Rating: 
Summary: As always an interesting idea
Review: By and large I enjoy Poul Anderson's Fantasy works (Three Hearts and Three Lions, The Broken Sword) better than his Sci-fi novels. Like Anderson's other sci-fi novels (eg. Tau Zero) Brain Wave is based on an interesting idea: what happens when the IQ of all mammmals increases by a factor of five. It's just not carried off well.
Interesting plot possibilities, such as animals 'revolting' against humans are alluded to but never explored. It is a short book because so much seems to happen offstage- riots, revolution war etc. Anderson is a good idea man, but unfortunately not a great writer.
Rating: 
Summary: Five Stars! And should have more!
Review: Five Stars! And should have more! A truly great, timeless book, thrilling and inspiring.
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful and Fun at the same time
Review: Gotta love this book. Never a bore, always keeping you into it, yet at the same time it's not a cheezy page turner. Scientific insight and knowledge are abundant, as is smooth wording, deep characters and a very original premise. This is truly a SF short novel classic. What a fantastic movie it could make if treated properly.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutelly fascinating!
Review: I do'nt usually read Poul Anderson's books. He's just not one of my favorite writers. This book , though , IS one of my favorites.The basic premise is that for unknown millions of years the world and it's surroundings have been in a kind of force-field - one that slows down electricity. Since we've been under it's influence before we became intelligent , when it's influence is lifted from our brains , all the living beings on earth becomes three or four times as intelligent as before. One cute point : It is possible that earth entry into this force-field is what killed the dinosaurs. Some die , some are not able to deal with their new abilities and become insane and some , as always , carry on. The way Anderson developes that basic brilliant premise is remarkeble. It is well written and very interesting. The book has not one but a couple of heroes , and it's following them in their dealing with the change and their activities as super-geniuses. Very recommended.
Rating:
Summary: I'm dumb, then smart! Then dumb again! Then smart again!
Review: I've never been a fan of Anderson's novels, but I'll certainly make an exception in this case. This particular one was chosen by Anthony Boucher as one of the four novels included in his _A Treasury of Great Science Fiction,_ and I agree wholeheartly with his decision. Anderson starts with the assumption that the human race has since its beginning been in an "intelligence-dampening" field located throughout space. Then one day, the Earth pops out of it. Everyone's intelligence is increased enormously. You think this might be an all-around wonderful thing? For some, yes. But for everyone? Maybe not. A vivid and realistic novel, which I consider to be Anderson's best.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligence enhancement: gift & curse.
Review: I've read this novel when I was a teenager in the mythical Argentinean sci-fi magazine "Más Allá". It was published in the last two volumes edited. I've treasured my collection for more than 40 years. Time and again I reread the most outstanding novels and short stories kept there as in a time shell.
"Brain Wave" is one of the best novels written by Poul Anderson.
The argument is great: suddenly all sentient beings start to change. Everybody is more intelligent each day. Cattle start to avoid slaughter. Horses refuse to be saddled. Brock, a moron peasant, start to have lucid insights and want to read.
The rest of humankind tries to cope with emotional disturbance, weird dreams, creativity shocks, religious surges and many more strange "symptoms".
Anderson analyzes this impossible situation and shows the reader a kaleidoscopic maddening universe. Little by little things began to fall in place and a new civilization emerges from chaos.
The follow up of the story is done by some key characters ranging from the retarded Brock, thru the ordinary housewife distressed by the new unsolicited abilities till her scientific husband and his neighbors.
The novel has an optimistic conclusion as was styled in the blessed `50s sci-fi.
Take a romp thru it, you won't be disappointed!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.
Rating: 
Summary: Optimistic, old-school hard SF
Review: The Earth moves out of some kind of force field, and suddenly, all electromagnetic and -chemical processes; not only do intruments go out of wack, everyone and everything with a brain triples in intelligence. For some individuals, this is liberating, albeit terrifying; some crack under the strain of such a jump. The human race as a whole, indeed, finds itself wondering what wo do with itself. This is a pretty good piece of speculative fiction, the idea taken to the limit. There are great bits, like intelligent chimps rising elephants and teming with African tribes; the story of Brock, the one-time moron, is particularly resonant. Overall, it's certainly a supremely optimistic view. As one character in the book notes, just because people are smart doesn't stop them from doing stupid things like speeding or smoking; nor does intelligence always erase prejudice. Yet Anderson envisions a human race that, due solely to higher intelligence, (after a lengthy period of great strife) transcends war, patriotism, and borders - indeed, seems at the end to have formed into some unified collective mind. I'm not so sure that all this necessarily follows from increased intelligence, even such an exponential leap in brain activity; but I see that Anderson is actually painting humans as the wise celestial visitors that most SF authors depict alien beings as. It's sort of a nice touch. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: One of Anderson's best. A true classic.
Review: This is a fabulous novel. The premise is fascinating. Earth moves into a portion of the galaxy which is absent a form of energy field which our world had previously been surrounded by for perhaps a billion years. The effect of the absence of this "inhibitor field" is that all animal life on Earth experiences a huge increase in nervous system efficiency, mainly resulting in a quantum leap in intelligence. The rest would be telling, but this is a very well-written and fascinating story even if some of the political backdrop is now anachronistic. What would happen if human intelligence quadrupled or more, such that human morons became geniuses, and average humans became something we can perhaps not even imagine? That is the premise of this throught-provoking story.
Anderson at his best is hard to beat, and this is among his best works. Every lover of Science Fiction should read and own this novel, as should anyone who loves a good yarn that stretches the reader's imagination.
Rating:
Summary: A great classic
Review: This is a great classic by one of the very greatest masters of science-fiction. I have just re-read it and am again awe-struck by just how good a writer Anderson was. The premise of the story is that the intelligence of everyone on Earth - humans and animals - trebles. There is chaos at first - no one wants to do dull but necessary jobs any more, animals rebel against being slaughtered, monkeys learn to use guns. There is a tragic love-story but the end is deeply satisfying. Anderson not only keeps the story pacing along, but, as always, can evoke awe and wonder, with some very pointed and poignant comments on the human condition. The book was written quite a while ago but is as fresh as ever. If you read no other science-fiction, read this!
Rating:
Summary: SFclassic about a world in which the average human IQ is 400
Review: This is the first novel written by Poul Anderson, one of the all-times greats of Science Fiction. The novel tells about a present-time Earth (of the 60's, at the time), which suddenly comes out of an unknown-before power field, which was slowing the speed of our brain activity. This results in a tripling of an average IQ, and even animals approach the mental levels of a pre-change humanity. The ensuing chaos and rebuild of the world are the subject of the book. I think the premise is tremendous, and I liked the way Anderson handled it. The only reason I did not give the book 5 stars is because it shows very slight signs of aging. A classic and a must-read, though.
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