Product Description
The second book in David Brin's second Uplift trilogy is a magnificent addition to one of science fiction's most ambitious and compelling series. The six races had been living in exile on the planet Jijo for two thousand years before they were discovered by the Five Galaxies. Now they are alone again, but they know it is only a reprieve ...Fleeing across space following an alien attack on Earth, the spaceship Streaker finds itself stranded near an uninhabited planet. Kaa is sent to the surface to investigate. All seems quiet. He doesn't yet know that the planet is Jijo. ... Read more

Product Description
Circling the Sun, under the caverns of Mercury, Expedition Sundiver prepares for the most momentous voyage in our history. A journey into the boiling inferno of the sun, to seek our destiny in the cosmic order of life. For in a universe in which no species can reach sentience without being 'uplifted' by a patron race, it seems that only mankind has reached for the stars unaided. And now, the greatest mystery of all may be explained...Sundiver is the firs book in David Brin's magnificent Uplift series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not Free SF Reader
There certainly are not too many murder mysteries set in the middle of the sun!A man must try to solve what is going on with a killer, as well as keep the diplomatic peace and all this entails.Preventaging sabotage while somewhere that is, shall we say, a little on the hot side, is a high priority for people as well.The ending, denoument, and epilogue is a little odd, but the environment is very interesting.


... Read more

Product Description
An insightful, quicksilver romp through Brin's own mind. In the 20 essays, short stories, and little wonders in this book, David will take you from the worlds of Galileo Galilei and Jules Verne, through thoughtful explorations of Orwell and Tolkien, and on into tomorrows that just may happen. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Brin's own version of Tomorrow is a hard SF "Tree & Leaf"
Many years ago, I first read J.R.R. Tolkien's Tree & Leaf, a book composed of Tolkien's essay on fairy stories and a demonstration of that theory in a short story called "Leaf by Niggle".

Tree & Leaf came as a surprise to me, because I had thought Tolkien's predominant interests were philological rather than philosophical.Before reading Tree & Leaf, I suppose I saw Tolkien as a clever scholar out on a literary lark, rather than as an author with a decided viewpoint or message.After reading Tree & Leaf, I thought of Tolkien in a new, more conservative light.

In some ways, Tolkien's attempts to halt progress seemed misplaced to me.Also, it was the first time I became aware of Tolkien's religious world view (which I found more appealing).But, regardless of how I responded to the themes of the book, I finally understood the GRAVITY of the themes that lurked under Tolkien's longer works.

So, Tree & Leaf changed how I looked at the author's work forever.

This volume is much the same.It takes some excellent short stories and highlights Brin's own literary, scientific and socio-political themes against a series of speculative essays and comments.We also get to see a teaching tool Brin has used in writers' workshops.

The short stories are fine.One is about Uplift, another about humans becoming divine (in a different way from that described in Kiln People).A third records the details of what has to be the first environmental lawsuit I have ever seen in a space opera story.Brin & Benford together take a turn pretending to be Jules Verne in one.

But, the highlight for me was one essay in which Brin questions the wisdom of creating a fantasy view of feudalism (one of the most execrable forms of economic oppression ever created) as he takes on Tolkien's fantasy.Brin makes a case for looking at the positive results of the Enlightenment and the modern Information Age.He gently prods at the sentimental longing for a lost age of paternalism and "security".He asks a pertinent question in a world where Presidents talk about inclusive governments: "Would Aragorn's coalition cabinet include orcs and trolls?"

From Aragorn's point of view, it may be good to be a king, but the world runs better when everyone has a voice of some kind.

Tomorrow Happens contains some of Brin's best thoughts on how information is carried on from person-to-person and from generation-to-generation. He explains things he thinks make a good science fiction story.And he shows us why we should never be afraid to try a new spin on an old idea.

In a strange way, I think this is almost Brin's "answer" to Tolkien's Tree & Leaf.If Tolkien's book extolled the virtues of religion, faerie (the mythical land subbing for irrationality and romanticism) & lore, Brin's book preaches a different approach to literature and life.Brin's worlds areabout optimism, innovation, and information.

