Rating: 
Summary: Great Disappointment
Review: I've enjoyed nearly everything David Brin has written. In my opinion, he is one of the finest SF writers in the last couple of decades, comparable to John Varley or Neal Stephenson. Yet this book is such a major disappointment, that I wish it could be undone.Mr. Brin's "Uplift Universe" was one of the best Future Histories that has yet been produced. His sequence of stories about Man coming unprepared into a DANGEROUS universe involved a great deal of imagination, wonder, good versus evil, and good old fashioned fun. The universe he created was instantly believable and the races and characters well drawn. The fight against great odds of "Startide Rising", or the Great Joke of "The Uplift War" are classic expressions of the SF art. Unfortunately, this book destroys the whole stucture irrevocably. "There are some things Man was not meant to know." This book tells us ALL of them, with the intensity of a UFO fanatic at a ! cocktail party. It is a intricate collection of deus ex machinae, all of which compete with each other and crowd the rest of the characters off the stage. Not only the gods intervene, but THEIR gods intervene, and then THEIR gods intervene...until you are so uninterested in anything that there is left to say or know. Certain not in the human characters who are sitting helpless screaming "OH NO, Mr. Bill." What of the folks left back at Kithrup in the first book? Who knows? Who cares? Probably got saved by a dozen different dieties and are back on earth collecting pensions. Or maybe they crossed the wrong god and got fed to lions. Who knows? But I'm left with no interest. This is not just a bad book. This is the worst book imaginable. It not only destroys itself, it destroys the whole series, which is impressive because the others were all Hugo material. Why would anyone want to read more?
Rating: 
Summary: The trilogy should have been a large novel...
Review: Overall the series was intriguing and an entertaining read. I long for the days when this story would have been told in one tome ala "DUNE". But alas somebodey ahs to make a buck. Brin travels the multi-universes and still does not give it all away.
Rating:
Summary: A candy shop of ideas -- great, but too many all at once.
Review: By his admission in the afterword David Brin tried to pack as many forms of faster-than-light travel as he could into the book. And that pretty much sums Heaven's Reach -- page after page of speculative ideas, some original but mostly Brin's takes on "classic" sci-fi concepts, such as Dyson Spheres. It's as if Brin couldn't hold back anymore. The good part is, the constant flow of ideas, action and plot keeps you moving through the book avidly. The bad part is, you suddenly reach the end and find out that it's neither a conclusion nor a cliff hanger -- instead, you just fall off the precipice entirely. The book just stops. After 400 pages of carefully chronicled intrigue, mayhem and destruction, Heaven's Reach fails to provide either a convincing reason to keep going or a clean wrap. It's too bad, because Brin could have given the reader a little more character development and reduced the almost endless stream of "Look At This Wonderful Concept&quo! ! t; memes -- which, incidentally, are a perfect illustration of the problem: The "memetic" creatures of E-Space are, in and of themselves, a wonderfully idiosyncratic creation. But other than providing a convenient little out for some of our main characters and the chance to create yet another gruffy chimpanzee character -- Isn't that becoming a series cliche by now? -- the entire E-Space also do literally nothing to advance the main story that presumably draws most readers to buy this book in the first place. It hardly even qualifies as a related subplot, except in a forced way -- although the sidetrack itself is well-crafted. And Brin's use of coincidences is a bit much. The little band of sooners trying to Earth just happens to pick as a landing spot the only outpost in the Five Galaxies with a chimpanzee employee of the Navigation Institute? Please. But criticisms notwithstanding, Heaven's Reach is still worth the hardcover price, because Brin again shows why! ! he's the best "hard" science-fiction writer in t! he business. Heaven's Reach contains an ocean of well-formulated concepts, and even manages to answer a few questions that have been festering -- but it dodges way too many to be completely satisfying. Of course, Brin promises that there is more to come. I guess that like the rest of us, he has to make a living too.
Rating:
Summary: Not Brin's Best.
Review: Those who waited years for Brin to finish the story of starship Streaker will be disappointed by the final installment. It lacks the energy and immagination of Startide Rising, The Uplift War, Brightness Reef, and Infinity's Shore. Character development ceases. The plot could be summarized in ten words or less (although I won't do that here in case you want to find out for yourself). Little is learned about the adventures of Thomas Orley and the others marooned on Kithrup. They, you probably remember, were the protagonists on the original story, and by far the most interesting characters. A few mysteries are resolved, but overall, reader's learn little more about the universe introduced in those earlier books. I was impatient with Brin and wanted him to finish telling the tale, but I would have willingly waited several more years for a better book with a captivating conclusion.
