Startide Rising (David Brin)

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Startide Rising
by David Brin

*****
I read this book three or so years ago, so the details are fuzzy. I do know, however, that Startide Rising remains one of the most enjoyable sci-fi novels I've read. I rank it second only to Ender's Game, and even that book can get a bit tiresome after a while, especially if you keep doing it over and over again for school projects. :-)

Anyway, the plot centers around the ship Streaker and its crew of seven humans, one hundred and fifty neo-dolphins, and a neo-chimpanzee. The chimpanzee and the dolphins have been so-called ‘uplifted' to intelligent sentience. In fact, every race in the known universe was at some point uplifted by a patron race—all but humans, who were the only species to have seemingly evolved on their own. The Streaker, after accidentally stumbling upon a mysterious fleet consisting of fifty thousand derelict ships each the size of a moon, barely evades pursuit from greedy galactic federations all clawing for information about the Streaker's discovery. The crew lands on a watery planet, Kithrup, hoping to make repairs to their ship and escape before the Galactic fleets can catch up to them.

This is an exciting story, told with unpretentious enthusiasm by David Brin. Everything in this novel is fun—kind of like Star Wars in the style of Indiana Jones. At the same time, Brin provides enough unique concepts to distinguish it from other sci-fi novels, such as the notion of a universe governed by patron-client relationships between species, or the problems that arise when those relationships are upset.

The characters are likeable, if some are a little strange—it may take a while to get used to seeing through the eyes of some of the non-humans. But the narrative switches back and forth between humans, dolphins, the chimpanzee, and a whole assortment of aliens with such deftness that by the end you may find yourself falling in love with a dolphin.

And the action doesn't stop. It would be a cliché to say that the book grabs hold of you and never lets go, but that is what happens here. Alternating between high-speed space battles of the Streaker's pursuers, to the crew's adventures as they hold their own against the planet's unpredictable menaces, to the treacheries that eventually befall the characters' ranks, Startide Rising is a wild rollercoaster of a ride all the way up to the explosive climax that will leave you wanting more.