Sundiver (Uplift Trilogy)

More of a science fiction mystery novel than a hard science fiction novel, and certainly not a great start to the "Uplift" series. Only to be read if you are a hard core Brin fan, as it is seemingly missing half s contents, with allusions to characters and events that happen outside of Brin's writings. If I hadn;t been pressed by a riend to continue reading Brin, this may have...more

More of a science fiction mystery novel than a hard science fiction novel, and certainly not a great start to the "Uplift" series. Only to be read if you are a hard core Brin fan, as it is seemingly missing half s contents, with allusions to characters and events that happen outside of Brin's writings. If I hadn;t been pressed by a riend to continue reading Brin, this may have been the only book of his I would have read. However, the following "Uplift" books are far superior th this one. Skip this one, read the other 5.   hide

Don't be frightened by the bizarre cover artwork. This is a fine introduction to Brin's Uplift series.

The first (and maybe weakest) book in the Uplift Saga is more mystery than Sci-Fi, or rather, a Sci-Fi mystery. Full of plot twists and betrayal (maybe a little too much, almost to the point of being over the top), it's a fun, intresting introduction into the Uplift Saga, while being a little less "hardcore sci-fi" than the following novels.

Not the best of the two trilogies, but a necessary read if you want to get into the rest of this facinating set of books. The story is a murder mystery set aboard an expedition into the Sun's corona. But the meat of the book is about how Earth fits into (or rather, does not fit into) Galactic society. Basically, we are different from the other races; we are proud of our difference; and we are...more

Not the best of the two trilogies, but a necessary read if you want to get into the rest of this facinating set of books. The story is a murder mystery set aboard an expedition into the Sun's corona. But the meat of the book is about how Earth fits into (or rather, does not fit into) Galactic society. Basically, we are different from the other races; we are proud of our difference; and we are defiant in the face of billions of years of accumulated knowledge about what is good for us. After reading this one, you must read Startide Rising and The Uplift War. This is, by far, my favourite series.   hide

David Brin's an excellent author, whether it's fiction or nonfiction. This one's fiction, and the first in the Uplift series. A complex book with an intriguing view of the future. I'm hungry now to read the rest of the series.

The Uplift world is great, but this particular book got some plot issues. Too many twists and turns without enough solidity to keep it going. But the characters and settings keep it alive and well.

This is a reasonably entertaining book, but not really in the league of the much more ambitious Startide Rising and The Uplift War. The story is fairly simple, a sort of "whodonit?" set around a space program that appears to have made contact with energy beings who live in and around the sun. The story builds to a fairly early false climax, but then quickly begins rebuilding tension...more

This is a reasonably entertaining book, but not really in the league of the much more ambitious Startide Rising and The Uplift War. The story is fairly simple, a sort of "whodonit?" set around a space program that appears to have made contact with energy beings who live in and around the sun. The story builds to a fairly early false climax, but then quickly begins rebuilding tension as it moves towards a second big suspenseful climax. The best things about the book are some of the very intriguing technology concepts that make it possible to explore the sun (some of these are human developed; some are gifts from the intergalactic Library that plays a key role in the dissemination of knowledge in Brin's Uplift universe). I had enjoyed the character development in Startide Rising and The Uplift War, especially of the nonhuman characters (neochimps, neodolphins, and aliens). The characterization in Sundiver left me disappointed. The protagonist was neither sympathetic nor particularly convincing (the whole pseudo suppressed split personality thing just seemed silly to me). And the three important alien characters were interesting as excercises in alien design, but as key players in the story they left me unconvinced.   hide

It's cool, but I felt like it quickly became like "Clue...in SPAAAAACE!"

Fantastic story of mankind's first contact with an ancient alien species.