Worth a serious look. ... Read more

Product Description
A respected futurist advances an argument sure to cause debate-in a wired world, the best way to preserve our freedom will be to give up our privacy

In The Transparent Society, award-winning author David Brin details the startling argument that privacy, far from being a right, hampers the real foundation of a civil society: accountability. Using examples as disparate as security cameras in Scotland and Gay Pride events in Tucson, Brin shows that openness is far more liberating than secrecy and advocates for a society in which everyone (not just the government and not just the rich) could look over everyone else's shoulders. The biggest threat to our society, he warns, is that surveillance technology will be used by too few people not by too many.Amazon.com Review
David Brin takes some of our worst notions about threats toprivacy and sets them on their ears. According to Brin, there is noturning back the growth of public observation and inevitable loss ofprivacy--at least outside of our own homes. Too many of ourtransactions are already monitored: Brin asserts that cameras used toobserve and reduce crime in public areas have been successful and areon the rise. There's even talk of bringing in microphones to augmentthe cameras. Brin has no doubt that it's only a matter of time beforethey're installed in numbers to cover every urban area in everydeveloped nation.

While this has the makings for an Orwelliannightmare, Brin argues that we can choose to make the same scenario asetting for even greater freedom. The determining factor is whetherthe power of observation and surveillance is held only by the policeand the powerful or is shared by us all. In the latter case, Brinargues that people will have nothing to fear from the watchers becauseeveryone will be watching each other. The cameras would become apublic resource to assure that no mugger is hiding around the corner,our children are playing safely in the park, and police will not abusetheir power.

No simplistic Utopian, Brin also acknowledges the manydangers on the way. He discusses how open access to information caneither threaten or enhance freedom. It is one thing, for example, tomake the entire outdoors public and another thing to allow the camerasand microphones to snoop into our homes. He therefore spends a lot ofpages examining what steps are required to assure that a transparentsociety evolves in a manner that enhances rather than restrictsfreedom. This is a challenging view of tomorrow and an exhilaratingread for those who don't mind challenges to even the mostwell-entrenched cultural assumptions. --Elizabeth Lewis ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Fascinating reading
How disquieting would it be if you lived in a society where every item you bought, every television show you watched, every vacation you took, in short, every activity you engaged in, was known by everyone else? Even without doing any opinion sampling, one might be confident that everyone would be uneasy about the prospects of such a society. After all, privacy has been thought of as something that cushions us against criminal acts and unwarranted intrusion by "moral" busybodies who want to tell us how to think and act, even attempting to control what we do on our mattresses. But this notion of privacy assumes that these busybodies have information on us but we do not possess any on them. What if we also possessed the same information on them? Would this make the privacy situation any more palatable for us?

The author of this book addresses these types of questions and more in this highly interesting book that should definitely be read by anyone who has an interest in the deep ethical considerations that are arriving with a vengeance as the rate of technological advancement goes into hyperdrive in the twenty-first century. The author does a good job of anticipating for the reader how technology might be dramatically influencing privacy without performing a mere extrapolation of the past.

Indeed, the author's words are sometimes very compelling, and entice the reader into asking questions about the role of government and personal reputation. It is intriguing to contemplate what it would be like to not only have your credit checked when applying for a job, but also have access to the credit files of those who want to hire you. It is intriguing to contemplate what it would be like if the government, when required under the guise of "homeland security" to access information about you, is also required to provide a great deal of information about itself. What happens when those who spy are also spied upon, when the information some obtain about us is also obtained about them?

The author refers to this equal opportunity of privacy invasion as "reciprocal transparency" in the book, and he offers an interesting discussion on its ramifications and its weaknesses. In light of the current situation in the financial markets, the ramifications of requiring senior executives to disclose all information are awesome, especially since the bureaucratic entity that is insuring this disclosure will also be required to disclose information about itself. Regulatory agencies will be required to disclose, as well as those information-robbing institutions called credit bureaus.

Having a transparent society as the author describes might run some companies out of business. Firms for example who collect financial data with the goal of developing software or mathematical models to predict spending patterns or detect fraudulent information will find themselves having to build even more powerful models, since the data they possess is not proprietary anymore. Firms that specialize in genetic information will also have to answer to insurance companies, and vice versa, since both will have information on the other's business (and personal) activities.

Information warfare takes on a new light in a transparent society. With everyone being vulnerable to everyone, the game will become one where one player will need to interpret and analyze the information in a manner that is more powerful than another. Citizens will need to have tools that not only access the information from the government, but also extract interesting patterns from it (as governments currently do their citizens). Data mining will become a 24/7 affair, where both the gathering of information and its interpretation will require the assistance of even more powerful technology, instigating a never-ending information arms race. A disturbing prospect to some, but a source of exhilaration to others.

