Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing finale
Review: "Brightness Reef" and "Infinity's Shore" were both wonderful books. I liked the characters and the setting. The dilemas they faced were interesting and exciting. There is a feeling running through both books that is both poignant and bittersweet Many times I had to stop reading after I'd finished a chapter and take time to think about what I'd just read."Heaven's Reach" just didn't effect me the same way, and I was disappointed. I can understand that perhaps the author wanted to delve further into the whole Uplift universe that he's created, and to see what other wonders were lurking there. However, I felt like too many things were introduced and the orginal storyline seemed to get lost. The planet Jijo is never revisited, so we don't know what happened to the inhabitants there. I wasn't nearly as interested in the fate of the five galaxies as I was in the fate of the kidnapped dolphin, Peepoe. Too many of the characters became flat and uninteresting. Gillian Baskin in particular was dull and lifeless, but even Emerson and Sara didn't do, say, or think anything memorable. There is a lot going on in the book, and those who like a lot of speculative science as opposed to strong character development may find "Heaven's Reach" an enjoyable read. We do finally find out the fate of The Streaker, although I was a little disappointed in the way the ending of Streaker's saga was handled and in Herbie's identity. Several mysteries are simply left unanswered. Who/what were The Progenitors? What joke were the Buyur planning, and where did they go? Why were the Noor/Tytlal present on Jijo? What happened to Peepoe, Nelo, and the other residents of Jijo, and what about the Jophur ships spotted near Jijo at the end? What ultimately happened to Creideiki & Co.? It was a let-down to find that these questions were unaswered, since they were mentioned many times in the books.
Rating: 
Summary: Heaven's Reach (review)
Review: I am a fan of David Brin (indeed I have wasted many hours on a fan site devoted to his Uplift universe () but not of this book. While many of his readers like the fast paced action of the book, my belief is that it tries to cover too much ground and leaves the impression that the author was rushed in writing and rushed into publishing. Moreover, the book is quite disconnected from the themes and plots of the first two books in the second "trillogy." The author shows too much of his hand on matters better left to the readers imagination while opening new conceptual threads that are even less relevant to the evident progression of the previous books set in the Uplift universe than those he has tied off in Heaven's Reach. Worst of all the conclusion is fascile and dissapointing. In short, Heaven's Reach seems to have been written by a tallented science fiction writer who had grown bored with working in one of his settings but had to fill commitments to publishers and readers for a concluding third volume. I am still waiting for the conclusion to the Jijo trillogy.
Rating: 
Summary: Red Herring Trilogy
Review: I, like many other readers who reviewed Brin's Uplift Storm Trilogy, was very disapointed in how Brin managed his plots and characters. He continued to introduce new characters and plots at the expense of completely abandoning terrific plots and likable characters. My advice to you is don't waste your time with the Uplift Storm Trilogy. Read Startide Rising and the Uplift War (which are excellent), and then make up your own story about what happens to these plots and characters after you finish the books. After thousands of pages, I'm left with the impression that I was chasing a red herring - I should have spent my time reading other better books.
Rating:
Summary: In com plet e..
Review: I loved David's Startide Rising. I was delighted to find the 2nd Uplift trilogy this year, written and published some years ago, after being "away" from this series for 13 years. Now I'm less than delighted. I feel cheated. When I read a book, I want a beginning and an ending, and lots of great reading in between. When I've read the last book--the *last* last book, mind you--I expect closure, and resolution. After finishing, for example, Lord Of The Rings, I wept because there would be no more (at least that's what I thought) to read and know of Middle Earth--but there was closure. A story was completed properly. All the plot lines were concluded; I was satisfied that I'd read to "The End", while knowing there were many more stories that could rise out of that 'world'. Brin, in Heaven's Reach, put no heroes, or villians to rest for Ever and Ever. The characters I came to like and root for in the earlier series have either been abandoned during the "quest to do the right thing", or are still around at the end of this book (along with many more I've come to like and root for), with unfinished business (and in the case of most of the principals of the first three books, as much unaccomplished as at the end of book 3, "The Uplift War". I'm much more than annoyed. This has become soap opera, not at all what innovative compelling Uplift universe Brin created began as. This is 5 times as grating as Shatner's crew barging into Picard's or Janeway's universes because many watchers (or studios) need repetition, not innovation. Also, considering myself intelligent and able of memory, I deplore the repetition of 'plot reminders' throughout all three books of this trilogy, which, as the author stated, were originally one book which got 'out of hand'. Knowing that discerning readers read from book 1 through book 6 (or at least from 4 through 6), the waste of verbage spent on making sure we, the readers, "remember" what's going on could have been profitably spent on finishing. Finishing anything. Please.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointing finish
Review: While I have always enjoyed Brin's novels, I felt this final book in his uplift trilogy was not worth my time or money. While he had some excellent ideas, they were presented quite disjointedly, with the characters jumping from scene to scene with little reason. Much of what happens in this book happens TO the Streaker crew rather than happens because of actions they perform. Repeated uses of a deus ex machina-like plot twist was boring and disappointing. The trilogy overlooks several years while Steaker eluded several traps and experienced great changes in the crew. These stories may have made better novels, although the whole Streaker would have dragged on far too long if these had been outlined. These stories played significant roles in this novel, leaving the reader floundering due to lack of information. Finally, there was no reason to have the book end with literally a universe-shaking event! I would have preferred the Streaker story be completely resolved on Jijo, especially since Brin invested so much time and effort developing Jijo in book 1. Lastly, while the ending was amusing (like the ending to Startide Rising), it was far less believable and left me disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Heaven's Reach
Review: I finally got the time to read the trilogy, and what a disappointment! "Heaven's Reach" does not give closure to the series, but rather a mash of disconnected story lines. It did not meet my expectations of a good read.
