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lillsa01's review against another edition
5.0
One of my favorite sci fi books. And the book club book for Sept-Oct
starsal's review against another edition
3.0
I remember reading this book in junior high -- mainly, I'll admit because it had dolphins and starships on the the cover. This is still an enjoyable read (because, come on, the notion of dolphin astronauts is very interesting to contemplate and explore) but not nearly as enjoyable as it was for me in junior high, back before I knew very much about real human relationships and interacting. Now it's all a little bit story-bookish, but enjoyable nonetheless.
With one caveat: I really strenuously object to the idea that orca=killer=bad. Orcas are wonderful, intelligent creatures. They are carnivores yes, but no more "evil" than other dolphins. As a biologist, that bothered me.
With one caveat: I really strenuously object to the idea that orca=killer=bad. Orcas are wonderful, intelligent creatures. They are carnivores yes, but no more "evil" than other dolphins. As a biologist, that bothered me.
tranquilitycase's review against another edition
3.0
I'm so glad there was a list of characters in the front because I definitely had to use it. This is not a compliment, by the way. The concept and plot were enough to keep me interested, but I don't have any plans to read more Uplift novels. I like more character-driven stories. Read for my sci fi book club, but missed the discussion.
bhasmam's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
tense
fast-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? No
4.0
I first read something from the Uplift Saga (don’t remember which one, though) way back when I was a teenager, and immediately the whole concept of “uplift” struck me as novel, interesting and aspirational; who, after all, would not want to see the world through the eyes of another species, through completely different paradigms, experiences filtered through a very different perspective of the world?
Also, the Jophur terrified the hell out of me: truly “alien” aliens, whose physiology defied the bipedal humanoid alien structures that were mostly prevalent in science fiction that I had read or watched till then.
So I decided, belatedly, to go through the entire series for the beginning and started with Sundiver, which piqued my interest, but whose plot (gripping though it was) was still restricted - as humanity’s progress in space was in the series until then - to earth’s backyard.
Startide Rising, though, kicked the series into high gear. It’s an amazing tour de force, a riproaring space opera that ticks all the right boxes: hard science, world (universe?) building, space battles, eldritch aliens, galactic politics, a billions-years-old Macguffin, internal dissension, a strange new world with its attendant secrets, mysticism and scientific philosophy. So many levels of interest, so many plot streams, all brought together into a smashing, riotous climax.
And, of course, a deep dive (yes, pun) into the thoughts and dreams (another one) of dolphins, who are deftly portrayed as just as complex personalities as any human, with internal ideologies, motivations and actions that are defined both by the generalities of their species as well as the specificities of their individual personalities. Yeah, some of them are real arseholes.
A brilliant science fiction saga, both conceptually and in terms of plot, action and mystery.
Also, the Jophur terrified the hell out of me: truly “alien” aliens, whose physiology defied the bipedal humanoid alien structures that were mostly prevalent in science fiction that I had read or watched till then.
So I decided, belatedly, to go through the entire series for the beginning and started with Sundiver, which piqued my interest, but whose plot (gripping though it was) was still restricted - as humanity’s progress in space was in the series until then - to earth’s backyard.
Startide Rising, though, kicked the series into high gear. It’s an amazing tour de force, a riproaring space opera that ticks all the right boxes: hard science, world (universe?) building, space battles, eldritch aliens, galactic politics, a billions-years-old Macguffin, internal dissension, a strange new world with its attendant secrets, mysticism and scientific philosophy. So many levels of interest, so many plot streams, all brought together into a smashing, riotous climax.
And, of course, a deep dive (yes, pun) into the thoughts and dreams (another one) of dolphins, who are deftly portrayed as just as complex personalities as any human, with internal ideologies, motivations and actions that are defined both by the generalities of their species as well as the specificities of their individual personalities. Yeah, some of them are real arseholes.
A brilliant science fiction saga, both conceptually and in terms of plot, action and mystery.
lael's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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
4.75
mburnamfink's review against another edition
4.0
Startide Rising is a solid modern pulp contribution to the Hugos. A few centuries into the future, humanity is part of a galaxy teeming with intelligent life. The catch is that all intelligent life is connected in a great chain of uplift, with older species advancing younger species to technological civilization and sapience. Humanity is alone as a wolfling, only allowed on the galactic stage by virtue of having uplifted chimpanzees and dolphins. Most species want humanity dead, and when the dolphin-crewed exploration ship Streaker finds a two-billion year old alien fleet, they turn into the target of a massive polygonal battle and hunt by the galactic powers.
But all of that takes place before the first page. The meat of the story concerns the Streaker, hiding on an abandoned water world and trying to make repairs and escape while battle rages above them. The majority dolphin crew are uneasy in their use of technology and logic, fracturing under the psychological strain of the siege. Worse, many of the crew are part of a secret project in improving uplifted dolphins, and even more volatile than the standard uplift. When the dolphin second-mate and psychologist conspire to mutiny, the Earthling's greatest enemy may be themselves. POV alternates between different members of the crew, and the alien factions in their sleek battlecruisers overhead.