Do not be fooled
This author steeps his product with an endorsement of our loss of rights, privacy, and freedom. Read 'No Pleace to Hide' by Robert O'Harrow, Jr. if you want substance and details. O'Harrow's work gets a good review from William Safire.

Important perspective on the threat to privacy posed by our technology
The cameras are coming. The question is what we are going to do about it.

I bought this book because I had read some of Brin's science fiction and I was intrigued by the idea of a science fiction author taking a serious look at how our society might deal with the threat to privacy posed by coming technology. Brin demonstrates his knowledge of technological issues (videocameras, cryptography, copyright, etc.), but it was his sensitivity to social issues that impressed me.

This book really stimulated my interest in the relationship between privacy and freedom. Before reading "The Transparent Society" I had a simplistic sense that privacy was something we needed to preserve as much as possible in the face of whatever technology may come. Like many people, I've grown uncomfortable with the prevalence of surveillance as we go about our lives. I wouldn't say this book has led me to welcome the sacrifices we need to make regarding privacy--it just made me realize that we may not be able to go back to some mythical time when everybody was left alone. To use Isaiah Berlin's distinction, we may need to think more in terms of positive liberty (things we have the power to do) rather than simply negative liberty (restrictions on our actions). We need to be smart about how we navigate these waters. Brin adopts an intelligent position I have not seen put forth by anyone else. Instead of arguing that we need to shut down the flow of information gained through surveillance, Brin says we need to open up the flow of information to make it available to more people.

Brin asks which of the following two societies you would rather live in: A world where video camera surveillance is ubiquitous and all of the information is overseen by a secret elite who have the power to monitor the actions of anybody they choose. Or a "participatory panopticon" (not Brin's phrase) where everybody can watch everybody else, including regular people being able to watch the watchers? For Brin these are the two options. After all, the cameras are coming. When everybody can easily record every second of their lives, and surveillance cameras are ubiquitous (to say nothing of gnat-sized cameras), we will need to rethink what levels of privacy we are willing to accept. Right now, it seems we may be, to use Charlie Stross's phrase, "sleepwalking into a police state". It could be that what we need is not less surveillance but more "sousveillance" (watching the powerful from below).

Brin says we must answer the following questions:

"Can we stand living exposed to scrutiny, our secrets laid open if in return we get flashlights of our own that we can shine on anyone who might do us harm--even the arrogant and the strong?"

"Or is an illusion of privacy worth any price, even the cost of surrendering our own right to pierce the schemes of the powerful?"


For what it's worth, though, I can't help but think that Brin is too sanguine about opening up so much personal information from our daily lives. It is scary to think of the way things could go. Jeffrey Rosen in The Naked Crowd: Reclaiming Security and Freedom in an Anxious Age has a critique of Brin along these lines. Rosen also disputes Brin's claim that crime dropped precipitously in areas where surveillance cameras were installed.

Whatever happens, it is clear that sousveillance is something that should be pursued; we need to know more about how information about us is being used by the government, and, more importantly, by corporations. This is a position Brin advocates, and it is one in which I am agreement.

Good book a little outdated now
Reveals how transparent society is. Most of it we dont realize but is already in place.

Puts NSA Wiretapping in Context

It is helpful to return to this book, from 1998, and to a follow on book, "the digital person" published in 2004, as context for the recent bru-ha-ha over NSA wiretapping without a warrant, and the loss to theft of tens of thousands of social security number and other personal information of veterans.Oh yes, somewhere in there, the FBI was hacked and companies like First Data are making fortunes compiling actionable profiles of individuals from disparate sources that were never approved for sharing.

This book focuses on the value of transparency and considers the key issue to be the war between secrecy versus accountability.The author directly confronts the issue of "who controls" information about YOU.

The author draws a useful comparison between the Internet, which sacrificed security for robust sharing, and the intelligence community, which chose security over sharing as its primordal principal.

The author observes that the Internet is having one undesireable effect, that of fragmenting communities that become less amenable to compromise and consensus.He points out that reality and locationally based discussion can lead to more effective consensus and compromise.

There is a useful discussion of "tagging" and how citizen truth squads and public commentary can serve as a useful antidote to corporate messages.The idea of "culture jamming" is picked up and treated at length by another excellent book, "NO LOGO."

Overall this book remains a standard in providing a detailed revoew of the issues and the capabilities surrounding digitial information about individuals.It is the author's view that WHO controls information, rather than WHO is elected, will determine the future of democracy.

In passing the author makes two points that I find important:

1)A liberal education, rather than the current trends toward immediate specialization, is essential if the public is to be able to think critically.

