Reviews

I've read a couple of David Brin's novels and been impressed by his writing every time. Brin has a subtle way of weaving together many subplots and story arcs in a way that seems seamless and understated without ever leaving the reader absent of a sense of plot momentum.
Sundiver is the first in a series known as The Uplift Saga, of which I will definitely be reading more.
One of the Big Ideas behind this book is the concept of sentient species "uplifting" to consciousness other species they've come in contact with. This book is set more than a century in our future when humanity has uplifted several of our fellow earthbound species, including dolphins and chimpanzees. A complex plot is made very palatable by Brin's down-to-Earth style of writing that somehow never feels dumbed down to be digestible. A set of characters with believable motivations, strengths and flaws are pushed together to explore something new to the universe of beings humanity has found itself to be in after Contact with alien species. There are a lot of very interesting technologies (refrigeration lazer, as an example), philosophies and cultural mores put forward by Brin. This includes but isn't limited to the ideas that

Spoiler

humanity may have been uplifted by a mysterious progenitor race who has since disappeared, humans have developed a system to screen, identify and tag people who are prone to commit violence as "probationers," and that life forms may exist inside the sun.

This rich fabric is all brought together by a compelling set of whodunnits and twists which never seem to push aside the Big Ideas and in fact add to them in interesting ways. At several times, the focus of the plot pulled back and revealed even bigger scope than the reader anticipates. This is done in such a way that it feels like a curtain being pulled back to reveal some gem each time, and never fails to add to the intricacy and impact of the story Brin is telling. I would recommend this book to anyone who appreciates a good sci-fi yarn, especially folks who like a good mix of hard sci-fi with good character development. I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

rossbm's review against another edition

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3.0

(read as ebook)
I’ve been meaning to read David Brin’s Uplift Saga for a while now, but what finally pushed me to read the first book was that someone mentioned that the Uplift Saga is probably the best depiction of humanity’s relations with intelligent beings created by man and could serve as a guide to relations between humanity and AI in the not too distant future.

Sundiver is a decent sci-fi book. I would describe it as a romp and mystery. It’s pretty cheesy at times though and the ideas aren’t too compelling. Apparently the second book in the series is much better, so I will give it a try.

smiorganbaldhead's review against another edition

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4.0

This book features lots of interesting ideas, including the concept of Solar exploration, Solar life, and especially the uplift concept. The plot in this book is mainly a mystery and is only average. However, the universe introduced here has a lot of exciting possibilities. I’ve heard the plots are stronger in the later books, so I’m looking forward to reading further in this series.

peter_xxx's review against another edition

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3.0

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.

stephen_coulon's review against another edition

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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

4.0

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.

titusfortner's review against another edition

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4.0

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.

eoghann's review against another edition

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3.0

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.

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