I thought that the dolphin characters were well-realized as adjacent to humans, but not quite human, thinking and acting quite different from how we do. The mutineers were surprisingly sympathetic in their flaws: ambitious, cowardly, ultimately traitorous and murderous, but people who had a coherent strategy (surrender to the aliens and hope for the best, rather than run the gauntlet of enemy fire and pursuit). The idea of the galactic civilization based on uplift and servitude, and the way that humanity could threaten it, was quite appealing.
There's a lot to dislike about this book. People complain about Brin's writing, similar-voiced characters (not the lack of names. A day later I can only remember a few of the characters specifically), cartoonish antagonists, ridiculous setting, and dolphin poetry. They aren't wrong, but what they miss is that Startide Rising is FUN. Having read them in order, I can confidently state that the last decade of books were joyless slogs through dystopia, apocalypses, madness, and evil. Ringworld was the last Hugo that was optimistic, that took joy in space and action and exploration.
I'm willing to overlook a fair number of flaws in writing if the whole comes together, but there was one thing off about Startide which troubled me, and while I can't put my finger on it exactly, it's about smugness and sexism. The tone of the novel is a little too self-satisfied, a little too injokey. While there are plenty of female characters, they're all in supporting roles to the males. And the parts that fell the flattest were the "romances", and a rather generous ready of how acceptable sexual harassment is when stranded on a deadly alien planet. It's a lot better than almost all of the previous sexist scifi I've read in this series, but also somehow worse because Brin considers himself "forward-looking" (direct quote from his website), and would be externally described as a progressive Democrat with some unorthodox views. I'm not at all surprised that Jo Walton dumped her drink over his head at the 2003 Boskone. Fun book, but a little sticky.
But all of that takes place before the first page. The meat of the story concerns the Streaker, hiding on an abandoned water world and trying to make repairs and escape while battle rages above them. The majority dolphin crew are uneasy in their use of technology and logic, fracturing under the psychological strain of the siege. Worse, many of the crew are part of a secret project in improving uplifted dolphins, and even more volatile than the standard uplift. When the dolphin second-mate and psychologist conspire to mutiny, the Earthling's greatest enemy may be themselves. POV alternates between different members of the crew, and the alien factions in their sleek battlecruisers overhead.
I thought that the dolphin characters were well-realized as adjacent to humans, but not quite human, thinking and acting quite different from how we do. The mutineers were surprisingly sympathetic in their flaws: ambitious, cowardly, ultimately traitorous and murderous, but people who had a coherent strategy (surrender to the aliens and hope for the best, rather than run the gauntlet of enemy fire and pursuit). The idea of the galactic civilization based on uplift and servitude, and the way that humanity could threaten it, was quite appealing.
There's a lot to dislike about this book. People complain about Brin's writing, similar-voiced characters (not the lack of names. A day later I can only remember a few of the characters specifically), cartoonish antagonists, ridiculous setting, and dolphin poetry. They aren't wrong, but what they miss is that Startide Rising is FUN. Having read them in order, I can confidently state that the last decade of books were joyless slogs through dystopia, apocalypses, madness, and evil. Ringworld was the last Hugo that was optimistic, that took joy in space and action and exploration.
I'm willing to overlook a fair number of flaws in writing if the whole comes together, but there was one thing off about Startide which troubled me, and while I can't put my finger on it exactly, it's about smugness and sexism. The tone of the novel is a little too self-satisfied, a little too injokey. While there are plenty of female characters, they're all in supporting roles to the males. And the parts that fell the flattest were the "romances", and a rather generous ready of how acceptable sexual harassment is when stranded on a deadly alien planet. It's a lot better than almost all of the previous sexist scifi I've read in this series, but also somehow worse because Brin considers himself "forward-looking" (direct quote from his website), and would be externally described as a progressive Democrat with some unorthodox views. I'm not at all surprised that Jo Walton dumped her drink over his head at the 2003 Boskone. Fun book, but a little sticky.
robl'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? No
3.75
april_does_feral_sometimes's review against another edition
5.0
'Startide Rising' by David Brin is the best of the first two novels in the Uplift Trilogy! I was much more engaged with the characters of the second book in this series than I was with the first, '[b:Sundiver|96472|Sundiver (The Uplift Saga, #1)|David Brin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388176548l/96472._SY75_.jpg|461555]'. But both books have the linkage of the same world building and speculative science fiction, plus 'Startide Rising' makes the most sense if the first novel is read. The action takes place two hundred years after the first book in the series.
