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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
This was classic SF with lots of talking and lots of ideas. Sometimes the pacing was a bit weird,but other then that, this was a solid read. Nice and really alien aliens which were allocated human motives and qualities by the humans in this story. Which they even came to regret.
I will surely read the other books in this series.
I will surely read the other books in this series.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
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
This one has exactly what I like best in science fiction: cool ideas and weird aliens. While attempting to study possible life forms living within the chromosphere of the sun, a future mankind has to contend with the intrigue of galactic politics vis-a-vis the question of whether mankind has achieved sentience on their own or through the help of a more advanced civilization. Brin exhibits a few of the annoying quirks of old-school sci-fi such as a silly superfluous romance subplot, people smoking tobacco on board spacecrafts, and calling all female characters “femmes”. Nevertheless it’s solidly written, entertaining, and has just enough thematic depth to think on. Seeing as this one is considered the weakest entry in the 𝘜𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵 series, I’ll definitely be picking up the sequels as soon as they're available at the library.
The descriptions of the sun were a little dry for me, and the mystery a little convoluted in spots, but overall I enjoyed the characters and the story.
I expected a little more from the first book in the Uplift Saga. There are a lot of very intriguing concepts packed into this novel, but the story structure works against them.
I found the book choppy and it seemed to jump from character to character without really developing them.
I'm interested to read more about the universe that Brin created though.
I found the book choppy and it seemed to jump from character to character without really developing them.
I'm interested to read more about the universe that Brin created though.
Not nearly as bad I remembered. Perhaps it aged well. Perhaps it did better with an aged reader. Perhaps having not re-read the later books in recent in memory, I didn't have better books to compare it to. I did remember that we never hear the story of the Vanilla Needle and other off book details were never written. I think it also helps to already know about the galactic civilization and the dolphins and the chimps and client races and so forth. So perhaps it's just a not very good book 1. And yes stylistically it's a little clunky. But good and interesting and worth reading.
Very much enjoyed this book. Very different type of story from the previous in the series.
I do not like this narrator the book wasn't bad but kinda boring actually
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a great introduction to a classic sci-fi mystery/“who done it” type of novel. It was definitely evident that a lot of thought and time went into Brin’s first novel. The plot was engaging and watching the puzzle pieces fall into place was done at a good pace.
There were a few times were I felt like I was being pulled out of the story, specially around the time were we get the singular chapter from another character’s point of view. However, I was able to jump back in a few chapters later and continue to the end.
There were a few times were I felt like I was being pulled out of the story, specially around the time were we get the singular chapter from another character’s point of view. However, I was able to jump back in a few chapters later and continue to the end.