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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
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One of Brin's novels of the future universe where humanity has become part of a galactic culture of species Uplifting each other from pre-sapience to civilisation, homo sapiens being unique in that we achieved that status without external intervention.
The book is fun in a lot of ways - smart humans and chimps, and their allies, manage to overcome the prejudices and wishful thinking of the more nasty aliens. The most sympathetic male characters get to have sex (more or less) with the most sympathetic female characters. There is a lovely plot twist involving gorillas.
But I have to say the book is not one I can recommend. Partly it is that the humans (and their allies) rarely lose a battle or an argument; we are rather compelled to cheer for our boys. But more seriously, I think the novel's take on race issues is naïve and complacent. The intelligent chimpanzee characters are not allowed to rebel from the human agenda, yet disply no resentment of the control exerted over them, including their reproductive rights. Those who do make common cause with humanity's enemies get their come-uppance. (The only Bad Human who displays racial and gender prejudice is explicitly South Asian.) I think I would have been happier if the book had explored colonialism and race a little more profoundly.
One of Brin's novels of the future universe where humanity has become part of a galactic culture of species Uplifting each other from pre-sapience to civilisation, homo sapiens being unique in that we achieved that status without external intervention.
The book is fun in a lot of ways - smart humans and chimps, and their allies, manage to overcome the prejudices and wishful thinking of the more nasty aliens. The most sympathetic male characters get to have sex (more or less) with the most sympathetic female characters. There is a lovely plot twist involving gorillas.
But I have to say the book is not one I can recommend. Partly it is that the humans (and their allies) rarely lose a battle or an argument; we are rather compelled to cheer for our boys. But more seriously, I think the novel's take on race issues is naïve and complacent. The intelligent chimpanzee characters are not allowed to rebel from the human agenda, yet disply no resentment of the control exerted over them, including their reproductive rights. Those who do make common cause with humanity's enemies get their come-uppance. (The only Bad Human who displays racial and gender prejudice is explicitly South Asian.) I think I would have been happier if the book had explored colonialism and race a little more profoundly.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Uplift War - David Brin
The senior races which make up Galactic civilization are engaged in a dangerous struggle for power, which is accumulated by becoming patrons of client races, uplifting them to sentience and thereafter binding them in servitude for many thousands of years before permitting them to exist in their own right. Some of these senior patron races are highly displeased when human 'wolflings' appear on the scene and in no time at all acquire two clients of their own, dolphins and chimpanzees. To make matters worse, these upstart humans apparently bootstrapped themselves into sentience, something which is considered impossible by all Galactic races.
The title of the book may lead some to imagine that this is a work of military science fiction, but that would be an incorrect assumption. So, what war is referred to here? Firstly, there is the general warring between the Galactics for status and the right to uplift other races, and then there is the specific war which becomes the focus of this story. This is the conflict between the avian Gubru and humans who have been granted a charter to care for the ecology of a backwater planet named Garth. The Gubru intend to employ superior military force and their detailed knowledge of Galactic Law to demonstrate that humans are not qualified to serve as a patron race to the sentient chimps, and they are prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to take those clients and the planet Garth away from mankind. So, while it is true that certain battles are described in some detail, the overall emphasis is always on the process and implications of Uplift rather than on military technology and strategy.
One of the strengths of Startide Rising and its sequel The Uplift War is the outstanding quality of David Brin’s world-building. Each alien race has its own rich culture, thought patterns and foibles. They all find it almost impossible to comprehend one another. One of the few alien civilizations which is openly friendly to humanity is that of the Tymbrimi, who are known for their highly-developed and rather wicked sense of humor. And since the narrative alternates between several protagonists, we get to view what is happening through alien eyes, as well as through those of humans and uplifted chimps.
A reader expecting this book to answer the questions raised in Startide Rising regarding the Dolphin starship Streaker and the ancient derelict fleet it discovered may well feel somewhat disappointed. I think it is natural to hope that a sequel would provide more information on the mythical progenitors, which patron race originally uplifted humanity, and why they disappeared. However, David Brin fails to do the obvious by satisfying the reader's curiosity on those points, and perhaps this in a sense makes the story more realistic.
There is a lot of science in this book, and some of the fields drawn on include linguistics, biology, chemistry, and environmental science. Although it certainly contains many fantastic elements, The Uplift War can still be considered hard science fiction because many of the plot drivers involve plausible scientific and technological developments.
