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The Uplift Saga
Contacting Aliens: An Illustrated Guide to David Brin's Uplift Universe
The award-winning Uplift novels comprise one of the greatest achievements in science fiction history. Dramatic, thought-provoking, and inventive, these books describe a fully realized world rich in character, detail, and ideas. Now Uplift author David Brin collaborates with acclaimed artist Kevin Lenagh to compile the definitive guide to the species, societies, and technology of one of the greatest feats of literary world-building ever accomplished.
CONTACTING ALIENS
Here in the form of a handbook for Terran field agents is a detailed look at Uplift’s many alien races--from the friendly Tymbrimi to the warlike Tandu, from the wise and enigmatic Kanten to the fiercely reptilian Soro, from the bureaucratic Hoon to the manipulative Thennanin--their physiology, psychology, history; their clans and alliances; and their shifting attitudes toward Earth and its representatives.
Here, too, is a history of Earth’s contact and challenging interactions with the mysterious and powerful Civilization of Five Galaxies, a look at its institutions, languages, and customs, plus a time line of momentous events going back 3 billion years. For the millions of fans of the Uplift novels, this long-awaited guide will be an essential reference work, filled with vital information and never-before-seen illustrations that reveal, for the first time in one volume, the keys to the ambitious vision and bold speculation of the Uplift universe.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
CONTACTING ALIENS
Here in the form of a handbook for Terran field agents is a detailed look at Uplift’s many alien races--from the friendly Tymbrimi to the warlike Tandu, from the wise and enigmatic Kanten to the fiercely reptilian Soro, from the bureaucratic Hoon to the manipulative Thennanin--their physiology, psychology, history; their clans and alliances; and their shifting attitudes toward Earth and its representatives.
Here, too, is a history of Earth’s contact and challenging interactions with the mysterious and powerful Civilization of Five Galaxies, a look at its institutions, languages, and customs, plus a time line of momentous events going back 3 billion years. For the millions of fans of the Uplift novels, this long-awaited guide will be an essential reference work, filled with vital information and never-before-seen illustrations that reveal, for the first time in one volume, the keys to the ambitious vision and bold speculation of the Uplift universe.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
191 pages, Paperback
First published June 25, 2002
15 people are currently reading
260 people want to read
About the author
David Brin
325 books3,305 followersDavid Brin is a scientist, speaker, and world-known author. His novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. At least a dozen have been translated into more than twenty languages.
Existence, his latest novel, offers an unusual scenario for first contact. His ecological thriller, Earth, foreshadowed global warming, cyberwarfare and near-future trends such as the World Wide Web. A movie, directed by Kevin Costner, was loosely based on his post-apocalyptic novel, The Postman. Startide Rising won the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel. The Uplift War also won the Hugo Award.
His non-fiction book -- The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Freedom and Privacy? -- deals with secrecy in the modern world. It won the Freedom of Speech Prize from the American Library Association.
Brin serves on advisory committees dealing with subjects as diverse as national defense and homeland security, astronomy and space exploration, SETI, nanotechnology, and philanthropy.
David appears frequently on TV, including "The Universe" and on the History Channel's "Life After People."
Full and updated at:
http://www.davidbrin.com/biography.htm
Existence, his latest novel, offers an unusual scenario for first contact. His ecological thriller, Earth, foreshadowed global warming, cyberwarfare and near-future trends such as the World Wide Web. A movie, directed by Kevin Costner, was loosely based on his post-apocalyptic novel, The Postman. Startide Rising won the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel. The Uplift War also won the Hugo Award.
His non-fiction book -- The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Freedom and Privacy? -- deals with secrecy in the modern world. It won the Freedom of Speech Prize from the American Library Association.
Brin serves on advisory committees dealing with subjects as diverse as national defense and homeland security, astronomy and space exploration, SETI, nanotechnology, and philanthropy.
David appears frequently on TV, including "The Universe" and on the History Channel's "Life After People."
Full and updated at:
http://www.davidbrin.com/biography.htm
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 31, 2017
This is a reference book for the readers of Uplift Saga novels by David Brin and a must for fans.
The Uplift Saga's universe is huge of "an intergalactic civilization called the Five Galaxies, comprising a multitude of sentient races, has existed for billions of years" ( Wikipedia page of Uplift Universe created by Mr. Brin, and it is not a shared universe.
One of the distinctive characteristic of Uplift Universe is big number of sentient species involved in the stories. Even people of Earth is not limited to human species only, but to other mammals: chimpanzee and dolphin. Following all the species, imagining each species (even only the physical traits) were taking a significant part of my brain. This Contacting Aliens book is helping much and helping in a fun way with a lot of illustrations on the book.
The Uplift Saga's universe is huge of "an intergalactic civilization called the Five Galaxies, comprising a multitude of sentient races, has existed for billions of years" ( Wikipedia page of Uplift Universe created by Mr. Brin, and it is not a shared universe.
