Infinity's Shore (The Uplift Trilogy, Book 2) [Mass Market Paperback]

David Brin (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 3, 1997

Nebula and Hugo award-winning author David Brin continues his bestselling Uplift series in this second novel of a bold new trilogy. Imaginative, inventive, and filled with Brin's trademark mix of adventure, passion, and wit, Infinity's Shore carries us further than ever before into the heart of the most beloved and extraordinary science fiction sagas ever written.

For the fugitive settlers of Jijo, it is truly the beginning of the end. As starships fill the skies, the threat of genocide hangs over the planet that once peacefully sheltered six bands of sapient beings. Now the human settlers of Jijo and their alien neighbors must make heroic--and terrifying--choices. A scientist must rally believers for a cause he never shared. And four youngsters find that what started as a simple adventure--imitating exploits in Earthling books by Verne and Twain--leads them to the dark abyss of mystery. Meanwhile, the Streaker, with her fugitive dolphin crew, arrives at last on Jijo in a desperate search for refuge. Yet what the crew finds instead is a secret hidden since the galaxies first spawned intelligence--a secret that could mean salvation for the planet and its inhabitants...or their ultimate annihilation.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This second volume in David Brin's new Uplift trilogy is an epic tale that artfully combines dozens of unique characters and their individual stories. The planet Jijo, which has been settled by six separate races despite a decree that it remain barren for a million years, is about to change. The exploration ship Streaker, on the run since discovering the secrets of a two-billion-year-old derelict fleet, has arrived with virtually the entire universe in pursuit. Overnight the peaceful, technologically backwards Jijoan society erupts into civil war, creating a chaotic tapestry of grief, sorrow, joy, love and, ultimately, hope. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The Uplift War-a deep-future conflict that spans both galaxies and centuries-continues in this rich middle volume (after Brightness Reef) of Brin's second Uplift trilogy. On the planet Jijo, the painfully developed cooperation among six sapient races (humans included) is rapidly crumbling under the impact of contact from space. The visitors include the dolphin crew of the ship Streaker and the Rothen, the race who may have "uplifted" to intelligence most of the races of Jijo, except the humans, who because of their unique status are in greater peril than ever. The ensuing tale is well paced, immensely complex, highly literate-and a daunting read, particularly for those new to the series. On full display here is Brin's extraordinary capacity to handle a wide-ranging narrative and to create convincingly complex alien races that not only differ from humanity but also variegate internally. By novel's end, Jijo is irremediably altered, its status as a world of refugees from the political chicanery of the Five Galaxies likely gone forever. Once again, Brin has created a successful mix of social speculation and hard SF that puts him in the honorable company of such authors as Charles Sheffield and Gregory Benford. Undeniably, this is demanding SF; but just as undeniably, it is superior SF as well. (Dec.) FYI: Two Uplift novels have won major SF awards: Startide Rising, the 1983 Nebula Award for Best Novel, and The Uplift War, the 1988 Hugo for Best Novel.
Copyright 1996 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 (November 3, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553577778
• ISBN-13: 978-0553577778
• Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 4.1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #200,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Brin is a scientist, public speaker and world-known author. His novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. At least a dozen have been translated into more than twenty languages.

David's latest novel - Existence - is set forty years ahead, in a near future when human survival seems to teeter along not just on one tightrope, but dozens, with as many hopeful trends and breakthroughs as dangers... a world we already see ahead. Only one day an astronaut snares a small, crystalline object from space. It appears to contain a message, even visitors within. Peeling back layer after layer of motives and secrets may offer opportunities, or deadly peril.

David's non-fiction book -- The Transparent Society: Will Technology Make Us Choose Between Freedom and Privacy? -- deals with secrecy in the modern world. It won the Freedom of Speech Award from the American Library Association.

A 1998 movie, directed by Kevin Costner, was loosely based on his post-apocalyptic novel, The Postman. Brin's 1989 ecological thriller - Earth - foreshadowed global warming, cyberwarfare and near-future trends such as the World Wide Web. David's novel Kiln People has been called a book of ideas disguised as a fast-moving and fun noir detective story, set in a future when new technology enables people to physically be in more than two places at once. A hardcover graphic novel The Life Eaters explored alternate outcomes to WWII, winning nominations and high praise.

David's science fictional Uplift Universe explores a future when humans genetically engineer higher animals like dolphins to become equal members of our civilization. These include the award-winning Startide Rising, The Uplift War, Brightness Reef, Infinity's Shore and Heaven's Reach. He also recently tied up the loose ends left behind by the late Isaac Asimov: Foundation's Triumph brings to a grand finale Asimov's famed Foundation Universe.

Brin serves on advisory committees dealing with subjects as diverse as national defense and homeland security, astronomy and space exploration, SETI and nanotechnology, future/prediction and philanthropy.

As a public speaker, Brin shares unique insights -- serious and humorous -- about ways that changing technology may affect our future lives. He appears frequently on TV, including several episodes of "The Universe" and History Channel's "Life After People." He also was a regular cast member on "The ArciTECHS."

