Classic book review: "Startide Rising" by David Brin

"Startide Rising" by David Brin, which was first published in 1983, is the second in the "Uplift" series of science fiction novels and that very rare thing, a sequel to a great book which is even better. It deservedly won both Hugo and Nebula awards.

Brin attempts and achieves something really challenging: the Earth starship "Streaker" which is at the centre of the story is commanded and mainly crewed by dolphins, with just seven humans and one uplifted chimpanzee as the other members of the crew. Brin uses dolphins, humans, the chimp and various members of the fleets of fanatical alien races who are trying to capture Streaker as his various viewpoint characters, and manages to make their voices believable. You don't question when reading the story that the non-human characters - e.g. most of the cast - are real people, be they dolphin, chimp or alien.

Like the first book in the series, "Sundiver," this novel thinks big, asking huge questions about man's place in the universe and coming up with answers - true in the context of the novel - which are quite terrifying, yet it remains entertaining, accessible and easy to read, and manages to address issues of the need to cherish our planet and environment without becoming in the slightest degree preachy. 

"Startide Rising" begins in the late 25th century within an imagined and very scary future and 238 years  after the events of the first novel in the Uplift series, "Sundiver."

(The companion volume to the series, "Contacting Aliens: An Illustrated Guide to David Brin's Uplift Universe" by David Brin and Kevin Lenagh, gives the dates of the events of "Sundiver" as 2240 AD and states that the events of this book take place in the period between 237 and 238 years later.)

 

The Earth Starship "Streaker" is hiding underwater on the largely ocean planet Kithrup, and soon multiple rival fleets of fanatical alien religious extremists are fighting in the skies above the planet to determine which of them will get the chance to capture Streaker.

When human spaceships found "Eatees" (e.g. ETs, Extraterrestials) we discovered that the galaxy is a very frightening place where intergalatic laws to protect planetary environments, biodiversity, and especially infant special with the potential for sentience, are ruthlessly enforced.

What's wrong with that? Well, for example, we are told that a human colony called NuDawn which had been founded on another world before we met the galactic civilisation and knew anything about their rules, was labelled unauthorised and "sequestered" by the Eatees (e.g. species from earth removed from the biosphere of the planet - it has never been explained exactly what that meant but it is described as a "disaster" and a "catastrophe"  so obviously wasn't good.)

The intelligent species of Earth have been saved from the possibility of being turned into slaves only by the chance that status in Galactic society is based on having "uplifted" other species towards greater sentience - and humans have done just enough to help chimps and dolphins in that direction that we qualify as galactic "Patrons."

However, about a month before the main action of the book started, while exploring a remote corner of the Galaxy, Streaker discovered a vast fleet of abandoned or dead spaceships, well over a billion years old and each the size of a moon. These ships may represent the reality behind the fabled "Progenitors" from most of the main Galactic religious, the legendary first species to begin the process of uplifting others.

Sending a message back to Earth about what they have found, Streaker's dolphin captain Creideiki  is ordered "Go into hiding. Await orders. Do not reply.”

Earth's leaders, the Terragens council, are afraid that every alien race of religious fanatics in the galaxy with a powerful fleet, of which there are many, will send it after Streaker. They are only too right ... 

A visionary book.

This book, with it's predecessor "Sundiver" and the third in the first Uplift trilogy, "The Uplift War" are three of the best science fiction novels I have ever had the privilege of reading. 

You can buy this book from Amazon at: 

Startide Rising by David Brin: Uplift series Book 2. EBook, Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

As mentioned above, there is also a series reference book, "Contacting Aliens"  written as if it were a guide for new Earth field agents to the species and galactic institutes of the uplift universe, available in dead tree form or as an ebook. Be aware, however, that it does contain one or two minor spoilers for the plot of this book.

Contacting Aliens: An Illustrated Guide to David Brin's Uplift Universe, by David Brin and Kevin Lenagh.

"Startide Rising" and the rest of the series, particularly the opening trilogy, are strongly recommended.

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