• Brightness Reef

  • The Uplift Trilogy, Book 1
  • By: David Brin
  • Narrated by: George Wilson
  • Length: 25 hrs and 48 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (472 ratings)

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Brightness Reef  By  cover art

Brightness Reef

By: David Brin
Narrated by: George Wilson
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Publisher's summary

David Brin, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of Sundiver, crafts Brightness Reef, a luminous gem of science-fiction literature.

Persecuted refugees from six separate alien races have migrated to the idyllic planet Jijo. And despite their incredible diversity, the inhabitants live together in blissful harmony. However, settlement on Jijo is illegal - and it's only a matter of time before the residents of this forbidden paradise are discovered by the galactic powers-that-be.

©1995 David Brin (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Immensely appealing, leaving readers hungry for more." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Brightness Reef

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Hard Core Sci-Fi at it's best!

I've seen a lot of bad reviews for this book, and frankly I don't understand why. Perhaps some readers are not used to hard-core, traditional sci-fi writing. So much of today's contemporary sci-fi writers are more into action and less into the classic philosophical aspects that began with epic writers like Herbert and Asimov.

Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and feel it is a masterpiece in classic sci-fi form. David Brin knows how to sink the hook in and keep you guessing until the very end. He is a master at storybuilding from various alien perspectives, which may throw some people off because of the change in thought process/focus from one alien race to another, but I found it captivating and ingenious.

I recommend this series to anyone who enjoys Frank Herbert, Peter F. Hamilton, Larry Niven, Orson Scott Card and other masters.

However, one caution to casual sci-fi readers that prefer straight forward stories full of action and special effects: you will get action, you will be thrilled, you will be surprised, but you will not be satisfied unless you are a fan of classic sci-fi writing techniques. This is not a shallow, no-brainer entertainment for the masses. This is a thought provoking work with complex plots/sub-plots that provide surprising twists and turns that are hard to predict compared to a lot of other literature in the genre these days.

I hope you enjoy!

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31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Director/Sound Engineer is a real job

Most people like certain NARRATORS and certain AUTHORS but they never think about the Directors or Sound Engineers. This audiobook is an example of a GREAT AUTHOR with fantastic characters, a TERRIFIC NARRATOR who can distinquish alien creature voices and make them so believable and a crappy Director and/or Sound Engineer. Apparently she thought her job was just to press the record button and go home. I have a recording studio and I was saddened by the lack of professionalism. You can hear Mr. Wilson gulping after readng difficult passages as an alien voice and even getting some words incorrect "Revered Mother" and "windy road". This is not his fault but should have been caught by the Director, Abigal McCue and the sound engineer. Despite that, it is a WONDERFUL story and amazingly told. GEORGE K. WILSON NEEDS AN OSCAR for these cast of characters he is able to bring to life. It definately left me with a desire to read the rest of the trilogy and to read some of the prequel books.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Book Four labeled as Book One.

This is book 1 of the Uplift Trilogy and book 4 of the Uplift Saga. I read the first three books of the Uplift Saga when I was in high school uncountable unmentionables ago. It seems time makes memory fuzzy yet I'm going to state that this book has a rocky start for the reader until you are several chapters into the work. Let's lay the basis.
Uplift – a patron species that has already achieved star travel arrives and selects advanced pre-sentient species to genetically advance so that they are capable of traveling the stars. Each patron species ranking in galactic culture is based on how many species they have uplifted and whether or not an interstellar war was the result.
During the time frame of this book there are six master patron species forming the Galactic Council. They have laid down rules on how to treat planets and where species are allowed to colonize. They have stamped their approval on seven standardized Galactic languages and created a draconian entity, The Galactic Library. Any squatter or Sooner colonies on off limits worlds are subject to immediate judgment by the Library Enforcers and the penalty is sterilization...maybe.
See, the colonies established on Jijo by six Sooner species tribes including humans are out of touch. The Humans got there by way of a massive ship called the Tabernacle three hundred years prior to this story. Their methods of keeping knowledge alive is through an order of Sages and printing technology that would make Gutenberg sigh in disgust.