Brin's scientific work covers an eclectic range of topics, from astronautics, astronomy, and optics to alternative dispute resolution and the role of neoteny in human evolution. His Ph.D in Physics from UCSD - the University of California at San Diego (the lab of nobelist Hannes Alfven) - followed a masters in optics and an undergraduate degree in astrophysics from Caltech. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the California Space Institute. His technical patents directly confront some of the faults of old-fashioned screen-based interaction, aiming to improve the way human beings converse online.

Brin lives in San Diego County with his wife and three children.

You can follow David Brin:
Website: http://www.davidbrin.com/
Blog: http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DavidBrin
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/cab801

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#100 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#100 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

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

By David A. Lessnau

Format:Mass Market Paperback

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. Read more ›

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Infinity's Shore: Surfing towards an exciting finale. February 7, 1997

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

This is really the fifth volume in the Uplift Saga. It neatly packages all the important themes from the previous works; ready to be blown open in what promises to be an exciting conclusion.
The writing (and presentation) is clean, and the story moves along at a quick pace. The aliens initially seem anthropomorphic, but subtly shift in ones perception into truly alien characters. The only comparable work regarding complex interstellar alien conflict is the excellent Chanur series by C.J. Cherryh. In my opinion, with the exception of "The Uplift War," this series is better.
Many hard science fiction books, with the exception of those by Greg Bear and Gregory Benford, fail to connect the cosmic happenings to a believable personal level. This work, and this book, succeed in that endeavor. If you want exciting, thought provoking, and moving hard science fiction with characters you care about, then you should buy this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor-quality kindle editions September 5, 2010

By L. Voss

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Important note for buyers: I loved this book, but if you're interested in this book, do not buy the Kindle edition.

I bought most of the Uplift series in Kindle editions: Heaven's Reach, Brightness Reef, Infinity's Shore, Sundiver, and Startide Rising. I was extremely disappointed by the quality of these ebooks. Words were frequently mis-spelled or replaced with similar-looking but incorrect words; words and whole passages were arbitrarily italicized; many words were split with hyphens for no reason. It was confusing, distracting, and eventually irritating. I got the strong impression that all these books had been run rapidly through an OCR system and never checked for correctness or quality. For a publishing company of Ballantine's size and reputation this is ridiculous.

If Ballantine are going to sell ebooks, they should do it properly, and give them the same care and attention they would to physical books. There's no excuse for releasing shoddy digital products.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Continuing Jijo's Story...A Strong Follow-Up February 16, 2005

By themarsman

Format:Mass Market Paperback

The illegal, backwater colony of Jijo has been thrown into turmoil. Six sooner races inhabit this Galactically-proclaimed fallow world...knowing their colony would oneday attract the attention of Galactic society. Now they have...and it is nothing like they thought it would be. Instead of official representatives from the Galactic Migration Institute coming to mete out long overdue justice, Jijo has attracted those who would stop at nothing to hunt down the dolphin-crewed Streaker, still on the run after narrowly escaping the bickering clans fighting over her above the ocean world Kithrup (read Startide Rising). Streaker has come to Jijo to lick her wounds...and determine the next course of action in an attempt to get the cargo they are carrying back to the Terragens Council, or at least someone neutral, someone who won't use what Streaker discovered in the Shallow Cluster to take control of a Galactic Civilization now in turmoil. In the midst of all this, the technologically inferior inhabitants of Jijo must not only deal with the worst Galactic civlization has to offer, but must also deal with the growing fissions within their own peaceful culture.

Infinity's Shore was a bit of a surprise for me. Coming off Brightness Reef, which at times tended to drag on a bit and get mired in minutiae not particularily related to the story, this book was an easy page turner. But more importantly than that, it began to establish links between characters and plotlines the previous book stubbornly refused to do. The inhabitants of Jijo introduced to us in Brightness Reef -- Alvin and his friends as well as Sara, Dwer, Lark, Rety -- began heading in a coherent, if not always unified, direction. While the characters native to Jijo finally took steps toward their "destiny" (a.k....a what Brin has in mind for them), the characters aboard the Streaker begin to connect to the environs around them, if a bit circuitously at first (i.e. automated scouts sent to "sniff" out the Jijoan culture).

What it all boils down to is a plain old good book. Character and plotline development is much better than its immediate predecessor, "stuff" happens that makes you want to see what happens next, and like any good trilogy, there is just enough left frustratingly out of reach for the final book. The one gripe is that there really is no conclusion to Infinity's Shore, probably quite irksome when it first came out and the next book, Heaven's Reach was a couple years away, but now it was only slightly annoying, seeing as how Heaven's Reach was sitting on top of my pile of to-read books waiting to be picked up as soon as this installment was completed. This story is a fine addition to the Uplift universe and I now anticipate completing the final installment with due haste. Read more ›