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From: dub@CSvax:Pucc-H:pur-phy.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Startide Rising (semi-spoiler)
Message-ID: <869@pur-phy.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 19-Aug-83 13:52:35 EDT
Article-I.D.: pur-phy.869
Posted: Fri Aug 19 13:52:35 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 23-Aug-83 23:37:24 EDT
Organization: Purdue Univ. Physics Dept., W. Lafayette, IN
Lines: 40


     David Brin's newest (second) book is called Startide Rising and
the only word I have for it is stunning.  It is set in the same universe
as Sundiver (his 1st book) only a couple of hundred years in the future.
All of the strange aliens that we only get a glimpse of in Sundiver
are back in force and we see a lot more of their personalities (?)
as well as understanding more of Brin's galactic history.
     For those of you who haven't read Sundiver, the galaxy is filled
with intelligent races; some old and some new.  The way of the universe
is that older races find pre-sentient races and lend them a hand
on the road to becoming a spacefaring race.  Of course, it is only
fitting that the "patron" race should expect a few hundred thousand years
of servitude from the "client" race.  If fact, the galactic races are
so enthralled with this method of "uplift" that they can't imagine
intelligence arising any other way.
     Enter humans.  A race that actually evolved intelligence!!!
To beat that, before the Galactics contact them they've already got
client races of their own (certain Earth mammals).  Humans run against
almost every grain of galactic logic (don't they always.)  So into an
incredibly advanced and jealous universe comes the Human race.  O.k.,
that sets the universe and both Sundiver and Startide involve how
Humans go around screwing up the Galactics.
     Sundiver set the stage for Startide, but they are both very
separate books and the thing that I really enjoyed about Startide
was the humor it has.  The aliens appear very, very deadly but some
of the things they do are so bizzaire.  From the start of the book
it is made clear to the gentle reader that somewhere in the most
thrilling parts of the book suddenly a funny sentence will appear.
This might appear a rather silly thing for an author to do but Brin's
characters set the pace by making wise-cracks and teasing all the
way through the story (there is even a sarcastic computer.)
     The technology presented in the book is also very rich.  The
reader is not bombarded with heavy science talk, but the multitude
of little comments the author makes about gravitonics or probability
drives or about beings able to ripe the fabric of the universe apart
are intriguing and satisfying.
     The bottom line is "read this book".  It's going to a serious
contender for a Hugo.

			   D. Bartholomew