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branch_c's review against another edition
3.0
Well, I can at least say that I did like this book more than the previous two in the series, but still not enough to raise it to four stars, in my humble opinion.
Brin is clearly a master at imagining and developing science fictional concepts, and his writing is certainly polished and professional. The aliens are particularly well-drawn here, with each race being given its own unique character - some stranger than others - and this goes a long way toward clarifying why the Galactics are apparently constantly at war - something that was left too vague for me in Startide Rising.
The idea of uplift is still the central factor, of course, and this book does bring that concept to a solid maturity, and fills in many of the details that were sketchy in the earlier volumes. And there are some additional SF ideas that would be enough to form the core of a simpler book, but here serve as throwaway ideas that add to the richness of the world building.
The actual story, however, I found strangely tedious, and given the length of this book, it’s a particularly extended tedium. All the elements of a decent story are here, but for me they just unspooled painfully slowly. The sense of tension when moving from one sub-plot to another - something that goes unnoticed when it’s done well - is largely lacking.
Some characters are pleasantly complex - Fiben and Gailet in particular were interesting and fun to sympathize with. And the Gubru had a consistent note of bizarre otherness that made them at least intriguing, if also villainous. Others were less well-developed though, in particular Robert, who I found flat and uninteresting.
Overall, it was enjoyable enough for the nicely done SF elements, but I was less impressed with the story construction and pace, and I found it longer than it needed to be.
Brin is clearly a master at imagining and developing science fictional concepts, and his writing is certainly polished and professional. The aliens are particularly well-drawn here, with each race being given its own unique character - some stranger than others - and this goes a long way toward clarifying why the Galactics are apparently constantly at war - something that was left too vague for me in Startide Rising.
The idea of uplift is still the central factor, of course, and this book does bring that concept to a solid maturity, and fills in many of the details that were sketchy in the earlier volumes. And there are some additional SF ideas that would be enough to form the core of a simpler book, but here serve as throwaway ideas that add to the richness of the world building.
The actual story, however, I found strangely tedious, and given the length of this book, it’s a particularly extended tedium. All the elements of a decent story are here, but for me they just unspooled painfully slowly. The sense of tension when moving from one sub-plot to another - something that goes unnoticed when it’s done well - is largely lacking.
Some characters are pleasantly complex - Fiben and Gailet in particular were interesting and fun to sympathize with. And the Gubru had a consistent note of bizarre otherness that made them at least intriguing, if also villainous. Others were less well-developed though, in particular Robert, who I found flat and uninteresting.
Overall, it was enjoyable enough for the nicely done SF elements, but I was less impressed with the story construction and pace, and I found it longer than it needed to be.
kerstincullen's review against another edition
5.0
I think this is my favorite in the Uplift Saga. Sorry, dolphins.
andreashappe's review against another edition
3.0
I've heard a lot of positive about the Uplift saga, so I was looking forward to the books.. the first two were not so much to my liking, but "the uplift war" should be great.
The whole uplift idea is an interesting part of world building, although it feels a bit weird when you compare it to colonialism and recent work on revisionist history.
Sometimes I get the feeling of reading a YA novel. And that one written by a horny male teenager. Seriously, the whole "reasons why protagonists can have sex with more than their girlfriend"-stick feels a bit cringey, the "boys will be boys" parts too (altough not as bad as during sundiver). Strong female roles are somewhat lacking, they more fall into the "crying for male hero to rescue them"-category, sometimes even literally so.
Casually mentioning atrocities against sentinent bird species feels odd sometimes. The story is sometimes surprising, but then this might be related to some of the plot holes.
The whole ecology stuff is great, the Postscript pure gold. Again, it seems that I am more fond of David Brin, the human being, than Brin, the novelist.
The whole uplift idea is an interesting part of world building, although it feels a bit weird when you compare it to colonialism and recent work on revisionist history.
Sometimes I get the feeling of reading a YA novel. And that one written by a horny male teenager. Seriously, the whole "reasons why protagonists can have sex with more than their girlfriend"-stick feels a bit cringey, the "boys will be boys" parts too (altough not as bad as during sundiver). Strong female roles are somewhat lacking, they more fall into the "crying for male hero to rescue them"-category, sometimes even literally so.