One of the distinctive characteristic of Uplift Universe is big number of sentient species involved in the stories. Even people of Earth is not limited to human species only, but to other mammals: chimpanzee and dolphin. Following all the species, imagining each species (even only the physical traits) were taking a significant part of my brain. This Contacting Aliens book is helping much and helping in a fun way with a lot of illustrations on the book.
June 6, 2023
This is an accompanying encyclopedia for Daid Brin's Uplift series.
It offers information on the different alien species (biology, psychology, their societal structures etc.), explains which of them is a client species and of whom, shows various space craft, and much more.
Thus, we get the following chapters:
Part I: The Galaxies
1) History
2) Timeline
3) The Institutes
4) Galactic Languages
5) The Seven Known Orders of Life
Part II: A Gallery of Species and Alliances
1) Races and Alliances of the Five Galaxies
2) The Star Clan of the Soro
3) The Star Clan of the Synthians
4) The Star Clan of the Thennanin
5) The Fonnir and the Norruhk
6) The Star Clan of the Brother
7) The Star Clan of the Tymbrimi
8) The Star Clan of the Jophur
9) The Kanten and Their Star Clan
10) The Star Clan of the Tandu
11) The Star Clan of the Gubru
12) Komahd Clan
13) The Star Clan of the Hoon and Guthatsa
14) Clan of T'4LeK
15) The Xatinni
16) The G'Keh
17) Bururalli
18) Individual Starfaring Races
It is a very nice and comprehensive general reference book to either bursh up on some events (there's also a great timeline for the events in the beginning) or look up certain space ships or species in case one isn't sure anymore what they look like. In that regard, there are some quirky (but quite accurate) black-and-white illustrations accompanying the text:
Really cool addition to the series.
It offers information on the different alien species (biology, psychology, their societal structures etc.), explains which of them is a client species and of whom, shows various space craft, and much more.
Thus, we get the following chapters:
Part I: The Galaxies
1) History
2) Timeline
3) The Institutes
4) Galactic Languages
5) The Seven Known Orders of Life
Part II: A Gallery of Species and Alliances
1) Races and Alliances of the Five Galaxies
2) The Star Clan of the Soro
3) The Star Clan of the Synthians
4) The Star Clan of the Thennanin
5) The Fonnir and the Norruhk
6) The Star Clan of the Brother
7) The Star Clan of the Tymbrimi
8) The Star Clan of the Jophur
9) The Kanten and Their Star Clan
10) The Star Clan of the Tandu
11) The Star Clan of the Gubru
12) Komahd Clan
13) The Star Clan of the Hoon and Guthatsa
14) Clan of T'4LeK
15) The Xatinni
16) The G'Keh
17) Bururalli
18) Individual Starfaring Races
It is a very nice and comprehensive general reference book to either bursh up on some events (there's also a great timeline for the events in the beginning) or look up certain space ships or species in case one isn't sure anymore what they look like. In that regard, there are some quirky (but quite accurate) black-and-white illustrations accompanying the text:
Really cool addition to the series.
April 14, 2011
This book will mean very little if that unless you have already read some or all of Brin's uplift series as not only does it make reference to the races you meet in those books but also back ground information and in several cases even references back to the books. That said it is a fascinating read as it fleshes out creatures my may only have fleeting references to in the books and gives them some understanding - its easy to have a character pull some unexpected action especially if it appears to be polar opposite to what you expect - but this book tries to explain in and even justify it which i think helps to being home the "alieness" of the the creatures being discussed.
It has been along time we have seen any original work from the worlds of uplift i think its about time we had more and this book certainly encourages me to want to go back and re-read them all over again.
It has been along time we have seen any original work from the worlds of uplift i think its about time we had more and this book certainly encourages me to want to go back and re-read them all over again.
July 31, 2021
Fantastic read! It was incredible to get such detailed insight into Brin's rich and and engaging Uplift universe.
February 21, 2020
Contacting Aliens will hold little appeal to you unless you are already a fan of David Brin's Uplift series. For those who have already read the novels, this book is an indispensable volume that gives tons of interesting background for what is contained within the novels and arouses the imagination about what other stories might be told within the same universe. The art is not photorealistic and can seem a tad amateurish, but falls in line with other Uplift art and serves to effectively illustrate the species being discussed. Species which are far and away the most inventive and curious I've ever encountered in any work of science fiction. There are some inconsistencies between the novels and Contacting Aliens, but the novels don't always agree with each other, either, and such confusion really is inevitable in such an ambitious, dense series.
July 28, 2023
First read – 30 March 2008 - **. I actually read this book from front to back; but I doubt this was how it was intended.