2)Law enforcement under the current government model, does not work.The author gives the example of 100 felonies, of which only 33 are reported.Of the 33, 6 are caught, 3 are convicted, and 1 goes to prison.

The author ends with a reference to genius savant John Perry Barlow, one of America's more notable commentators, and suggests that we are entering an era of individual collective intelligence against organized government intelligence (and secrecy).

I recommend this book be read together with "the digital person" because the latter book focuses on the degree to which government and corporate mistakes--"careless unconcerned bureaucratic processes" can undermine privacy and good order. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Atatürk Dam. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 61. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Glen David Brin, Ph.D. (born October 6, 1950) is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards. Brin was born in Glendale, California in 1950. In 1973, he graduated from the California Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in astronomy. He followed this with a Master of Science in applied physics in 1978 and a Doctor of Philosophy in space science in 1981, both from the University of California, San Diego. Brin is a 2010 fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. He currently lives in southern California with his children. Brin's body of science fiction, when taken as a whole, is normally categorized as hard science fiction. Although they make up a minority of David Brin's works, his Uplift stories, set in a common "universe" or projected future history, have won a large following in the SF community, twice winning the international Science Fiction Achievement Award (Hugo Award) in the Best Novel category. This future history depicts a huge galactic civilization responsible for "uplifting" all forms of life which are potentially capable of building and operating interstellar spaceships for themselves. The stories focus almost exclusively on oxygen-breathing species but make it clear that there are other "orders of life", of which hydrogen-breathers are the most important. In the "Uplift" novels humans are economically and technologically the weakest spacefaring race, and are an anomaly since they have no "patron" species responsible for their uplift from animal pre-sapience. As a result several races are eager to force humans to become their clients; but galactic law saves humans ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=74155 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Editor's Comments
The SFF Net anthology series has been very well-received, and I think thethird volume, THE AGE OF WONDERS -- composed of stories set in the nearfuture -- has some of the best stories yet.

My opinion is biased (Iedited this volume), so I don't expect you to take my word for it.But Isuspect you'll find a couple hours' enjoyment here, and I hope you'll givethe book a try.

- j. ... Read more

Product Description
One of the most powerful novels of all time, published fifty years ago, foresaw a dark future that never came to pass.That we escaped the destiny portrayed in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, may be owed in part to the way his chilling tale affected millions, who then girded themselves to fight “Big Brother” to their last breath.

In other words, Orwell may have helped make his own scenario not come true.

In this brilliant and profound essay, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning science fiction novelist and futurist David Brin explains how the common wisdom about future catastrophes is both useful and utterly misguided.

Excerpted from THROUGH STRANGER EYES (paperback, Nimble Books, 2010).
... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good Star Trek, Fair Brin
I'm a fan of David Brin's.I've liked pretty much everything I've read of his, and I've made a concerted effort to read it all.From the early short stories to the broad and sweeping Uplift Series/Uplift Storm, I've liked the worlds he's created.The Uplift everythings, I've read several times.My favorite was his collaboration with Gregory Benford in Heart of the Comet.

I saw this with some eagerness, listed both on Brin's website and then subsequently on Amazon.com. I preordered it some time ago and just got it over the weekend. I socked it away in less than an hour.

Not a bad story.There were similarities I think with ST:First Contact in the angle of inventor/developer of commonplace future technologies. The characters were well used and as an ensemble piece (which Star Trek usually is) its pretty good.

If I had a complaint, which I don't really, it only that Mr. Brin seems somewhat hemmed in when building stories in someone else's universe. I've come to expect him to push the envelope, to develop characters that I really like (Mr. Brin, I'd very much like the phone number of Athaclena...I would not have hesitated, Tymbrini or not...).

Its all there for the average author but I was a little let down.

A suggestion if I may...Mr. Brin, now that you've ventured into the world of graphic media, please adapt your other works, the ones that you've done such a wonderful job building and populating.I would love to see Heart or any/all of the Uplift series adapted as graphic novels.

Good
A nice stand alone story that had me rivetted to finish it and to further explore the issues, hopefully, in subsequent editions. ... Read more

Product Description
The universe of the mind is a limitless expanse of wonders, filled with worlds and secrets that cannot be fully explored within the pages of a single novel. Avid readers of science fiction have long appreciated the myriad joys of returning to fictional galaxies already experienced; delighting in the ever-unfolding mysteres of Frank Herbert's Dune or Asimov's Foundation series, for example.

In Far Horizons--edited by acclaimed author Robert Silverberg-- a veritable "Who's Who" of science fiction's most beloved and highly honored writers once again revisit the remarkable worlds they created and made famous.

Ursula K. Le Guin sends representatives of the Ekumen into the violent later years of a planetary civil war. Dan Simmons once again billiantlymixes allegory and space adventure in his dangerous, religion-dominated cosmos of Hyperion. Greg Bear reexplores his artificial universe, "The Way", from Eon, Eternity and Legacy.

Orson Scott Card recounts the momentous first meeting of his time-and-planet-hopping protagonist Ender Wiggin with Ender's computer based, soon to be companion, Jane.Gregory Benford rockets us back to the Galactic Center, Anne McCaffrey's Ship Who Sang sings again, and Joe Haldeman's Forever War rages on eternally. Here, also, are new stories by David Brin, Nancy Kress, Frederik Pohl, and Robert Silverberg himself--each venturing further into univestigated corners of familiar galaxies to delve into the perilous mystery of being human.

Perhaps the greatest concentration of science fiction talent ever in one volume, Far Horizons is an unprecedented masterpiece -- one that reopens vast empires of imagination and adventure to new explorations and appreciations. It is a major SF event, sure to bring unparalleled joy to the hearts of serious fans everywhere.Amazon.com Review
Far Horizons is the science fiction equivalent ofRobert Silverberg's bestselling fantasy anthology Legends. For bothbooks, Silverberg invited some of the most renowned authors in thefield to write a new story based on their most popular series orsettings. For instance, the first story in Far Horizons isUrsula K. Le Guin's "Old Music and the Slave Women," which takes placein the same Hainish universe as her famous novels The Left Hand ofDarkness and The Dispossessed. DanSimmons wrote a piece set in the realm of Hyperion, AnneMcCaffrey turned in a Helva story from the world of The Ship Who Sang,and so on.

Like Legends, the list of writers in FarHorizons reads like a Who's Who of the genre: Le Guin, JoeHaldeman, Orson Scott Card, David Brin, Simmons, Nancy Kress, FrederikPohl, Gregory Benford, McCaffrey and Greg Bear, as well as Silverberghimself. And like Legends, the authors take a page or two tointroduce their stories so that newcomers won't be totally lost. Theaverage story in Far Horizons is, as you might expect, asignificant cut above the average SF story, although this anthology isnot quite as successful as its predecessor. Authors like Le Guin andSimmons have come up with some first-rate stuff, but Card andMcCaffrey have produced stories that are mediocre at best. Overall,though, the book has far more ups than downs, and serious readerswon't want to miss this one. Those new to the world of SF will alsofind Far Horizons an invaluable reference when they're lookingfor good authors to read. --Craig E. Engler ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Uneven
I agree with the other reviewers- very uneven.
My summary for what its worth:

Old Music and the Slave Women- 3.5 of 5.Well written but not particularly compelling.
A Separate War- 3 of 5.Mildly amusing but that's it.I didn't particularly like the book either.Writing and themes seemed dated and juvenile.
Investment Counselor- 3 of 5.Ender books were better- this one is only mildly amusing.
Temptation- 3 of 5.0.Series was in general better.Nothing special.
Getting to know the Dragon- 2.5 of 5.Nothing special.Don't know the series.
The Hyperion Cantos- 3 of 5.Series much better.
Sleeping Dogs- 4 of 5.Very well done, very well written.Have not read the series- but will now.
The Boy Who Would Live Forever- 2 of 5.Juvenile writing and not a very compelling story.Never read the series.
The Hunger for the Infinite- 4.5 of 5.Not sure why but I really liked this.I only read the first two books in the series and found them exasperating- the writing and themes alternately impressive and mediocre.The short story format eliminated the uneven writing I found in his books.
The Ship That Returned- 2 of 5.Painful. I wish the ship would stay away.
The Way of All Ghosts- 4.5 of 5.Another one that I liked.Creative and bizarre.I will have to read the series.

Bottom line, I seemed to like the gloomy stories the most.However, since the stories are varied in style and themes I believe most people will find at least a couple of stories they liked.

Not Free SF Reader
A decent collection of stories from previously written about universes.How much you ike them will be somewhat related to how you like the originals, if you have come across them before.The story average is 3.41.

