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A review by bhasmam
Startide Rising by David Brin
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.