One main theme seems to be this: In the same way that humans consider themselves vastly superior to animals, the Galactic patron races consider themselves infinitely more advanced than humans and client races. However, throughout The Uplift War, we see that all walk a fine line between rational behavior on the one hand and purely instinctive responses to situations on the other. In Startide Rising, we saw how the senior patron races of the Soro and the Tandu frequently act in vicious and animalistic ways, and how many of these Galactics are tainted by religious fanaticism. Now, in the sequel we see how the Gubru are almost completely bound by convention, ritual and genetic programming. Readers can draw their own conclusions from this, but what the author intended is hinted at in a postscript at the end of the book.
The senior races which make up Galactic civilization are engaged in a dangerous struggle for power, which is accumulated by becoming patrons of client races, uplifting them to sentience and thereafter binding them in servitude for many thousands of years before permitting them to exist in their own right. Some of these senior patron races are highly displeased when human 'wolflings' appear on the scene and in no time at all acquire two clients of their own, dolphins and chimpanzees. To make matters worse, these upstart humans apparently bootstrapped themselves into sentience, something which is considered impossible by all Galactic races.
The title of the book may lead some to imagine that this is a work of military science fiction, but that would be an incorrect assumption. So, what war is referred to here? Firstly, there is the general warring between the Galactics for status and the right to uplift other races, and then there is the specific war which becomes the focus of this story. This is the conflict between the avian Gubru and humans who have been granted a charter to care for the ecology of a backwater planet named Garth. The Gubru intend to employ superior military force and their detailed knowledge of Galactic Law to demonstrate that humans are not qualified to serve as a patron race to the sentient chimps, and they are prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to take those clients and the planet Garth away from mankind. So, while it is true that certain battles are described in some detail, the overall emphasis is always on the process and implications of Uplift rather than on military technology and strategy.
One of the strengths of Startide Rising and its sequel The Uplift War is the outstanding quality of David Brin’s world-building. Each alien race has its own rich culture, thought patterns and foibles. They all find it almost impossible to comprehend one another. One of the few alien civilizations which is openly friendly to humanity is that of the Tymbrimi, who are known for their highly-developed and rather wicked sense of humor. And since the narrative alternates between several protagonists, we get to view what is happening through alien eyes, as well as through those of humans and uplifted chimps.
A reader expecting this book to answer the questions raised in Startide Rising regarding the Dolphin starship Streaker and the ancient derelict fleet it discovered may well feel somewhat disappointed. I think it is natural to hope that a sequel would provide more information on the mythical progenitors, which patron race originally uplifted humanity, and why they disappeared. However, David Brin fails to do the obvious by satisfying the reader's curiosity on those points, and perhaps this in a sense makes the story more realistic.
There is a lot of science in this book, and some of the fields drawn on include linguistics, biology, chemistry, and environmental science. Although it certainly contains many fantastic elements, The Uplift War can still be considered hard science fiction because many of the plot drivers involve plausible scientific and technological developments.
One main theme seems to be this: In the same way that humans consider themselves vastly superior to animals, the Galactic patron races consider themselves infinitely more advanced than humans and client races. However, throughout The Uplift War, we see that all walk a fine line between rational behavior on the one hand and purely instinctive responses to situations on the other. In Startide Rising, we saw how the senior patron races of the Soro and the Tandu frequently act in vicious and animalistic ways, and how many of these Galactics are tainted by religious fanaticism. Now, in the sequel we see how the Gubru are almost completely bound by convention, ritual and genetic programming. Readers can draw their own conclusions from this, but what the author intended is hinted at in a postscript at the end of the book.
adventurous
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
adventurous
medium-paced
I adore this book and I adore Brin. Well written and moves at a good pace. Fun to read and a great ending. Suffers from ‘men-writing-women’ syndrome, but nearly as bad as other similar books.
David Brin tried to be humorous with this book. For me at least, it fell flat.
The Uplift War parallels Startide Rising with a slightly bigger story, this time starring uplifted chimps instead of dolphins, and focuses on a smaller group of aliens with the bird-like Gubru as the enemy, and a few friendly Tymbrimi diplomats. The plot is fairly similar to the previous book. In the wake of discovery of an ancient fleet, aliens hold human hostage in hopes of concessions, and humans fight back using cunning guerrilla tactics. Young people come into their own against a backdrop of war. Brin doesn't reveal any big secrets here, but some parts of the setting are fleshed out further.
