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scytale's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
barbalbero's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
emandem123's review against another edition
3.0
The characterization is well done, and the story is good until about halfway through! Then the author starts trying a little too hard and the reality of space travel and galactic races he had created begins to unravel.
kaboomcju's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
karinlib's review against another edition
3.0
This is one of those books that I had been meaning to read for a long time. I really liked the idea of exploring the sun, and the concept of uplift, hence the 3 star rating. I would have given it more, but I found myself confused a lot of the time. I'm hoping that his other books are better written.
cjhay1's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
derhindemith's review against another edition
3.0
Very good sci-fi, only the typical male-oriented power/ego issues annoyed me.
herrreineke's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cathepsut's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Published in 1980. I might have read it as a late teen or early tween, I am unsure. I could be mixing it up with Startide Rising.
“One doesn’t know whose side throws the peanuts.”
Humanity is part of a large universe full of uplifted species. There are patron races (the uplifters) and client races (uplifted). Uplifting another race adds status, being an uplifted client race means being beholden to one‘s patrons and having to be subservient for a certain time. Eventually the client race becomes a patron race as well, is free of its own patrons and can uplift other races. Patron races eventually evolve and disappear.
Humans are the odd ones out. They achieved sentience on their own, without being uplifted by another race. And they in turn uplifted chimpanzees and dolphins, without strings attached, which adds to their status. The galactic equilibrium is disturbed, as this has never happened before — all sentient races have always been uplifted by others.
The basic concept of client races that are uplifted by a patron race is an unusual one. I don‘t think I ever encountered that before.
So much for the background. We meet our main character Jason Demwa, going on a trip to Mercury, where he joins a scientific investigation into „ghosts“ appearing in and around our sun. A sundiver, aka a ship capable of entering the sun‘s outer reaches, will investigate and try to determine if these ghosts are yet another sentient race that hasn‘t been uplifted by any of the patron races. Something fishy is going on and someone is killed. There is strain between the various alien races and the humans as well.
The characters are all pretty silly and two-dimensional. I could not really take any of them seriously and I did not like any of them. The aliens were weird caricatures. The general story telling shows its age.
Apparently this is Brin‘s first novel, so I guess we should cut him some slack, especially since his next novel, Startide Rising, won a Hugo.
This definitely did not work for me. It might have been the audiobook though. The monotonous audio narration made it hard to stay focused. My mind kept wandering off and I was in a confused state throughout the book. I kept backtracking to re-listen to parts of it and kept wondering what the blazes was going on. And, very oddly, you can hear the narrator swallowing between sentences and paragraphs.
2.5/5 ☀️☀️½
I vaguely remember reading Startide Rising and liking it. It‘s set later and with other characters. I might give it another try.
PS: Sundiver was a nominee for the 1981 Locus Award in the First Novel category, finishing in 3rd place.
“One doesn’t know whose side throws the peanuts.”
Humanity is part of a large universe full of uplifted species. There are patron races (the uplifters) and client races (uplifted). Uplifting another race adds status, being an uplifted client race means being beholden to one‘s patrons and having to be subservient for a certain time. Eventually the client race becomes a patron race as well, is free of its own patrons and can uplift other races. Patron races eventually evolve and disappear.
Humans are the odd ones out. They achieved sentience on their own, without being uplifted by another race. And they in turn uplifted chimpanzees and dolphins, without strings attached, which adds to their status. The galactic equilibrium is disturbed, as this has never happened before — all sentient races have always been uplifted by others.
The basic concept of client races that are uplifted by a patron race is an unusual one. I don‘t think I ever encountered that before.
So much for the background. We meet our main character Jason Demwa, going on a trip to Mercury, where he joins a scientific investigation into „ghosts“ appearing in and around our sun. A sundiver, aka a ship capable of entering the sun‘s outer reaches, will investigate and try to determine if these ghosts are yet another sentient race that hasn‘t been uplifted by any of the patron races. Something fishy is going on and someone is killed. There is strain between the various alien races and the humans as well.
The characters are all pretty silly and two-dimensional. I could not really take any of them seriously and I did not like any of them. The aliens were weird caricatures. The general story telling shows its age.
Apparently this is Brin‘s first novel, so I guess we should cut him some slack, especially since his next novel, Startide Rising, won a Hugo.
This definitely did not work for me. It might have been the audiobook though. The monotonous audio narration made it hard to stay focused. My mind kept wandering off and I was in a confused state throughout the book. I kept backtracking to re-listen to parts of it and kept wondering what the blazes was going on. And, very oddly, you can hear the narrator swallowing between sentences and paragraphs.
2.5/5 ☀️☀️½
I vaguely remember reading Startide Rising and liking it. It‘s set later and with other characters. I might give it another try.
PS: Sundiver was a nominee for the 1981 Locus Award in the First Novel category, finishing in 3rd place.