I've just finished Heaven's Reach, the final book in the second Uplift trilogy by David Brin. This is the second time I've read it and it's just as good as I remember. Better, even.
This final book follows the continuing adventures of the Streaker crew and the other characters that they met on Jijo. It brings the whole series to a conclusion, full of surprises and suspense right up until the end.
I have to admit that I liked it better this time around. The first time I read it I enjoyed the pace of the story but got a bit lost. Brin has introduced a lot of new ideas that expand the reach of his Uplift universe far beyond anything mentioned in the previous books. There were hints, but in this book he lets loose and takes us on an adventure well into a transcendental future, where evolution takes some very strange turns.
In the end, most of the loose ends are tied up although some of the big questions don't get answered. The big question about the Progenitors and their return is never really answered, but there's nothing wrong with that. Life doesn't always answer your questions, does it? Sometimes you have to live with the unknown, and that's made clear in this book. People are parted without warning at a moments notice, there is death and sorrow, but also joy and adventure.
It's a good book. A great read - as I said, I had to re-read it to really enjoy it. But it is a fitting conclusion to the Uplift series, and leaves room for further adventures in the future. I'd like to see more books set in this universe sometime in the future!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Heaven's Reach
Friday, June 26, 2009
Infinity's Shore
I've just finished re-reading Infinity's Shore by David Brin and I still love it. It's the second book in the Jijo/Uplift trilogy and is just as good as any of the previous books he's written. Brin is one of my favourite science fiction authors and he doesn't disappoint with this book.
This is the second book in the trilogy and it continues the story started in Brightness Reef. Streaker, the dolphin-crewed starship, is still stuck on Jijo and is being hunted now by the Jophur. In this book the familiar characters from Brightness Reef (Alvin, Huck, Sara, Lark and Dwer etc) are joined by the dolphin crews, neatly tying this book in with the previous Uplift trilogy.
Brin obviously has a knack for creating believable characters, alien species and cultures as well as settings. The Uplift universe is in my opinion one of the best fictional universes. The writing is excellent and the characters believable and interesting. This book, and this series, just drew me in and captured my whole attention.
The alien species and characters in this book seem real to me, and don't feel like dressed-up humans which unfortunately is the case with a lot of science fiction.
For a start, I think the basic idea behind the series is a great one. Uplift involves older intelligent species deliberately genetically engineering pre-sapient species so that they also become intelligent beings. In this series, humans have uplifted dolphins and chimpanzees to full intelligence, while thousands of alien species have also gone through the same process and created a galactic culture based on this idea. It's a fascinating concept and one that I would like to see happen in real life, eventually.
The other main idea is that humans are only a minor, weak and persecuted race in the wider galaxy. This seems like a pretty realistic idea to me, too, assuming that we ever do get off this planet and into space.
Overall I think this is one of my favourite science fiction series and this book is a great addition to it.