Rating: 
Summary: The final volume of the Uplift Trilogy falls flat.
Review: I really enjoyed the other books in Brin's Uplift universe, Startide Rising, The Uplift War, and the 1st two volumes in the current trilogy, but this book falls flat. In the 1st two volumes, Brin gives us characters that we care about in fascinating situations. I could hardly wait for the conclusion, and now I wish I hadn't read it. While it has many fascinating concepts, it does not have the intensity of the other books.
Rating: 
Summary: Bought the hardcover. Should've waited for the paperback.
Review: Dear Mr. Brin, I loved this series and was therefore disappointed with the final entry. You did seem to be in a hurry to get this one finished. An editor would have been useful (or a better editor). There's lots of repetition throughout - who the Old Ones are, who the other Old Ones are, where the Old Ones are, where Herbie was found. Blah, blah, blah. More characterization, less explanation. I love aliens as much as the next person but please have some self control. The power of possibility dissolves with excess diversity. Next time try to limit yourself to one 800 page book please and maybe 15 different civlizations. I'd save a little money and you'd be spared all that extra typing.
Rating:
Summary: Brin's trademark characters lost in the shuffle
Review: Though I'm an avid fan of this series, I felt Brin's "Heaven's Reach" rushed to a conclusion full of theory and potential but without the charm of his characters. He spent a great deal of time developing unique and interesting places and peoples, only in this book to make them quantifiable values in some grand statistical scheme. The force of his ability to draw characters is lost in his attempt to describe life forms that by definition have lost all character. Further, characters must make leaps in knowledge without ever being wrong in order to move the plot along. I would have prefered a greater focus on the station where Harry stays when not in E Space, or what exactly was that Herbie character, or what happened to Tom Orley...or Earth during the seige for that matter.
Rating:
Summary: The conclusion of Startide Rising? Well, sort of.
Review: Overall, I would rate this trilogy a pretty good read. This particular book left me just a little bit flat. The overall pace of the book seemed entirely too hurried. I kind of got the sense that the ideas being presented were so grandiose that even Brin didn't really want to tackle them, just skim the surface. I think the other problem I had with the book was just the overall feel at the end. It seemed to me that the book was more or less left without a conclusion. The entire trilogy very slowly and carefully led you up to a very spectacular climax, and then it was done. A book (much less a trilogy of books) shouldn't just abruptly end after the climax. It needs some catharsis, some tying up of the ends, some winding down. This book just didn't have that, and so it left me wanting just a little bit more than what was there. I waffled between giving it 3 or 4 stars, because it was probably a little better than an "average" book, but it left me feeling a little short changed.
Rating: 
Summary: I would have been happy to wait another year for more pages!
Review: David Brin has produced another jewel to place on his crown. The Uplift Novels are some of the best SF ever written. Heaven's Reach however, was maddeningly short. This was the most eagerly awaited Uplift Novel of all for me, and the 6 month delay was almost unbearable. It was an excellent and entertaining read, but I'm an Uplift junkie and 447 pages was not a big enough score! I am not at all dissappointed with the story or how he chose to end it. I just think that it could have been richer. I can only think that The Transparent Society (editing and publishing) robbed Heaven's Reach of some of Brin's creative time. At least he promised, " Hang on. There's more to come. " That was the best sentance in the whole book for an Uplift junkie like me. PS: Take us all back there soon David. (and don't skimp on the Galactics) Live long and prosper. MHR
Rating:
Summary: Hurried conclusion to the Uplift trilogy, needs more pages
Review: Though I love most of the other books in this series, I felt that this volume was very hurried. Many of the events he's describing take place on a galactic scale. However, I never got a sense of that scale from his descriptions. Also, the idea of the progression of life types and civilizations was explained in a few sentences. This stuff was supposed to have been the great mystery of the universe that was pondered by trillions of living beings for millions of years! Some of the characters that were pain-stakingly introduced in "Brightness Reef" are barely even in this book. He introduces life-forms that are extremely different from our own, but barely spends any time describing them. This last series has been very un-even. The first book, "Brightness Reef", was very a slow introduction, but it created a very real image of a world and of a whole slew of characters. The middle book, "Infinity's Shore" was action-packed and quick moving. This last book, is even more quick moving, but perhaps too quick. All in all, I felt that this volume was ok, but another 100 pages would have made it great. Since we still don't know what happened to all the characters from "StarTide Rising", I'm still hoping for further adventures in the Uplift universe.
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