Despite that I am throwing a little shade on 'Sundiver', I think this is a wonderfully entertaining series. The basic platform of a patron species genetically tinkering with animals to give them the gift of sentience is not original, but Brin takes off with this dream of scientific Mankind and "goes where no one has gone before!"
I copied the book blurb because it is accurate:
"David Brin's Uplift novels are among the most thrilling and extraordinary science fiction ever written. Sundiver, Startide Rising, and The Uplift War--a New York Times bestseller--together make up one of the most beloved sagas of all time. Brin's tales are set in a future universe in which no species can reach sentience without being "uplifted" by a patron race. But the greatest mystery of all remains unsolved: who uplifted humankind?
The Terran exploration vessel Streaker has crashed in the uncharted water world of Kithrup, bearing one of the most important discoveries in galactic history. Below, a handful of her human and dolphin crew battles armed rebellion and a hostile planet to safeguard her secret--the fate of the Progenitors, the fabled First Race who seeded wisdom throughout the stars."
While uplifting has changed animals into intelligent and literate beings, they retain certain atavistic characteristics of their species. Brin has brilliantly conceived a very likely set of results of the extending of those characteristics into believable non-human sentient cultures. There are also many political subplots and swirling currents of emotion which build up slowly to an explosive finish. Readers can feel like they are drowning in the complexities of individual human/dolphin/chimp characters and plans! But I thought the space opera was very engaging even when it was a whirlpool of inventive ideas. I am still feeling a bit swamped by the dozens of warring alien lifeforms, but the book never became unmoored from its science fiction roots. Brin enjoyed himself particularly in developing space alien species. I loved the funnily wicked Soro's bitch! That mating claw was awesomely chilling. Ffs, "mating claw"!
I suggest reading H. G. Wells' [b:The Island of Doctor Moreau|341272|The Island of Doctor Moreau|H.G. Wells|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571484102l/341272._SY75_.jpg|68894] to see how difficult it is to uplift away from one's basic DNA -whatever the original animal! "But somehow the things drift back again: the stubborn beast-flesh grows day by day back again." -the crux of the problem for Doctor Moreau, and from where the headwater for Brin's waterfall of fictional uplift dramas stream.
Alien, human, dolphin or chimp - we are all uplifted today from a seabed of older and more primitive beasties! Jump into the book gentle reader, the water's fine!
Despite that I am throwing a little shade on 'Sundiver', I think this is a wonderfully entertaining series. The basic platform of a patron species genetically tinkering with animals to give them the gift of sentience is not original, but Brin takes off with this dream of scientific Mankind and "goes where no one has gone before!"
I copied the book blurb because it is accurate:
"David Brin's Uplift novels are among the most thrilling and extraordinary science fiction ever written. Sundiver, Startide Rising, and The Uplift War--a New York Times bestseller--together make up one of the most beloved sagas of all time. Brin's tales are set in a future universe in which no species can reach sentience without being "uplifted" by a patron race. But the greatest mystery of all remains unsolved: who uplifted humankind?
The Terran exploration vessel Streaker has crashed in the uncharted water world of Kithrup, bearing one of the most important discoveries in galactic history. Below, a handful of her human and dolphin crew battles armed rebellion and a hostile planet to safeguard her secret--the fate of the Progenitors, the fabled First Race who seeded wisdom throughout the stars."
While uplifting has changed animals into intelligent and literate beings, they retain certain atavistic characteristics of their species. Brin has brilliantly conceived a very likely set of results of the extending of those characteristics into believable non-human sentient cultures. There are also many political subplots and swirling currents of emotion which build up slowly to an explosive finish. Readers can feel like they are drowning in the complexities of individual human/dolphin/chimp characters and plans! But I thought the space opera was very engaging even when it was a whirlpool of inventive ideas. I am still feeling a bit swamped by the dozens of warring alien lifeforms, but the book never became unmoored from its science fiction roots. Brin enjoyed himself particularly in developing space alien species. I loved the funnily wicked Soro's bitch! That mating claw was awesomely chilling. Ffs, "mating claw"!
I suggest reading H. G. Wells' [b:The Island of Doctor Moreau|341272|The Island of Doctor Moreau|H.G. Wells|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571484102l/341272._SY75_.jpg|68894] to see how difficult it is to uplift away from one's basic DNA -whatever the original animal! "But somehow the things drift back again: the stubborn beast-flesh grows day by day back again." -the crux of the problem for Doctor Moreau, and from where the headwater for Brin's waterfall of fictional uplift dramas stream.
Alien, human, dolphin or chimp - we are all uplifted today from a seabed of older and more primitive beasties! Jump into the book gentle reader, the water's fine!
seanhatesnamerestrictions's review against another edition
5.0
If you're gonna do space dolphins, you have to go all-in on detail, explanation, and reasoning, which David Brin does. It's intricate and philosophical, and has a thrilling narrative. And space dolphins.