Far Horizons : Old Music and the Slave Women [Ekumen] - Ursula K. Le Guin
Far Horizons : A Separate War [Forever War] - Joe Haldeman
Far Horizons : Investment Counselor [Ender Wiggin] - Orson Scott Card
Far Horizons : Temptation [Uplift] - David Brin
Far Horizons : Getting to Know the Dragon [Roma Eterna] - Robert Silverberg
Far Horizons : Orphans of the Helix [Hyperion Cantos] - Dan Simmons
Far Horizons : Sleeping Dogs [Sleepless] - Nancy Kress
Far Horizons : The Boy Who Would Live Forever [Heechee (Robinette Broadhead)] - Frederik Pohl
Far Horizons : A Hunger for the Infinite [Galactic Center] - Gregory Benford
Far Horizons : The Ship That Returned [Helva] - Anne McCaffrey
Far Horizons : The Way of All Ghosts: A Myth from Thistledown [Way] - Greg Bear


Race war communications.

3 out of 5


War waiting, bi the way.

4 out of 5


AI accountants are cool.

4 out of 5


Dolphin escape and magic time diaspora subservience scheme rejection.

3.5 out of 5


Imperial travel brutality.

3 out of 5


Hyperion kid and Shrike buddy pay a visit for some teleporting fun.

3.5 out of 5


Dog dreaming denial dangerous.

4 out of 5


Gateway ship, black hole timeslip.

3.5 out of 5


Collecting horror.

3 out of 5


Prosthetic palsy.

3 out of 5


Had enough.

3 out of 5

A bore!
The ambitious plans Silverberg works out in the introduction turn out to become a real bore. Most stories are sedatives rather than stories, above all Silverberg's own contribution. It is not so much that I miss action, but if there are contemplative passages they have to be interesting and discuss themes of interest and relevance. Good science fiction always has to mirror reality and its problems in a way, and doing so it must not just play with a given subject, but has to involve the reader and take sides. And of course, stories need real plots - and some action after all. But telling most of these stories Scherazade would have been killed right after the first night.
There are some exceptions, though. Ursula Le Guin's yarn is quite good, but we have seen better stories from her. The same is true for Frederik Pohl's story. Dan Simmons wrote an acceptable tale, but those three are not worth laboring through 577 long and slow pages.

Only a couple winners here
Robert Silverberg returns with a new anthology, similar in form to 1998'swell-received Legends. While the previous book featured eleven stories bywell-known fantasy writers, working in their famous "worlds",this volume features eleven stories by well-known science fiction writers,again working in their famous "worlds".

I have some mildmisgivings about the concept behind these books, really just a personalthing. I tend to think that we do well to encourage writers to branch outin new directions, to invent new universes. A book like this guaranteesthat the writers will be rehashing somewhat familiar territory. I also liketo see anthologies feature a mix of established talent and new writers:partly because I'm interested in seeing what new voices have to say, andpartly because I think it helps new writers to have venues in which topublish their work which will be promoted, as it were, by the presence ofbig names alongside them. But I emphasize that these are quibbles, and thatdespite all that a book like this is an attractive package, and that mostof the series involved have plenty of room for interest furtherexplorations.

That said, I was mildly disappointed by the final results.Most of the stories are pretty good, but not a one of them quite bowled meover, though the Simmons and Le Guin pieces came close. Dan Simmons' entry,"Orphans of the Helix", is set in the universe of his HyperionCantos.Some centuries following the events of that series, a"spinship" carrying frozen colonists looking for a new world tosettle detects a distress signal.A few of them are wakened, and they dealwith a desperate problem involving an ancient colony of "Ousters"(space adapted humans) and some unusual aliens.The plot is not theinteresting part of this story: Simmons is having fun with a passel of big,"Space Opera", ideas.Simmons' reputation is as a somewhat"literary" writer, and I think this obscures his impressive Sfnalimagination at times.This story considers Ringworld-sized forests, somevery odd humans indeed, some interesting political speculation, aliensliving inside a sun, a really big, really scary spaceship, and several moresense-of-wonder inducing ideas.Le Guin's story, on the other hand, ismuch quieter in tone.It's another story set on Werel, the setting of hercollection of linked novellas, Four Ways to Forgiveness."Old Musicand the Slave Women", like the previous Werel stories, treats of therevolution against the long-established slave-owning societies on Werel. The protagonist, called Old Music, is a Hainish diplomat, that is arepresentative of the interstellar organization called the Ekumen.As warrages, the Ekumen has been prevented from gaining information aboutconditions on Werel, and Old Music jumps at a chance to speak to therebels.But he is betrayed, and ends up at a compound of slaveholdingloyalists.As the war rages back and forth across this area, he learns atfirst hand a great deal about this culture.It's a fine story, and it fitsin very well with the other stories in its series, so much so that Iwouldn't be surprised to see Le Guin reissue her collection including thisstory: Five Ways to Forgiveness, anyone?

