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From: leichter@yale-com.UUCP (Jerry Leichter)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Get STARTIDE RISING and read it NOW
Message-ID: <2066@yale-com.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 21-Sep-83 08:44:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: yale-com.2066
Posted: Wed Sep 21 08:44:05 1983
Date-Received: Wed, 21-Sep-83 23:41:25 EDT
References: tekcad.46
Lines: 22

Brin's "other book" in the same universe is "Sun Diver".  Since it takes place
some 200 years or so earlier, it's not surprising that there are no common
characters - although the effects of some of the actions taking in Sun Diver
are still apparent.  (Sun Diver - actually, could be Sundiver - contains some
obvious hooks for a "prequel" concerning its main character,but it doesn't (yet)
exist.)

I liked STARTIDE RISING, but must disagree with Mr. Lofstrom; I thought Sun
Diver was better.  A big part is a matter of taste for "hard" vs. "soft" sf.
Sun Diver is quite "hard".  The physics is worked out and discussed and seems
to make sense.  STARTIDE RISING doesn't even try; the oddball technologies are
just "there", no explanation, no nothing.  You could use it, I guess, as an
example of Clark's Law:  Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguish-
able from magic.

Brin has published at least one short story (I'm sure there are more), "The
Loom of Thessaly" (Nov. '81 Asimov's).  It's excellent.  (It's also unrelated
to the universe of his two novels.)

An author worth watching.
							-- Jerry
					decvax!yale-comix!leichter leichter@yale