Rating: 
Summary: Dolphin people, read that one!
Review: My 8 is equal to most peoples' 10, (I'll give a 10 only to "Lord of the Rings" and like that). "Startide Rising" is still one of the best "hard" CF I have read, and is also a lot of fun (more than "Sundiver", which belongs to the same trilogy, but you don't have to read it first) . Especially impressive are the dolphin characters,ý
which are portrayed with depth and originality, and do not suffer from the false idealization of dolphins that is fashionable these days. It is clear that Brin knew real dolphins. Pity that he did not use his talent for the strange and different with the aliens characters, which are more of the caricature. Also, he tends to crowd the story with just a little to much characters and plots. Apart form that, Startide Rising is very good CF. Read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Incredible ideas of non-human thinking
Review: This is the first book I've read by Brin, and I'm very impressed. I'm sure everyone else gave plenty of description of the story, so here's the things besides the main plot that I liked. I love the idea of Uplift, that an alien patron race helps a pre-sentient race reach the stars. The portrayal of Dolphins as an uplifted race by humans and their language was wonderful. Other ideas, such as the constant Galactic warfare and the Libraries are also intriguing. I'm definitely planning on reading other of David Brin's books
Rating:
Summary: A Grand Gripping Tale of "Uplift," Treachery, and Heroism
Review: Readable -- perhaps compulsively so -- tale of a far future when all-too-human motives appear in "uplifted" dolphins and apes (who, with suitable vast volumes of water for the dolphins and their ilk, serve with human beings aboard starships). A slam-bang ending. Concepts to ponder (but when did SciFi lack CONCEPTS?) and characters -- especially the "uplifted" species -- rendered with a rare degree of density and fascination. Brin's best. Does NOT need the rest of the Uplift Trilogy (and may fare better in the reader's memory WITHOUT it)
Rating:
Summary: The best hard SF book ever written!
Review: It's been 6 years since I've first read this book and I
still believe it's the best SF I've ever read. The ideas
discussed in this series (the meaning of life, self-determination, ethical treatment of different species,
environmentalism, religion, etc.) are ingredients beautifully mixed into a great adventure story in a totally
fascinating and believeable universe. Sorry for such hyperbole, but this series is that good!
Startide Rising and Uplift War are must-reads. Sun Diver
is not of the same caliber. The new trilogy gets off to a slow start in Brightness Reef but picks up to a torrid
pace in Infinitys' Shore. Please, please let there be more books in this series after the 2nd Trilogy!
Rating:
Summary: Worst Mistake I almost made
Review: I've read STARTIDE RISING three times now, and it just keeps getting better! Yet I remember the first time I picked it up...perhaps I was having a bad week, or maybe I was just too impatient at that age, but I read the first thirty pages of the book, and ALMOST SHELVED IT! Those first few pages seemed, at the time, too depressing...desperate fugitives of a weakling, backward race (that happened to be mine) landing on a water world with no hope (or very little) of escape...the first
adventure that Toshio has is a rather serious, *I'm* going*nuts* kind of adventure...what ever the reasons, I almost said "to the blazes with it!" But I didn't. I lay the book on the reading table next to my easy chair and said "well, maybe it will get better," and went to bed. That very next night I picked it back up...and wonder of wonders, the book gripped me in an iron grip that would not let go! The story exploded with fascinating characters! Adventure and action abounded!
New, thoughtful, and thoroughly engrossing races of sophonts literally fell outof the sky and into my imagination!
Sometime early the next morning, I took a deep shuddering breath as I flipped the last page and read the final few lines, and prayed that David Brin would write another. He did, thank Ifni, and I'll never regret the free dinner I gave up to read that book!
I have had problems with some of Brin's books. The Postman, well written as it was, lacked the same combination of creativity and action. Glory Season was (in my humble opinion) tedious. I've read Brightness Reef, and am sorry to admit that it lacked a certain fire (though I will, as an act of loyalty, buy the next two books as well), but Startide
Rising, and its sequel, The Uplift War are two books that became instant classics in my library, and will remain in my library perpetually. I'll wager that before this body gives up its last gasp, I will have read each at least three or four more times. They're both that good!
(As a matter of fact, just thinking about them makes me want to pick them up and read them again!)
Rating:
Summary: Not Just Another Trilogy Segment
Review: I'll admit from the start I have an ax to grind. I have been
weary for years of the "trilogy" concept in the science fiction and fantasy genres. Ever since Tolkien's classic Lord
of the Rings, it seems every successful new author
in the field has been forced to shoehorn their works into a
trilogy or series format. Each subsequent book becomes
dependent, both story-wise and commercially, on the previous books. Sometime this works, but just as often
a good novel simply gets stretched into a weak trilogy or
series.
With Startide Rising, David Brin completely breaks this mold.
