Acknowledgement: First and foremost, thanks to Panguitch, advisor in Books, for recommending David Brin to me. You can read his exceptional review of Sundiverhere.
Imagine, if you will, a galaxy teeming with life of great diversity and variety. A galaxy where man has finally made contact with intelligent alien species and discovered that he is far from alone in the universe. A galaxy where intelligence is achieved not by evolution and natural selection but rather through the intervention of other, already sentient species. This is the setting for David Brin’s Sundiver, the first book in the critically acclaimed Uplift saga.
In Brin’s vision of the future, humanity’s concept of its place in the cosmos has been dramatically altered by contact with several of the many alien species cavorting about the galaxy. Man himself, however, seems to have changed little. Though the planet is more or less unified under a Confederacy of human nations and colonies, the human race still harbors prejudice and practices injustice in the name of civilization.
In an attempt to create a more peaceful society, the government of Earth has divided the population into two groups, Citizens and Probationers. The Probationers are those who have been judged by a psychological test to have a proclivity towards violence. Consequently, their parenting rights are limited, they are forbidden to travel in space, and they are implanted with tracking devices so their activities can be followed at all times. The Probationers are being punished not for what they have done, but what they might do, and this bit of Orwellianism is the scariest concept in Brin’s novel.
The system seems to be working pretty well for the human race, at least for the Citizens, and man is finally reaching for the stars, establishing colonies and exploring his own star system in search of his roots. As it turns out, man is in a rather rare predicament as intelligent species go. Throughout the galaxy, just about every known species can trace its lineage back to the race that enhanced, or Uplifted, it to sentience; many can trace their uplifters back through several generations.
The human race, however, appears to be unique in that it cannot identify any race as having uplifted it. Some members of the galactic community are not too happy about this, but they have not prevented man from uplifting two races on his own, the dolphins and chimpanzees. When a strange new race of creatures is discovered to be inhabiting Earth’s sun, a mission is quickly put together to investigate them. Could these beings be the ones responsible for human intelligence?
When things start to go terribly wrong with the project, it’s clear that someone does not want humans making contact with the Solarians. Could it be a dissident Earth faction convinced that Earth’s best interest lies with other alien species? An alien group that wants to prevent contact for its own sinister purposes? Or perhaps it is the Solarians themselves who are uninterested in contact with the human race and wish to discourage it at all costs.
The answers to these questions can only be obtained by reading Brin’s Sundiver. Part sci-fi yarn and part mystery novel, Sundiver never delves so deeply into the world of science fiction fantasy that casual fans of the genre won’t be able to enjoy it. To be sure, he brings the reader into a world full of flashy gadgets and colorful alien species, but these never become the focus of the book. Instead, Brin focuses on the characters, both human and alien. Change the aliens into humans and the settings from a mission to the sun to a Victorian mansion, and with a few plot tweaks you would have a classic mystery thriller.
And that’s much of the charm of Sundiver. Brin always has us guessing. None of the characters, even his protagonist Jacob Demwa, are without flaws, and we’re constantly wondering if even he will remain our hero by the time everything sorts itself out. This makes the book very hard to put down, since we’re always wondering what will happen next.
None of this comes at the expense of what fans expect of the science fiction genre. Rest assured you will find plenty of futuristic and imaginative concepts, most based in a firm scientific foundation. His alien races, which range from intelligent broccoli to intellectual teddy bears, are well defined and thought out. His societal projections are equally captivating.
The plot of the novel is intricate and entertaining. If you’re confused at times, don’t worry. Things don’t become completely clear until the very end of the book. The action is at times slow and drawn out, and we sometimes wonder where the author is going with a certain idea. Still, there is usually a purpose to what is going on which will only later become apparent to the reader.
Overall, this is a very entertaining and stimulating read that leaves us wanting more. Thankfully, Brin wrote five sequels to satisfy that need. For serious, thought-provoking science fiction, you could do much worse than to read David Brin’s Sundiver.
No species has ever reached for the stars without the guidance of a patron--except perhaps mankind. Did some mysterious race begin the uplift of human...More at Alibris
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