It's a catalog of each sophant species in David Brin's Uplift Universe, with a pen illustration of each. In the Uplift books, Brin uses a five-galaxy civilization based on the concept of the patronage of each species to that which, in turn, genetically lifted it to intelligence. Humans emerge into that universe, after it has been under way for about 3 billion years, as one of the very few "wolfling" species that probably evolved naturally. I've previously read all of these books, and Brin has always made it seem reasonable. But taken all together in this encyclopedic form, it loses that realism. There are just too many weird and unlikely biologies, and homogeneous species-wide characteristics, to be believed. This book seemed mostly a companion guide to role playing in the Uplift Universe, with a cute explanation of how its purpose is to inform you, a Terragen "Agent" trainee. There is an advertisement for GURPS Uplift in the back.
Still, I did enjoy the illustrations and a little bit on the background of species. It's a good companion to the novels as well, for those of us who can't keep track of all the species and their relationships to each other. Just don't try to read it cover to cover like I did!
It's a catalog of each sophant species in David Brin's Uplift Universe, with a pen illustration of each. In the Uplift books, Brin uses a five-galaxy civilization based on the concept of the patronage of each species to that which, in turn, genetically lifted it to intelligence. Humans emerge into that universe, after it has been under way for about 3 billion years, as one of the very few "wolfling" species that probably evolved naturally. I've previously read all of these books, and Brin has always made it seem reasonable. But taken all together in this encyclopedic form, it loses that realism. There are just too many weird and unlikely biologies, and homogeneous species-wide characteristics, to be believed. This book seemed mostly a companion guide to role playing in the Uplift Universe, with a cute explanation of how its purpose is to inform you, a Terragen "Agent" trainee. There is an advertisement for GURPS Uplift in the back.
Still, I did enjoy the illustrations and a little bit on the background of species. It's a good companion to the novels as well, for those of us who can't keep track of all the species and their relationships to each other. Just don't try to read it cover to cover like I did!
January 3, 2020
Brin, David. Contacting Aliens: An Illustrated Guide to David Brin’s Uplift Universe. Bantam, 2002.
I hate to say it, but this guide might be a good place to begin reading David Brin’s Uplift Saga. It provides a history of the five galaxies and an amusing bestiary, or should a say, sapiary. The line drawings are fun but dispensable—that is, the book is perfectly accessible through voice-over or some other screen reader. Now, do I have the energy to reread the whole saga?
I hate to say it, but this guide might be a good place to begin reading David Brin’s Uplift Saga. It provides a history of the five galaxies and an amusing bestiary, or should a say, sapiary. The line drawings are fun but dispensable—that is, the book is perfectly accessible through voice-over or some other screen reader. Now, do I have the energy to reread the whole saga?
June 6, 2023
I always wanted to get around to reading this guide but I wanted to wait until I did a re-read of the Uplift saga.
This encyclopedia of species is pretty good, but I did want one thing a bit more than the others: full color pictures. Indeed, I'd love full-on illustrations and glossy pages. The information is still great, of course, but I just wanted so much more -- like an actual encyclopedia.
This encyclopedia of species is pretty good, but I did want one thing a bit more than the others: full color pictures. Indeed, I'd love full-on illustrations and glossy pages. The information is still great, of course, but I just wanted so much more -- like an actual encyclopedia.
January 25, 2015
I always loved encyclopedias :) This book cleared a lot of confusion and it surely added great visual side to reading the Uplift series. Imagining races in your head according to the author's description is all well and good but nothing beats the actual picture. After reading it, I finally know how a Thennanin looks like - not lizardmen, more like dinosaurus. Crossed with elephant and punker. But that's aliens for you.
I would have appreciated fuller description of various races, some of those lacking extended info looked truly unique and interesting.
Otherwise it was very exciting and informative and I'm glad I encountered this book.
I would have appreciated fuller description of various races, some of those lacking extended info looked truly unique and interesting.
Otherwise it was very exciting and informative and I'm glad I encountered this book.
January 29, 2014
My sister got this book out of the DPL for me. That was kind of her to do and I owe her a debt since I found this book to be very entertaining and a sound companion to my imaginative pictures of aliens drawn from his written word. Thanks Kari, good work.
February 2, 2016
A fun book for fans of Brin's Uplift series. Great illustrations of all the aliens. I started reading this as something to do while waiting for a phone call and ended up reading the whole thing... now I feel like reading Startide Rising again.
February 9, 2015
Interesting but a bit over the top. Wouldn't mind a look at the related GURPS uplift module though. 3.5 of 5.
October 22, 2013
Awful pictures, but a good companion to the Uplift saga.
August 21, 2013
Nice to reference while reading uplift saga. Has some spoilers.
April 23, 2017
A reference guide for David Brin's Uplift series. I found it useful for setting up a (GURPS) RPG campaign in the Uplift universe.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews