Brightness Reef (The Uplift Trilogy, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

by David Brin (Author)
Key Phrases: six races, spectral flow, mule spider, Lester Cambel, Tarek Town, Ariana Foo (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Millennia ago the Five Galaxies decreed the planet Jijo off limits. But in the last thousand years six races have begun resettling Jijo, embracing a pre-industrial life to hide their existence from the Galactics. Overcoming their differences, the Six have built a society based on mutual tolerance for one another and respect for the planet they live on. But that has all changed with an event the Six have feared for hundreds of years: the arrival of an outside ship. Author David Brin has returned to his popular Uplift universe in this, the first book of a new trilogy. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
While defying a galactic prohibition on settling the planet Jijo, six alien races-squatters on a forbidden world-have developed a common civilization. Although they are united by the respect they have for themselves and for their home, they fear the day their presence is discovered. This continuation of the popular "Uplift" saga (Startide Rising, Bantam, 1983) employs multiple viewpoints to set the stage for an inevitable confrontation between a resourceful group of survivors and the mysterious galactic keepers who drive them from their hard-won home. Brin's flair for spinning a good yarn comes to the fore in this compelling and thought-provoking series opener. Most libraries will want this for their sf collections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553573306
• ISBN-13: 978-0553573305
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #93,467 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 4 in The Uplift Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Book 4 of a Great Saga, November 18, 2004

By	David A. Lessnau (Niceville, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Currently, there are six books in Brin's Uplift saga. It's kind of hard to categorize these books as elements of a series, though. The first three books in the saga, "Sundiver," "Startide Rising," and "The Uplift War," are not really a trilogy or a series in the normal sense. Instead, "Sundiver" relates to the rest of the saga as Tolkien's "The Hobbit" relates to his "Lord of the Rings:" it sets the stage for all the rest of the books in the saga. "Startide Rising" and "The Uplift War" describe completely different plotlines originating from the same event far distant, time wise and space wise, from "Sundiver". In a pinch, you could read these books in any order and not really miss anything. They describe different points in time and space of the same Universe. Of course, the best order is the one listed, above.

Unlike the first three books in the saga, the second three books DO form a series. The first of this trilogy, "Brightness Reef," picks up with yet another totally independent plotline and brand new characters. However, it does contain a central character who ties the first three books into this set. Unfortunately, Brin doesn't say, specifically, who that character is until the very end of the book. Even worse, the last time the character was used was so far back in the saga that it's hard to remember anything about him. The remaining two books, "Infinity's Shore" and "Heaven's Reach," continue sequentially from the first and form a tightly knit trilogy with no breaks in time.

None of these books is "happy" or "light reading." For the most part, they're all intense, heavily detailed and fully characterized books. "Sundiver" is the least "heavy" and most lacking in the realistic feel of the rest of the books. But, for the most part, if you like "Sundiver," you'll definitely want to continue with the rest of the saga. Even if you don't like "Sundiver," I highly recommend you read at least "Startide Rising:" it has an entirely different feel to it and might be more to your liking. This saga is just too important to miss out on. As a whole, it's one of the great works of science fiction and one of the few pieces of science fiction that belong in the class of true literature.

The following are some comments on the individual books:

Sundiver: Somewhat different from the other books in the saga in that it's more of a science fiction mystery than a science fiction drama. This book sets the stage for the rest of the saga as it chronicles events that happen several hundred years before what happens in the other books. About the only thing negative I can come up with is that I wish Brin had written several prequels to it so we could read about the earlier adventures of Jacob Demwa that are referenced in this book.

Startide Rising: This book focuses on the group that starts all the other events noted in the remaining books of the saga. Though the main characters start off in a very bad way, Brin does a good job of moving them forward, and upward, throughout the book.

The Uplift War: The events in this book start from the same event that kicks off "Startide Rising." But, other than that, the two books are totally independent. Like "Startide Rising," Brin produced a gripping plot, great character development, and a good progression towards a positive goal.

Brightness Reef: This is definitely not a happy book. It starts out with many non-pleasant activities and fights its way forward from there. The biggest problem I have with it is that it's very hard to see how anything good or positive is going to happen to the main characters, no matter how much they try.

Infinity's Shore: First, the negative: once this book starts, it's very apparent that a whole lot of relevant stuff has been happening elsewhere that we missed. Essentially, there's at least one entire book that sounds extremely interesting that's missing from the saga. Brin fills in most of this back-story during this book and "Heaven's Reach." But, I'd sure like to have read that missing book. On the positive side, this book re-introduces us to old friends and subtly changes the focus to them. Everything's still happening in the same place with mostly the same characters, but the attitude changes and becomes more can-do.

Heaven's Reach: One difficulty with this book is due to how it continues from the previous book. It's merely a change of venue instead of a new set of adventures. A quote from one of the main characters near the end of this book sort of sums up my feelings about it: "...what will one more worry matter? I've long passed the point where I stopped counting them." Essentially, by the time this book and saga starts winding down (and even at the point of that quotation, it really hasn't started that yet), the reader is totally fatigued by never-ending problems. I really like these works, but the lack of a tie-up between "Infinity's Shore" and this book is grinding.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you read Startide Rising and Uplift War, read this series, May 17, 2000

By	Brian (Philly) - See all my reviews

This is more of a review of the trilogy than of just this book. After all, why waste your time with the first book if you have no plans to finish the trilogy? This is especially true in this trilogy, in which the first book is probably the slowest and most difficult to get into.

The bottom line is that the trilogy does indeed continue, and in some ways, conclude, the Streaker saga. So if you have read Startide Rising and want to know wha'happened, it will be worth your while. (And it is a long while into the story before Streaker enters it.)

Book 1 (Brightness Reef) is easily the slowest book in the series as far as plot progression and setup. But Brin certainly has a lot to set up. He introduces an entirely new planet Jijo, on which six different beings (including "wolfling" humans, naturally) have landed illegally for reasons that are different for each species. They live together in uneasy peace, hiding from the rest of Galactic society, and have abandoned Galactic technology. All hell breaks loose when visitors arrive on the planet, and the Jijoans prepare for their day of reckoning. In Book 2 (Infinity's Shore) the ball finally gets rolling full-speed, and Book 3 (Heaven's Reach) provides many satisfying conclusions (and also leaves a lot up in the air).

PRAISE: As usual with Brin's work, the aliens are brilliantly conceived and realized. He uses the interspecies relationships very well, and provides much humor (especially with his villains). The story line, once set, moves right along seamlessly. I had trouble putting Book 2 and 3 down.

CRITICISM: The focus definitely shifts between books. Book 1 is set entirely on Jijo, and the focus is the fate of the Jijoans. Book 2 keeps ths focus, but adds another focus to the mix(don't wanna give it away). In most of Book 3 the fate of Jijo is almost an afterthought, and not fully resolved. One other criticism: it's too bad he had to go to E-space to save two of his characters, what a long detour!

SUMMARY: Not as strong as Startide Rising and Uplift War, but highly recommended nonetheless (and essential for youse who want to follow the Streaker saga).

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book - stop reading afterwards!, August 24, 2000

By	WFK "alt historian" (Wolfsberg, Austria) - See all my reviews

With "Brightness Reef" Brin starts another trilogy in his uplift universe. This time the first book is the best: the multi-species society on JiJo is introduced in a way that gets the reader hooked. The galactics who invade - including the "Streaker-" refugees are boring by comparison. Unfortunately they get much of the attention in the following two books. With the first uplift trilogy it was the other way round: the last book - "Uplift War"- was the best. With the new trilogy the two books following this are a disappointment. Best to stop reading the trilogy after having finished this one.