Sundiver

The Uplift Saga, Book 1

By: David Brin

Narrated by: George Wilson

Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

David Brin's Uplift novels are among the most thrilling, highly regarded works of contemporary science fiction. Beginning with Sundiver, Brin provides an intriguing exploration of humanity's future in the universe.

For nearly a billion years, every known sentient species in the universe has been the result of genetic and cultural guidance - or "uplifting" - by a previously uplifted patron race. Then humans are discovered. Having already uplifted chimps and dolphins, humanity clearly qualifies as an intelligent species, but did they actually evolve their own intelligence, or did some mysterious patron race begin the process, then suddenly abandon Earth? The answer to this mystery might be as close as our own sun, but it will take a daring dive into its fiery interior to know for sure.

Sundiver begins David Brin's thoughtful, exhilarating exploration of a future filled with an imaginative array of strange alien races, dazzling scientific achievements, and age-old enigmas.

©1980 David Brin (P)2001 Recorded Books

Good narration, Bad science

I enjoyed this audio book ok. The strength is the reading. Clear with good depiction of the voices, especially the aliens. The reading is also very clear. However, I can't get by the bad science represented in this novel. l was particularly bothered with Brins basing a major driving social force to von Danikens fabricated work which has little or no credibility. Having said that, the idea of uplifting are intriguing enough that I will listen to the next books but I expect better writing.

lip smacking annoyance.

great story, intriguing twist to a whodunit story. main complaint is the narrators habit of smacking his lips wetly between chapters and during any small break, its distracting and disturbing.

Good Story

I enjoyed the story and will likely continue the series. There were a couple of hiccups in pronunciation, but I still think the narrator did a good job

Great Story!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes hard scifi, with credible aliens and strong plots. David Brin doesn't hold your hand or explain his jokes--he treats you as an intelligent reader, capable of figuring out by yourself the humor of a situation. A rare thing in SF.

What other book might you compare Sundiver to and why?

There are elements of Sundiver (and of the whold Uplift trilogy) that remind me of Asimov's Foundation series, in the sense that a "band of curious and investigative humans" are set against a backdrop of complacency and intellectual conformism. Otherwise, it's hard to compare Brin's books to anyone else's--few authors are as lucidly optimistic about the human race and its future.

Which scene was your favorite?

The story is riveting and the premise intriguing: there's a spaceship, and it dives into the sun, which humans suspect is haunted. I may not have a specific favorite scene, but let's not kid around, here--this by itself is a fascinating and gripping premise.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Overall, while I may not have cried or laughed while listening to this, the whole "universe" and backdrop kept me interested from beginning to end. The whole status of the human race as (potentially) a self-evolved race (rather than being uplifted) is a very clever concept and made me feel oddly proud of my race and its achievements. This is something very rare in modern SF, where human-bashing is the norm. Brin stands against that and offers a refreshing view of ourselves.

Great story, well told

This imaginative story is fantastic. I couldn’t stop listening and the reader is very expressive and good at telling the story.

I had forgotten just how good Brin is.

I bought all of the Uplift books from the Science Fiction book club a very long time ago.

i read the books out of order. lol.

listened to the 2nd book first, 3rd book 2nd; and found this one wonderful! Enjoy

A True Classic

This is one of Brin's ealierier novels and the story telling is a bit stilted. Part of that is the process of Universe building. The concept of a universe based on Uplift is easy to grasp but hard to explain. The other part is that it was Brin's first published novel. Even a great first novel is a first novel. The story is a good mystery based on scientific possiblilities. The Universe he creates is interesting and engaging as are the characters.

The narrator does an excellent job of dealing with both human, terrestrial and alien characters. They are clear and recognizable.

I look forward to listening to the rest of the books.

wow

The Uplift books are tied for my favorite sci-fi series with Asimov's original Foundation series. This is sci-fi at its very best. Brin goes through an astonishing number of fascinating ideas and concepts, but leaves them for the reader to peruse or discard. Want racial allegory? Sure. Prefer religion? Plenty of it. Political intrigue? It's there by the truckload.

When Brin goes into pretend-science he goes all in. One can almost sense his smirk going through this first book: that's right, this book has talking chimpanzees and dolphin haikus and spaceships flying into the sun. Wanna fight about it? It works, and the mileage he forces out of it is outstanding.

And to top everything off he makes a point of tying off each book with an epic space battle, punctuated with a stunt humans come up with that surprises (or angers) their alien counterparts for sheer boldness and audacity. What's not to love?
#scffi #Suspenseful #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Exciting and imaginative

I came across book 3 of Brin's Uplift Saga entirely be chance, but the moment I put it down, I was compelled to find more by him. I was delighted to see that it was part of a series! This is an excellent introduction to the concepts and particulars of Brin's notions of the future. Beyond simply being fascinating, I have also found this series to have wonderfully tense moments and a generous sprinkling of wry humor. Book 1 (Sundiver) is no exception.