The story takes place on Garth, a planet devastated when an older uplifted predatory race reverted and killed everything larger than a mouse. Terrans got the colony in the hopes that'd they'd repair the collapsing ecosystem. The outpost is overwhelmed by an aggressive galactic race who use a delayed-action gas to hold the humans hostage, and it's up to kids to fight the good fight. Robert Oneagle is the son of the colony administrator and the last free human, who becomes a Tarzan-like warrior. Athlaclena is the daughter of the Tymbrimi ambassador, and must navigate her own feelings of isolation while being the only 'neutral' adult active in the resistance. Fiben is a young chimpanzee who doesn't know when to give up on the resistance.
There are lots of moments that are really neat: Garth's trees exchange molecules at jungle cenotes, forming a continental molecular web that the resistance uses as a secure comms network; The chimps have developed their own rave-like Thunder Dance party culture; The whole mystery of how the Gubru can unerringly track down all human technology; the triune Gubru command structure; Rumors of surviving native Garthlings, and how it leads to the ultimate practical joke. After reading this book, I finally get why Galactic culture looks the way it does, how the elaborate rituals and rules protect the galaxy from holocaust, and why the Terrans are so threatening to the established order.
There are a lot of fun moments, cool bits of science and culture, and some decent characters, but this story still feels peripheral. All the parts are better developed, but the plot and character beats still feel a lot like Startide Rising. Less dolphin haiku, but also less gonzo. I can't quite put my finger on it, but some indefinable thing is missing, and that prevents this book from being truly great.
The story takes place on Garth, a planet devastated when an older uplifted predatory race reverted and killed everything larger than a mouse. Terrans got the colony in the hopes that'd they'd repair the collapsing ecosystem. The outpost is overwhelmed by an aggressive galactic race who use a delayed-action gas to hold the humans hostage, and it's up to kids to fight the good fight. Robert Oneagle is the son of the colony administrator and the last free human, who becomes a Tarzan-like warrior. Athlaclena is the daughter of the Tymbrimi ambassador, and must navigate her own feelings of isolation while being the only 'neutral' adult active in the resistance. Fiben is a young chimpanzee who doesn't know when to give up on the resistance.
There are lots of moments that are really neat: Garth's trees exchange molecules at jungle cenotes, forming a continental molecular web that the resistance uses as a secure comms network; The chimps have developed their own rave-like Thunder Dance party culture; The whole mystery of how the Gubru can unerringly track down all human technology; the triune Gubru command structure; Rumors of surviving native Garthlings, and how it leads to the ultimate practical joke. After reading this book, I finally get why Galactic culture looks the way it does, how the elaborate rituals and rules protect the galaxy from holocaust, and why the Terrans are so threatening to the established order.
There are a lot of fun moments, cool bits of science and culture, and some decent characters, but this story still feels peripheral. All the parts are better developed, but the plot and character beats still feel a lot like Startide Rising. Less dolphin haiku, but also less gonzo. I can't quite put my finger on it, but some indefinable thing is missing, and that prevents this book from being truly great.
Another highly enjoyable book. Even without the dolphins, this book had a very lighthearted tone. I’m sure it had a lot to do with the Tymbrimi, who will go out of their way to engineer a great prank. Even the chims (and especially Fiben) tended to find the amusing in the situation. We got chapters from many different points of view, so I could see what was happening on various locations of Garth. Once again, we focus on the local problems, with just hints that this is part of a bigger issue. We never do find out the significance of the Streaker’s discovery.
I was impressed with Brin’s ability to make me empathize with the Gubru. They were the invaders and attacking an Earth colony, but I felt sorry for them when they couldn’t come to consensus and one of the Suzerains were killed. If it would have lived, the three Suzerains would have come up with a unique policy to deal with the Earth colony. Therefore, it was better for Garth and humanity that the alien died, but I still felt for the mating triad. I’m also impressed with Brin’s ability to differentiate the different alien races just in their speech patterns.
I was impressed with Brin’s ability to make me empathize with the Gubru. They were the invaders and attacking an Earth colony, but I felt sorry for them when they couldn’t come to consensus and one of the Suzerains were killed. If it would have lived, the three Suzerains would have come up with a unique policy to deal with the Earth colony. Therefore, it was better for Garth and humanity that the alien died, but I still felt for the mating triad. I’m also impressed with Brin’s ability to differentiate the different alien races just in their speech patterns.