Brightness Reef

The Uplift Trilogy, Book 1

By: David Brin

Narrated by: George Wilson

Length: 25 hrs and 48 mins

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)

I am sorry to say I did not give this book a fair chance.

I am sorry to say that I did not give this book a fair chance. I could not continue to listen to it, it was driving me insane and I couldn't take that chance!

Worthy Voice Acting

This story is a masterpiece, plain and simple. It is epic in scope and deeply entertaining in its combined storylines. But best of all is the voices used for the various characters involved, and I cannot give enough credit to George Wilson for his work here. Excellently done!

Brightness Reef

Sifi at it's best. Love Brin's treatment of the human condition. Aliens are are humanity from a different perspective. This is a review of Brin's whole Earth Clan series. Start with "Sun Tide" and go to the end of this universe. Well worth the ride.

Not really a fan of the narration

Non-terran voices = slow, slurred, singsong and surprisingly similar to one another. I'm being nitpicky, but the characters just don't sound right. They all sound like Goofy on quaaludes.

Slow can be good...

TL;DR: don't read this book before Startide Rising.

There's nothing wrong with slow fiction; the issue comes when there is very little to pull the reader through the slowness.

I think the primary sin of this book is that it doesn't generate a sense of anticipation. A slow story is tolerable (welcome, even) when it takes its time to increase anticipation and delicately unravel each moment in a journey.

Having read Startide Rising and The Uplift War, I was able to generate my own expectations and predictions about *why* any of the goings-on in Brightness Reef were remotely dramatic. The book sure didn't do it for me.

The lack of intense climax at the end is forgiven since it is the first in a trilogy.

The narration is ok, the alien accents are consistent but come at the expense of emotive intonation.

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!

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.

My All Time Favorite!

Warning, this book and its sequels are my favorite books. I truly adore them. Brilliantly complex, rich characters, mind blowing technology and concepts, weird and wonderful creatures. It has everything. I was afraid the read would not be as good as the books I’ve always loved, but it was perfect too.

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.

Not for the novice sci-fi reader

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