Many of the other stories areenjoyable but minor: in the nature of things they tend to be sidelights tothe existing series of which they are parts.There are two outrightstinkers, Orson Scott Card's wish-fulfillment story "InvestmentCounselor" about how Ender meets Jane (the latter character one of myleast favorite characters ever), and Anne McCaffrey's awful "The ShipThat Returned".

for SF devoted fans only
the book is a collection of stories by known SF writer, which are based onsequels series of books written by this writers. the collection is goodmostly for people who are notfamiliar or didn't have the power to readthis sequels, and would like to taste some of the writing. it also intendedto the fanatic SF readers whow will read every thing about their sequelseries.

the stories were not so apealimg to me, since i haven't read mostof this books, and the impression i got is that i didn't missed most ofthem.

anyway, it look likes a lot of effort was put in this book by theeditor SILVEBERG, and his fellow writers, but the outcome is a litledissapointing. ... Read more

Product Description
Hugo and Nebula Award-winning science fiction author and futurist David Brinskewers Tolkien as an elitist reactionary.Must reading for anyone interested in LOTR, science, the Enlightenment, tolerance, or skepticism. Excerpted from THROUGH STRANGER EYES (paperback, Nimble 2008). ... Read more

Product Description
An odyssey of discovery, from a shattered society through the solar system with a handful of men and women who ride a cold, hurtling ball of ice to the shaky promise of a distant, unknowable future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

Next step in the evolution: the cometary man
It is 2061. The Comet Halley is completing its next near pass around the sun. A handful of men and women ride this cold ball of ice to install thrusters that would allow capturing it into a short period orbit in the inner solar system to mine its resources. Meet the colonists. Carl Osborn, the spacer, who has to step into bigger boots than he wished: take the hat of chief of mission after the captain is forced to put to a cryogenic sleep slot. Virginia Herbert, the computer programmer, is determined to prove it is possible to build bio-organic stochastic AI, JonVon, in spite of Earth's negative standing. Saul Lintz is the Halley colony's biologist and geneticist, the only person who can provide ammunitions against newly discovered life, the halleyform, that erupted into existence as the comet closes to the Sun. Saul also happens to be the one who helped to create enhanced humans, the Percells.

This is story about discovery of life on the comet where different human factions raise against each other due to long political history. It's about the adaptability of the human species, about genetic engineering, symbiosis, and the next step in human evolution. On Earth and here, humans have been split into factions: the genetically enhanced Percells, regular human beings called the Orthos, environmentalists, and each of these have their über extremists. It doesn't help that everyone on this mission had to take bio-engineered cyanutes living their bloodstream to help to dissolve cyanide gas before it would be deadly. Cyanutes become permanent symbiotants for their life and are the only way to make it possible for members of the expedition to survive. Hearing about their modified bodies and halleyforms, a paranoid Earth plans on their back. The fear of contamination makes the shattered society on Earth to determine to destroy the comet and those living upon it. The people on the comet break down into clans to save themselves best they can with any measures necessary. The racism and breakage is seen by the eyes of the three leading figures: Carl, Saul and Virginia, who also form the the classic love triangle. Some people even loose their mind and eat the comet life ending up mutated. Eventually the mission crew has to accept that they can never return to earth. In the end they become next step in the evolution: the "cometary man".

Two (2) stars. Written in 1986, the year when Halley's Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System. The novel has basis on Brin's doctoral work on comets. According to speculations and theories, life-drifting material, protected from space conditions by insulating layers of ice, might have entered the Earth atmosphere. The book succeeds at combining hard science fiction (plausible comet life) with social and political issues. Albeit the enhanced humans vs. orthos is probably nothing new, the writing brings each of the main figures very accessible to reader and their characters are gradually carried forward. The touch is more on the philosophical side than the politics. The portrayed society on the comet is well done and the reactions of colonists realistically erupt the under-the-surface tensions. In roughly 500 pages the book is a tad long to digest and thus exhibits slow development of events. A typical inner solar system story from the 1980's cosmology.

Other Books
Space tribe time.


An expedition to explore a comet is not exactly filled with the most stable of individuals.This causes long term problems when they begin to use the giant ball of stuff as a space vehicle.When a virus strikes, atavistic tribal behaviour comes to the fore, and some of the more rational still among those on board struggle to keep things together.

