimp behavior, translating it from present times with some of the most realistic, delightful "what if?" answers I have ever read. The book starts off a little slow, but soon settles down in a rapid page-turner as the colony is attacked and forced to fight back. The reader cannot predict the outcome, because even the most intelligent characters find their plots backfiring, twisting out of their control. This time, Brin limited himself to a few main points of view, allowing us to really sympathize with a few main characters and their dilemmas in a very un-pretty guerilla war (pun definitely intended).
The Postman is a fine example of the use of a post-apocalyptic setting to explore how people deal with adversity. Although we have passed the presumed date of the worldwide collapse (the book was written in 1985 and seems to have set the collapse at 1995), there are few mentions of dates in the book and the description of how everything fell apart is still believable today. The story follows Gordon Krantz, a 20th Century holdover idealist, as he travels through the former Oregon looking for hope, and discovering the power of myth and personality in organizing the surviving collections of people. From hard-core survivalists to those reconstructing technology to new-hippies, the book explores the many ways in which humanity might survive if cut free from our current civilization.
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Last Updated: January 25, 2000
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