The Uplift Saga

Series by David Brinn set in the far future, when the known universe spans five galaxies. Almost all sentient races have been Uplifted from pre-sentience by a Patron race by means of genetic engineering, but Humanity stands alone as a race without apparent Patrons. To complicate matters, prior to First Contact, Humanity Uplifted two races of their own - chimpanzees and dolphins.

Sundiver

Across known space, Humanity is a rare example of a species that achieved sentience and a starfaring civilization without the evident help of a Patron race. In the eyes of some aliens, this makes them unique; in others, it makes them outcasts. Humans have earned themselves a tenuous status in Galactic society, however, as they had already Uplifted two other races - chimpanzees and dolphins - by the time of First Contact.

With the gift of alien technology, Humans are exploring the environs of Sol itself. Drawn into the Sundiver project by an alien friend, the scientist Jacob Demwa soon finds that the sun may harbor the secret behind Humanity's apparent lack of Patronage. But strange behavior from everyone involved - Earth natives and aliens both - puts the entire project at risk, and Jacob has the opportunity to sort things out - if he can get his own fractured mind to cooperate with him.

Sundiver is a lovely mixture of the hard sci-fi and mystery genres. The writing is solid, if rarely evocative, and the primary character is lovingly fleshed out. Secondary characters lack depth but work fine as they are.

The creative exercise of the setting - chains of Patron and Client races, each with their own (sometimes hidden) agendas, flowing around the 'orphaned' Human race, the latter still struggling with social issues on a grand scale, opens up lots of possibility for future works. The mystery element will keep even the sharpest of readers guessing. Combined with hard sci-fi, this book was a very enjoyable, relatively quick read. Fortunately, Brin has seen fit to grant us several more titles set in this universe.

Startide Rising

Startide Rising picks up about 200 years after Sundiver left off. The first mostly-dolphin starship crew is assembled and sent on a survey mission. Uopn finding a huge derelict fleet of unknown origin and sending a message home about it, several hostile races hound the small survey craft until she crashes in the ocean of a metal-rich waterworld.

Apparently, the hostiles are all quasi-fanatacial races who believe in the eventual return of the Progenitors, the race or races who began the practice of Uplift. It soon becomes clear that the fanatics think the derelict fleet is a sign pertaining to the Progenitors, and they want the location of that fleet badly.

The Earthlings struggle to repair their ship and escape before the hostiles find them, but the untried crew must first face internal treachery as well as the mysterious hazards of the planet. They also encounter a number of oddities with the Library, the supposed sum total of all sentient knowledge, that was made available to Earth races by the Galactic civilization.

The overarcing plot of Startide Rising is fairly straightforward; it's the subtleties of the crew's struggles that make up the meat of the story. Brin continues with his engaging writing, and the closing sequence of the books is composed of wonderfully concerted episodes of action that make for a rousing finish. Brin spreads out his character development this time, so we have many more points of view to consider.

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