And here we, no wrong sorry, here come the chimpanzees. There are so many Sci-Fi ideas including apes, like the Planet of the apes' franchise, cartoon characters and many evil experiments. One of the less widespread ideas is reverse engineering, the downgrading, or, appropriate to the terminology of the novels, downlifting, of humans to make hybrids. Instead of improving gorillas, chimps, orangutans, bonobos and naked mole rats to make them more human, the humans get monkeyed and not the monkey

DNF at 43%.I really really tried to like this book enough to finish it, but I just couldn't.

David Brin's Uplift Trilogy has not been the easiest series for me to read. I enjoyed Sundiver as a mystery set within a much larger universe. Brin left me hungry for more, but Startide Rising left me bitter and disappointed. What had started with so much potential seemed encumbered by flawed storylines and a myriad of unwanted characters. Hence, I was doubtful of The Uplift War's ability to mollify me.While certainly superior to Startide Rising, The Uplift War lacks the central protagon...

I've heard many good things about this trilogy & author, but I found Sundiver awful the couple of times I tried it. I never finished the brick or even penetrated too far, but it's been a long time since I last tried. In review, one of my GR friends wrote that the books & writing got better. Someone else wrote this one stood alone well, so I'm planning on only reading book 3 of a trilogy. I think this was a good choice. The author relates enough about the world & first books (I guess) that I don'...

80's dudebro SF. (Seriously. The male human hero transforms into Tarzan.)Good for what it is, but not to my taste. I don't want to nitpick something that just isn't for me, but it felt a little ridiculous and contrived in places, and rather naive or superficial about the problematic issues raised. But on the whole - just OK.I would like to forget about the chimpanzee striptease scene though.

I found this book was not nearly as page-turning as Startide Rising, and overlong to boot.

David Brin writes entertaining aliens! The Gooksyu-Gubru clan made me see space chickens in my mind and I just loved them. They remain neuter (and white) until they are allowed to form a triad (and run a project), at the end of which they gain both gender & colour. Then the bird at the top of the pecking order becomes a queen and the other two become her princes. So, a lot is riding on the outcome of their “crusade” against Earthling humans and neo-chimpanzees.The galactic manoeuvring in this se...

4.0 stars. The continuation of the Uplift Saga began in the superb Startide Rising. Amazing world-building (rather universe building), a superb plot and peopled by fascinating characters and races. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.Winner: Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1988)Winner: Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1988)Nominee: Nebula Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1988)Nominee: Prometheus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1988)

I would never recommend The Uplift War to my friends who are skeptical about science fiction. It has too many conventions peculiar to the genre. There are aliens of many races, psychic powers, galactic empires, robots, ray guns and spaceships that travel faster than light. It's all a bit much in a single book if you've never read science fiction before.Furthermore, this is not an easy read. The pages are peppered with made-up alien words like lurrunanu and tu'fluk. There's also a sprinkling of o...

Galactic civilization is balanced on a knife's edge. Power is gained by becoming patrons, gaining client races, uplifting them to sentience and starfaring, and having them as more or less indentured servants over hundreds of thousands of years. But then humans came on the scenes, "wolflings," who apparently bootstrapped themselves up into sentience, a feat thought to be impossible. Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the recent changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You...

2.5 starsPersonal enjoyment clear on the 2 star side, because of the amateurish character writing.But the idea is good and I don't want to downrate a book because of my personal pet peeves.

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1383307.htmlOne of Brin's novels of the future universe where humanity has become part of a galactic culture of species Uplifting each other from pre-sapience to civilisation, homo sapiens being unique in that we achieved that status without external intervention.The book is fun in a lot of ways - smart humans and chimps, and their allies, manage to overcome the prejudices and wishful thinking of the more nasty aliens. The most sympathetic male characters get to hav...

Best book till now of the Uplift series, the story telling and the characters development were much better.The alien races present in the book were great. Did enjoy the many undercurrent regarding the diplomacy and warfare of the Galactic's.

Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done.On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me.While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and beca

Let’s get one thing straight. The Uplift War is not military science fiction. There is a war, yes, and there are some appropriately war-like moments, but the emphasis is, once again, on the ‘Uplift’ and not on the ‘War’. Arguably, one the greatest strengths of The Uplift War and its predecessors, is the alien element. Brin certainly went the whole hog when he was designing and imagining his Galactics. This is where these books shine. Each alien race has its own culture and corresponding cultural...

Maybe 4.25 stars? Not exactly as good as Startide Rising, but close. There was a lot to love about this book but also a little to be annoyed about.Plot was fun, although sloooow at times. Fiben's adventures were the best part, for me. Fiben was an absolutely fantastic character (I think Brin has said that he's his favourite character from all his books). The chims overall were great, although I think I still prefer the fins from Startide Rising. The exploration of neo-chimpanzee culture was fasc...

I have to admit. I'm a little relieved to be done with this series. Wherever I would walk while reading either this book or its predecessor, Startide Rising, people would inevitably look at the cover, glance away quickly, then slowly look back, eyes questioning. "Is that...?" "Yes," I would answer, "those are chimpanzees. Yes, they're in space. No, I am not reading this on a dare." At the end of the day, regardless of how many awards this series has won (oodles), or how detailed and complex the

These Uplift novels are getting better. This time I cared a lot more about the characters, and the writing seemed much smoother and less annoying. The author managed to go more than two or three pages sometimes between changes of viewpoint character, and the action was more streamlined and less choppy.I loved the character of the ambassador's daughter Athaclena, and how she ended up leading the resistance forces. I liked her species, I liked their intuitive psi sense, the artistic glyphs they br...

Second time reading this with 20 years. This time only after reading two first books. And yes, No3 is the best - most hilarious and well structured - a lot of interesting ideas and fun

Shares a universe with the other books of the series, could stand alone. Describes life in an occupied land (world), and is somewhat better than the previous book. Still suffers from clunky descriptions and poor passages at times.In its favor are stronger characters, especially Fiben. He and others are fully 3D, a welcome change from the previous book. Some of the clever technology used for tracking or attacking are also neat. Chief among the downsides are the pace - this book is slow. Took me a...