Rating:
Summary: grand, but not what I expected
Review: I think it is grand to have quantum physics, space /time mathematics etc in this book. However I agreed with quite a number of reviewers here in the sense that it is not " human " enough. In contrary to many critics here I found the first two books of this 2nd triology interesting. It explored possibility within the law of uplift with many interesting characters. However all this lost in the "grand" design in the third book. I am especially disappointing to find that the plot is very different from the style of the 1st uplift triology. The siege against earth ended so abruptly that I read that chapter twice to make sure that I did not miss some important twist in the plot. I won't say that this book is poor. It is just so different that people like me who love the previous 5 books may find this last one not their cup of tea.
Rating: 
Summary: The Big Payoff
Review: This book is the big payoff for everybody who has read _Brightness Reef_ and _Infinity's Shore._ Brin definitely exits this Trilogy with a bang. My biggest complaint is that at 439 pages it seems a little short by Brin's standards. There definitely is material in here for much more detail. Then again, the overpowering desire to read this in the first sitting, might make more pages overly burdensome.... Indeed, once I got going, I definitely wanted to race straight thought. Moreover, Brin's standard multiple perspective storytelling format becomes kind of frustrating. It doesn't take long before the fate of Streaker becomes the big story, and I desperately want to find out what happens next there, and then find out about the rest of the plotlines later. Still, the other plot lines definitely have their role in this story, and ad to the fantastic sense of wonder at the vastness of the universe that this book inspires. This book is definitely worth two reads, as a lot of Brin's subtelty will invariably get lost in the first reading. Moreover, for longtime fans of Uplift, they are plenty of wonderfully innovative answers to some of those burning questions, plenty to keep us satisfied until the next Uplift novel comes out 5-10 years from now. JDG
Rating:
Summary: As low as 2 stars? Here's why.
Review: Don't get me wrong. Heaven's reach is not a total failure in itself. It took me a while to understand why I was so disappointed when I finished the book. I can only agree with reviews who say the ending is Grand. But that's not the point. The real problem of the book is, the ending has nothing to do with the rest of the uplift novels. With what's in this book, Brin could have written (should have written) another uplift line. The book just does not belong there. Everything Brin has ENTITLED us to expect from the previous books just isn't there. I wanted to read more about all the wonderful characters who had been so well developed that they had become my friends and my foes. I wanted to know what happens to them, not what happens to the universe. Might it possible to ask David Brin to rewrite this third book, as the first two were so wonderful?
Rating:
Summary: Rushed and somewhat unsatisfying
Review: I have to agree with the other reviewers who thought this conclusion was tied up in way too much of a hurry, and lost a lot of the "fun" in getting there. There were good points, but there were some pretty severe lacks. The ideas were there, and they were taken to a logical (in this universe) climax, and the ideas were as fantastic as they should have been, but the characters had lost their reality and personalities. This is especially true of the "Streaker" and it's crew. It did in truth become nothing more than a "vehicle." In the end, I thought the whole climax was rather sterile and pointless. I hope that the Streaker and it's crew regain their spirit, sense of wonder, and most importantly, thier sense of fun in the next phase. Perhaps they can redeem the sterility of the culture they left behind. David, a title for the next book: "And the Hoons Shall lead them!"?
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