Casually mentioning atrocities against sentinent bird species feels odd sometimes. The story is sometimes surprising, but then this might be related to some of the plot holes.
The whole ecology stuff is great, the Postscript pure gold. Again, it seems that I am more fond of David Brin, the human being, than Brin, the novelist.
neglet's review against another edition
A sprawling epic (in the best sense) of earthling colonists (human and uplifted chimp) resisting an alien invasion with the assistance of friendly galactics. Still as enjoyable as when I first read it 20 years ago.
awilderm23's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
love that the chims use goodall instead of god as in oh my goodall etc
‘There were times when Robert actually envied his ancestors, who had lived in the dark ignorance before the twenty first century and seemed to have spent most of their time making up weird, ornate explanations of the world to fill in the yawning gaps of their ignorance. Back then, one could believe anything at all.’
‘How ironic, Uthaclathling thought. Tymbrimi lives their lives awash in the everflowing music of life, and yet he did not personally identify with this small animal. It was one of hundreds of millions, after all. Why should he care about this particular individual? Yet Kault loved the creature. Without empathy sense, without any direct being-to-being link, he cherished it entirely in abstract. He loved what the little thing represented, its potential.’
love that the chims use goodall instead of god as in oh my goodall etc
‘There were times when Robert actually envied his ancestors, who had lived in the dark ignorance before the twenty first century and seemed to have spent most of their time making up weird, ornate explanations of the world to fill in the yawning gaps of their ignorance. Back then, one could believe anything at all.’
‘How ironic, Uthaclathling thought. Tymbrimi lives their lives awash in the everflowing music of life, and yet he did not personally identify with this small animal. It was one of hundreds of millions, after all. Why should he care about this particular individual? Yet Kault loved the creature. Without empathy sense, without any direct being-to-being link, he cherished it entirely in abstract. He loved what the little thing represented, its potential.’
lizardking_no1's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
jazzypizzaz's review against another edition
2.0
Better pacing and characters than "Startide", but this book still needed an editor with a thick red pen. Or maybe a different author altogether -- Brin is all too fond of unnecessary or out-of-place descriptors, which often stilted reading. At times it was an interminable slog. I was interested enough in the world to keep muddling through, but it's rare a book takes me this long to read.
That said -- creative world-building, good ideas, interesting alien politics, sometimes exciting plot, fun characters.
That said -- creative world-building, good ideas, interesting alien politics, sometimes exciting plot, fun characters.
mundanest's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.25
peter_xxx's review against another edition
3.0
This is a 3.5 book actually. The Uplift war is a very classic SF book in the sense that the ideas and themes explored are more important than the characters and the story. All characters and all happenings in this book are means for the author to explore questions about nature, nurture and influence of biology on societal and cultural norms. Some very good ideas are explored here and this exploration also makes for very interesting aliens and alien cultures. But the focus of the story suffered from it a bit. Although I make it sound like there is no story, but that is also not true. It is just like in old fashioned SF that most characters react in a very controlled scientific way. They are very much creatures of reason. And most of the ones that are not meet a disastrous fate.
That being said Fiben is a character that I will probably remember for quite some time. This one was the best book in the Uplift saga so far for me. Not sure I want to continue since I heard that after this the series takes a turn for the worse.
That being said Fiben is a character that I will probably remember for quite some time. This one was the best book in the Uplift saga so far for me. Not sure I want to continue since I heard that after this the series takes a turn for the worse.
titusfortner's review against another edition
3.0
This is a difficult review to write. I really enjoyed the book, and couldn't put it down, but it wasn't nearly as good as Startide Rising. The pacing was great until the last 50 pages. After the main climax was resolved, I had a difficult time investing in the final climax. It didn't help that things seemed to get weirder and more contrived near the end. Too many peculiar coincidences, and things that would have been much better if they'd been fleshed out earlier in the story. I think there were a few too many threads, and not all of them were tied together satisfactorily for me.