The story.
A human is discovered wandering out of marshland with a gaping hole in his skull. The Sage Arianna embarks on a journey with her assistant Sarah to the cave known as Biblios where they expect to get help figuring out who this guy is. Elsewhere, a research station of “Star Humans” are employing locals to help them illicitly gather wild DNA which they will implant on other worlds and eventually hope to reap Upliftable species. In another broad stroke you have the bunch that always exists who do not like where this is going and have machinations running to subvert being: destroyed, sterilized, outed to the Galactic Council...
There is a lot to this story and I can not even hope to spoil it in the space of this review. Did I like the story? Yes. Was I ticked at the choices the author made in arranging the first several chapters? Yes. Was the narration a good fit? Yes. How was the World building? Really imaginative, diverse and overwhelming at times but then it would revert to the human mindset imposed on non-human species.
This book should be read in close succession with the first three books from the Uplift Saga. I am giving this a three out of five as a stand alone read. Enjoy.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Unbearable

5-year Sci-fi/Fantasy Unabridged Audiophile

Only once in that five years have I found a more awful book. As with other reviewers, I concur that the narrator should be commended for making the attempt.

Summary: Poorly written and a story poorly told.

The planet, context (time & place), and characters are poorly developed. From the first paragraph David fails to connect with the reader on an intellectual or emotional level -- 4 hours later it is mere background noise.

The topics and conflicts aim at an impressionable 8th grade level reader in an American/Western European society that feels guilt for their very existence. e.g. We should not be on this pristine ecological planet, lets see if we can get the enlightened galactics to come down and punish us. When David adds in,
1) evil lying humans that arrive to disrupt the otherwise peaceful planet, and
2) multiple alien races Polyanishly united theologically by homage paid to a stone
the result is a perfect handbook for John Muir followers. If this appeals to you, then this may be your book.

Though poorly executed, the story concept is brilliant. Stowaways on a planetary level -- unique. Ecological restoration through planetary level crop rotation-like resting cycles - insightful.

Looking for epics that work? Try Robert Jordan (Eye of the World), Terry Goodkind (Sword of Truth - first 3-4 books before they get tedious) and Brandon Sanderson (Way of Kings) for Fantasy and Mike Resnick (Any), Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan
Saga) and John Ringo (Any)

I wanted to like this. I could not. It may well be that it gets better after 4-hours. I could not make myself trudge through to find out.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Not for the novice sci-fi reader

This is a great story that takes time to develop. The patient reader is rewarded.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Unworthy of publication.

Both the story and the narration are unworthy of publication.

I tried listening to the "story" and not the narrator, to no avail.

The combination of the stories tedious descriptions and the narrators monotone (dull) delivery where to much for me.

I used a single "credit" on this audio-book thinking what did I have to lose, only to discover my time is what was lost.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Save your credits for something listenable...

This is the first review I've written even though I've listened to many many scifi books. The narrator should be commended for trying to make a listenable performance out of goobly gook.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not the best

Any additional comments?

**** SPOILERS ****

OK. Maybe I just don't get "adult" sci-fi. But this book kinds just drug on with no read direction. There were so many mini stories in the book that I had a hard time keeping up with all of them.

There is so lottle to go off of for the first few chapters that I had no clue that we were talking about so many different races and trying to keep up with which race was which was a pain.

Then to get to the end and find out that we were not going to get ANY resolution was a massive letdown. No resolution on anything. What is going on under water? Who is this mystery man and what's up with his head? Who are the visitors and then the newer visitors?

The story got more interesting about half way through the book, but I doubt the series is worth getting the next two just to find some form of closure.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

very slow

I loved Brin's second & third Uplift books, but this one was just too long and slow to finish. As other reviewers have mentioned, the narrator tries, but this book is just too slow in getting anywhere.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Never again David Brin!

God bless George Wilson for trying to make this horrid book listenable. This has to be the worst writing in the SF genre I've ever encountered. It is a horrible knock off of Heinlein I've had the displeasure of being subjected to. Do you grok me? I couldn't finish this book. I got two parts in and just had to put it down.

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