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ephemeriis's review against another edition
3.0
A strange story of talking dolphins, scientist monkeys, aliens, and cows in the sun.
An entertaining read... But it seems like there was a whole lot of build-up that all just got magically resolved in the last couple of chapters. And it really didn't feel like the idea of "Uplift" was explored nearly as much as it should have been.
An entertaining read... But it seems like there was a whole lot of build-up that all just got magically resolved in the last couple of chapters. And it really didn't feel like the idea of "Uplift" was explored nearly as much as it should have been.
keiper7's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
fabian2301's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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? Yes
4.5
mdiffer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
olityr's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Favorite quote:
- "The measure of (mental) health is flexibility (not comparison to some ‘norm’), the freedom to learn from experience … to be influenced by reasonable arguments … and the appeal to the emotions … and especially the freedom to cease when sated. The essence of illness is the freezing of behavior into unalterable and insatiable patterns."
adamgeorgandis's review against another edition
3.0
When I finished John Scalzi's The Kaiju Preservation Society, I decided to read a number of short novels before re-reading Connie Willis's Doomsday Book for an upcoming book club meeting. My first choice was a classic and a personal favorite, Clifford Simak's Way Station, a book I greatly enjoy every time I read it. When I finished Way Station, I browsed my Kobo library, looking for another relatively short novel. I found David Brin's Sundiver, the first of six novels set in the author's Uplift Universe.
I had some previous familiarity with Brin's work. Several years ago, his The Postman was the second book I read as part of my primary book club. I enjoyed The Postman quite a bit, and I looked forward to sampling Brin's Uplift novels at some point in the future.
I am sorry to say I did not enjoy Sundiver very much at all. I found the book cumbersome, at best - and often much worse. The concept of Uplift is fascinating to me, and I suspect Brin uses it to greater effect in later novels. In Sundiver, though, the concept is hampered by an uninteresting cast of characters, and by a plot cluttered with too many moving parts. To me, Sundiver seemed like just what it is: a first novel. I will keep the Uplift Universe in mind - I purchased a copies of Startide Rising and The Uplift War as recent Kobo Daily Deals - but I suspect it will be a while before I give Brin's work another try.
One additional note: the Kobo edition of Sundiver is riddled with typographical errors - in spite of the fact that the edition is described as "a freshly revised re-issue." As I have written in other reviews, I find this kind of sloppiness unacceptable.
I had some previous familiarity with Brin's work. Several years ago, his The Postman was the second book I read as part of my primary book club. I enjoyed The Postman quite a bit, and I looked forward to sampling Brin's Uplift novels at some point in the future.
I am sorry to say I did not enjoy Sundiver very much at all. I found the book cumbersome, at best - and often much worse. The concept of Uplift is fascinating to me, and I suspect Brin uses it to greater effect in later novels. In Sundiver, though, the concept is hampered by an uninteresting cast of characters, and by a plot cluttered with too many moving parts. To me, Sundiver seemed like just what it is: a first novel. I will keep the Uplift Universe in mind - I purchased a copies of Startide Rising and The Uplift War as recent Kobo Daily Deals - but I suspect it will be a while before I give Brin's work another try.
One additional note: the Kobo edition of Sundiver is riddled with typographical errors - in spite of the fact that the edition is described as "a freshly revised re-issue." As I have written in other reviews, I find this kind of sloppiness unacceptable.
topdragon's review against another edition
3.0
This book kicks off the “Uplift Saga” and I wanted to read it even though I had heard that it isn’t David Brin’s best stuff. Turns out it’s his first novel and based on the critical acclaim for the next two books in the series ([b:Startide Rising|234501|Startide Rising (The Uplift Saga, #2)|David Brin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476445711l/234501._SY75_.jpg|251634] and [b:The Uplift War|234489|The Uplift War (The Uplift Saga, #3)|David Brin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375272637l/234489._SY75_.jpg|98235]), I can only assume that his storytelling vastly improved. As for this one, while there is a story here that is of interest, and an epic concept, I think Mr. Brin lost sight of that story in order to utilize his own background in astrophysics and electrical engineering. This is, indeed, a “hard science” science fiction novel but there was just too much of that here for me to feel fully engaged. It’s a story about taking a space vehicle into the sun, after all, so there has to be a lot of science. But it came at the expense of the characters (especially the aliens which could have been really cool) and the story itself.
I will certainly continue on, however, as book number 2 won the Hugo, The Nebula, and the Locus for best science fiction novel. That will either be amazing…or way over my head.
I will certainly continue on, however, as book number 2 won the Hugo, The Nebula, and the Locus for best science fiction novel. That will either be amazing…or way over my head.
jpraska006's review against another edition
3.5
With Sundiver, David Brin clearly has an abundance of cool, intelligent, and unique ideas. The hard science and the concepts within this book are super fun to dig into. I loved the in-depth descriptions of sun-ships and the sheer awe inspired in our characters from witnessing the sun-creatures (or, Solarians) was great. The characterizations and some of the melodrama, however, seemed to be where Brin faltered a bit for me. And, ultimately, this is fine. I can get behind stories that are idea-heavy rather than character-focused. But in this case, the murder mystery plot didn't do much for me and the main character, Jacob, was just a bit too smart and overly smug about it for my taste. Despite that, I still enjoyed the book quite a bit!
loomisknows's review against another edition
4.0
Sundiver is a strange book. There is a definite male voice in it and it is a product of its time period. That wasn't a bad thing, but in more than a few instances it was very weird for me as a female reader. There were just certain things that creeped me out a little, like the protagonist getting knocked out and as he wakes up knowing a woman is there because he can smell her. The female characters are just a bit weird, they oscillate between competent and damselling. For a lot of the book, I felt like there must have been a book before I had missed because it references an event throughout that never actually gets explored.
All that said, it was interesting and the alien designs are interesting. One of them is basically sentient broccoli. I also think this kind of sci-fi is from a nostalgic period where even if it is a little jank here and there it has a kinda hope and ethos that is hard for modern writers to have 40 years later.
All that said, it was interesting and the alien designs are interesting. One of them is basically sentient broccoli. I also think this kind of sci-fi is from a nostalgic period where even if it is a little jank here and there it has a kinda hope and ethos that is hard for modern writers to have 40 years later.