Rating: 
Summary: What pains to get a story started...
Review: The Uplift universe took a few twists and turns with the first three books, but now things get twistier in the Storm trilogy.We start on a world far removed from the vast Civilization of the Five Galaxies, where six races have chosen to live in secrecy... and as criminals. The small nation they have created is one that should never have been: interlopers on a world which was meant to remain free of sentient life for millions of years to come. The inhabitants of this planet live in fear of the day they will face judgement from the beauros of the Five Galaxies, ready to destroy all they have built to lessen their eventual punishment. That punishment, though so near in teachings of the sages but far from daily life, now seems to have come... The story unfolds slowly in this novel, but reading it through once it is clear that there is little that could have been shortened or cut away without losing the feel of the world Brin tries to create. Although a bit lengthy and perhaps long-winded, I would ask anyone who as read the first trilogy to follow it up with this and the remaining books of the Uplift series. What unfolds offers not only a new story line inside of the Uplift universe, but gives deeper insight into many of the facets built in to the workings of the Five Galaxies.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly Plotted and Tiresome
Review: Geez, what a disappointment! I am a huge fan of the first uplift trilogy, but this slow paced behemoth held no interest for me at all. The new elements Brin adds are all half-ideas and loose ends. The characters are wooden. On every page, something seems about to happen, but nothing ever does. And by Brin's own admission, there isn't even an ending to this book, just a pitch to buy the next one. But why would I do that?
Rating: 
Summary: A meal to be savoured slowly
Review: The second trilogy of the Startide universe has taken me a long time to read. I keep putting the books down to savour what I just read. David Brin writes like almost no-one else...he doesn't give you what you expect, when you expect it. His aliens are 'alien', (i.e. not like Star Trek where every creature in the universe looks human with some head makeup).
His story is complex and there is no assurance that the good guys will win in the end. I'm reading this series slowly because I just don't want it to end!
Rating:
Summary: I really enjoyed Brightness Reef.
Review: I've seen several lukewarm reviews for this book, and I can understand why a lot of readers didn't particularly like it. The pace is rather slow until the end, the PoV switches with each new chapter, and there are a lot of characters to get to know. It does take a while to get totally immersed in the world of Jijo. However, once I became familiar with the setting and the characters, I found the planet Jijo and its inhabitants to be fascinating. Most of the book involves the six races of beings, including humans, who live (illegally) on Jijo. They've managed to overcome their differences and live in relative peace, but are always fearful of a "judgment day," when their colonies may be discovered. And then a ship lands on a Jijo, an enigmatic and seriously injured stranger is discovered, and a local youth sees monsters in the oceans. The slow pace didn't keep me from enjoying Jijo and all its wonders. Brin takes his time introducing us to each new character and tries to get us to understand the six races, their histories, and the ethical dilemas they and their members face. For those of you who thought the fate of The Streaker would forever be unknown, this book gives a small hint of things to come. The pace picks up at the end of the book, and we learn just what beasts dwell within the oceans and the identity of the stranger. By the time I read last sentence, my heart was pounding with anticipation. I can't wait to dive into Infinity's Shore.
Rating: 
Summary: Startide Declining
Review: The following is a review of the entire Uplift Storm trilogy, not just Brightness Reef. David Brin has turned out superior sci-fi in the past; Startide Rising was excellent and The Uplift War was not far behind. Unfortunately these three books do not quite measure up to those previous efforts. While frequently entertaining, they nevertheless suffer from significant faults. The biggest problem with these books is that they are overlong and plodding. This "trilogy" needed a firm hand at the editor's desk. This story could have been told in a more satisfying way in probably about 60% of the total number of pages Brin used. Brightness Reef starts us off with a new setting on Jijo and an entirely new cast of characters, which is OK except that Brin takes forever to develop the story and move things along. Consequently, the reader has a hard time feeling a connection with Jijo and the society that Brin paints for us there. Everytime it seems things are beginning to click, Brin goes off on another tangent and fails to bring any urgency to the story. Infinity's Shore delivers more of the same, with perhaps some marginal improvement due to the reappearance of some characters that will be familiar to readers of the prior Uplift books. By the end of two books, I finally began to feel caught up in the story of Jijo and was looking forward to the concluding volume. So what does Brin do but give us a third book that spends zero time on Jijo. OK, he does still follow the principal characters from the first two books, but he spent an enormous amount of time in those books effectively making Jijo into a character, which he then essentially abandons. Even worse, he sets a frantic pace that despite all the havoc fails to impart much urgency or tension. The only real suspense was whether Brin would somehow salvage a coherent finale to the trilogy. The answer is no. The pacing of these books is terribly uneven, both internally and (especially) as between the first two and the finale. The story wanders badly. The reader is left with the feeling that Brin had no idea of where he was taking the story and just writing chapters on the fly. Many loose ends, large and small, are left hanging. The final result is a disorganized, unconvincing story that fails to deliver on its promise. I still give this set reasonable marks though, as Brin has delivered some wonderfully inventive ideas and the books certainly do have their entertaining moments. But Brin has done better, and these books could have been truly outstanding. As it is, I recommend them only for serious fans.
Rating:
Summary: Great Author, Excellent Book
Review: I recommend this and all of Brin's work. This book and the following two are perhaps my favorites by one of my favorite authors. Engaging characters, interesting storyline, and fresh plausible alien races that are really brought to life. You may want to start with Startide Rising and The Uplift War, but you don't have to. By the time you are into the third book, Heaven's Reach, you will find yourself slowly savoring each page as you won't want to reach the end and part ways with the truly enjoyable characters. I hope to be able to re-visit these characters and places sometime in the near future.
Rating:
Summary: A necessary evil
Review: Skim this book. Brightness reef is by far the weakest of the 6 uplift bi-trilogy, it is slow paced, and for Brin, very poorly framed. The content in this volume which is relevant to infinity's shore could be put into about 40-50 pages, and as the fate of most of the characters in brightness reef, as well as the planet, aren't relevant to later volumes, there's no reason to plod through this book: treat it as research material o be skimmed and move onto Infinity's shore.
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: Turgid, plodding, unimaginative, Brin's agent wrote this
Review: I was looking for a great "read," a book that would take me out of myself and transport me to unimaginable worlds. This book is not it. The plot is mostly nonexistent. The pace plods. The characters are static. The aliens are crudely drawn. It is hard to see where this book might be going. Most important, the payoffs do not come. Not enjoyable, and not recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Great book - stop reading afterwards!
Review: With "Brightness Reef" Brin starts another trilogy in his uplift universe. This time the first book is the best: the multi-species society on JiJo is introduced in a way that gets the reader hooked. The galactics who invade - including the "Streaker-" refugees are boring by comparison. Unfortunately they get much of the attention in the following two books. With the first uplift trilogy it was the other way round: the last book - "Uplift War"- was the best. With the new trilogy the two books following this are a disappointment. Best to stop reading the trilogy after having finished this one.
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