Each novel in his fascinating Uplift series stands on its own.
No time is wasted connecting the story lines of each book,
nor are readers left wondering "what's going on?" because
they haven't read the previous books. Brin simply tells his story, and tells it exceedingly well.
Most modern SF/Fantasy series leave the reader thinking, "What
a great story, I can't wait to hear the end,"... but the end
may never come. Anne McCaffrey's "Pern" series comes to mind.
The early books are memorable and excellent, and seem to have been
written for their own sake. But the later
books seem to be part of a contrived (and seemingly endless) series, and
each subsequent book becomes less and less satisfying. And don't
even get me started on Frank Herbert's "Dune" series....
On the other hand, Brin leaves the reader thinking, "What a great story. Tell me another!"
Startide Rising is Brin's best work, worthy of every award it has received.
Read it, and you will be delighted and satisfied. But be warned: you will then want
to read everything else he has written.
On a final note: I wouldn't want to leave the impression
that I think no trilogy is worth reading, especially since Brin's latest Uplift novel, Brightness Reef, is the first installment of a "true"
trilogy. A trilogy is a larger work than a novel, and allows
telling a greater story. If any author is capable of meeting the full challenge of the trilogy format, David Brin is, and
the Uplift universe contains a story of mighty proportions.
Let us hope the eight-year hiatus in the series has been spent preparing a bigger story which can, like the others, stand
on its own. But read Startide Rising and the other books of the first
"trilogy" first. It will make the new trilogy all the more
meaningful, and all the more excruciating to wait out.
Rating:
Summary: An epic that goes beyond anything you might have imagined.
Review: Forget StarTrek, forget StarWars. The universe Brin weaves
is so mind-stretching. I enjoyed his sheer courage of describing a universe so full of ancient races (preceding humanity) that it has become crowded! and when? not in a distant future in which humans also participate in that race, but even before we sparked our first fire.
Humans are called wolflings, a term that is usually accompanied by resentment. Yet, they are the universe's newest underdog, and they're on to something. I have to admit,
what this something IS exactly I'm still not sure, but perhaps that is because I haven't read "Sundiver", or "The Uplift War".
But the book's action, plot, and sheer imagination kept me
turning page after agonizing page. please read this book and cherish it.
Rating:
Summary: With Brightness Reef out, time to reread this great classic!
Review: Let me give you two great reasons to buy and read this book. First, Startide Rising is probably the best space opera ever written. Some of Iain Banks' "Culture" novels come close, but let's not quibble. Second, it will be a great introduction to a series now resuming with the just-out book, Brightness Reef. Startide Rising is sometimes called the second in Brin's first uplift universe trilogy, but that is misleading. The novel Sundiver is Brin's first book in the uplift universe (where the practice of "uplifting" near sentient species to full sentience is considered a rite of passage to full citizenship in a galactic culture, and where only humans appeared to rise to sentience on their own without a "patron" race, giving them a special status). But one does not need to have read Sundiver, a lesser novel, to read Startide Rising. Similarly, the action in the third "uplift" book, The Uplift War, is unrelated to events in either Sundiver or Startide. The "new" uplift trilogy now unfolding (beginning with Brightness Reef), however, will be a true trilogy, with none of the books standing on their own. It is an open secret, furthermore, that events in Startide Rising (and possibly The Uplift War) will eventually come to play in the new uplift trilogy. So get this book, read it, read The Uplift War (heck, read Sundiver, too), and, hopefully, by that time Brin will have come close to finishing the unfolding new uplift trilogy -- some who have recently read Brightness Reef have expressed their frustration that the book leaves them hanging, as if in mid-sentence
Rating:
Summary: I knew one of the Startide dolphins
Review: I worked at a dolphin lab that Mr Brin visited and worked with a dophin named Akeakamai. I got chills when they refered to Ake as the Weapons Officer. Don't give Ake phasers...she'll use them! An incredible book, thank god he's finally written Brightness Reef
Rating:
Summary: Fun, Compelling Sci-Fi
Review: In 'Startide Rising,' David Brin imagines a vast universe full of extra terrestrials and rich histories. The human and dolphin protagonists of the novel find themselves caught within a galactic war, but the plot focuses on the more intimate struggles of the starship crew and their exploration of a mysterious water world. Mr. Brin infuses his book with a motley cast of likeable characters, interesting plot twists, and some genuinely tense fight scenes. This excellent combination makes 'Startide Rising,' if not a real classic, a fun and fast-paced adventure novel well worth reading. The novel's ending, however, leaves several major plot points hanging (no doubt concluded in subsequent novels) and diminishes the intelligence of the villains in favor of a happy ending. Despite these minor flaws, 'Startide Rising' remains a compelling and enjoyable read -- especially if you're looking for a good sci-fi novel to relax with at the beach.
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