Adventure science-fiction at it's literate best
Ah, this was such a satisfying novel.It follows three primary characters over a century as they are part of the effort to study Halley's comet.They discover a primitive life-form which attatches itself to the humans in a symbiotic relationship and eventually causes them to be an imagined threat to Earth.

The theme of genetically enhanced humans (Percells) and the rivalry between them and the normal humans is explored.Some consider this an overworked theme, but the authors here approach it from a logical perspective.

This is a good read and quite recommended for science-fiction readers.

Awesome Hard Science
I enjoyed this book immensely!The perfect balance of exploring scientific concepts and telling a riveting story.Like "Earth" (novel by David Brin), some of the scientific ideas are a little farfetched, but not just silly.They are well thought out, and explained in relatively simple terms.There are explorations of biology (the interplay of hostile and symbiotic microscopic life forms - germs), astrophysics (using sublimation to steer a comet), and even the psycology (small groups of people under stress - a la "Lord of the Flies").I think this is why it took two authors to write this book...there are just too many interesting concepts going on for just one person to have thouroughly researched.Oh, and did I mention that it has lots of action and a great story.Not nearly as dry as you might guess from the title - quite a treat.

Captivating
I'm from the Heinlein, Colin Wilson, Lovecraft wing of SF, but I really enjoyed this book. It would make a great movie. ... Read more

Product Description
Hugo and Nebula-award winning science fiction author David Brin skewers the Star wars saga as a cliche-ridden, elitist jumble. Excerpted from print version of Brin's THROUGH STRANGER EYES (Nimble Books, 2008).Active TOC. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Angela Davis, Kim Stanley Robinson, Craig Venter, David Brin, Andrew Cunanan, Antony Garrett Lisi, Jack Sarfatti, Debito Arudou, Virgil Nemoianu, Lowell Bergman, Mark Tribe, Ryland Bouchard, Timothy J. Roemer, Mike Judge, Kip Fulbeck, Martha Rosler, Justin Masterson, Billy Beane, Nathan East, Khaled Hosseini, Diana Deutsch, Eric Volz, Alurista, Suzette Haden Elgin, Raymond E. Feist, Harold J. Raveché, Greg Landau, Aaron Krach, Haukur Tómasson, Kirby Wright, Alondra Nelson, Geoffrey Frank Grant, Linda Arrigo, Bart Kosko, Serge Dedina, Alexina Louie, Venkat Rangan, Luís Alberto Urrea, George Schlukbier, Sherri Lightner, Robert Buckley, Jonathan Grudin, Carlos Fernández-Pello, Phil Town, Peter Meisen, D. Van Holliday, Chu Ching-Wu, K. Megan Mcarthur, Susumu Tonegawa, Paul Phillips, David E. Shaw, Tarleton Gillespie, Alexander Halavais, Ricardo Antonio Chavira, Xiaoliang Sunney Xie, Eleanor Mariano, Lizhen Ji, Jean Matter Mandler, Lawrence S.b. Goldstein, David R. Smith, John L. Watson, Sidney Corbett, Christopher Chang, Brian Tucker, George R. Blumenthal, Jason Snell, Rómulo Guardia, Curtis Roads, Arika Sato, Stephen M. Saideman, John Hoagland, John Brooks Slaughter, Joseph Glover, Zeng Fanyi, Steve Leveen, John C. Goss, Kenneth C. Catania, Andrew Zimmerman, Randall J. Leveque, Patricia A. Adler, Pedro Cuatrecasas, Robert Pope, Chad Butler, Michael Pousti, Greg Knauss, Charlie L. Russell, Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee, Manuelita Brown, Robert Barto, David B. Fogel, John S. Lewis, Ping-Hui Liao, Greg Papadopoulos, Patricia Santana, Cara Capuano, John Shoven, Jefferson Mays, Vincent Brown, Paul Dresher, Julie Ertel, Jeffrey Mumford, David Smith, Mark Watson, Russell Lieblich, John H. Ritter, Julio M. Fernandez, John M. Edmond, Kathleen Rubins, Chaya Czernowin, Nick Steele, Michelle Chang, Gerald Joyce, Bud Tribble, Maurizio Seracini, Peter Godfrey-Smith, Roberto Kolter, Sanjeeda Sheikh, David Samuels, Kenneth Farley, Mark Fletc...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=14252151 ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of David Brin, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 5646 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author