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The Uplift Saga #"Life in the Extreme"\"Aficionad
Tomorrow Happens
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.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2003
3 people are currently reading
323 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 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 22, 2021
Long time Brin fan here. I figured I'd go through everything he's ever written (at least in book format) and enjoy them all as I had enjoyed them in the past. Sometimes, that's what it's all about. Returning to those things that made you happy.
That being said, this short collection (with essays), while being pretty solid in the SF and giving us a wonderful little teaser to how the Uplift Saga began, isn't the best work he's ever done.
It's still fascinating and it gives me all the hard science, wild imagination, and deep drill-downs into consequences of the choices that might be made, including post-singularity stuff, robots, uplifting other species to be on our level, a funny huge-space cautionary tale for those who just wanted to go faster.
On the essay front, there's his normal tack on privacy vs openness, and an essay about Issac Asimov, and how he, as one of the three B's, finished the newer Foundation trilogy. And there happens to be a delightful essay about JRRT and a light-hearted plug for Bored of the Rings which made me want to go get it.
All told, it's worth reading but it still isn't anywhere near his best work. That being said, MOST of his work is fantastic, so we have to put this on the same scale for it to mean anything. I still think the shorts are better than most modern storytellers. So there's that.
That being said, this short collection (with essays), while being pretty solid in the SF and giving us a wonderful little teaser to how the Uplift Saga began, isn't the best work he's ever done.
It's still fascinating and it gives me all the hard science, wild imagination, and deep drill-downs into consequences of the choices that might be made, including post-singularity stuff, robots, uplifting other species to be on our level, a funny huge-space cautionary tale for those who just wanted to go faster.
On the essay front, there's his normal tack on privacy vs openness, and an essay about Issac Asimov, and how he, as one of the three B's, finished the newer Foundation trilogy. And there happens to be a delightful essay about JRRT and a light-hearted plug for Bored of the Rings which made me want to go get it.
All told, it's worth reading but it still isn't anywhere near his best work. That being said, MOST of his work is fantastic, so we have to put this on the same scale for it to mean anything. I still think the shorts are better than most modern storytellers. So there's that.
July 14, 2019
Разочарование е меко казано. Явно кратката форма не е стихията на Брин.
В този сборник се редуват разкази и есета; тук ще дам оценки само на разказите. Есетата като цяло не ме впечатлиха, макар че имаше едно-две, които прочетох с интерес.
Aficionado - Приятен разказ, но нищо кой знае какво. Забележителен най-вече с това, че залага основата за цикъла за Ъплифта. - 3,5
Stones of Significance - Досадни размишления за правата на изкуствения интелект. Скучен и протяжен, не можах да го дочета, макар че се опитах. - 1
Reality Check - Хаотичен и безинтересен, с някаква мъглява философска идея, за която изобщо не ми пукаше. - 1
Paris Conquers All - Любопитен най-вече от писателска гледна точка експеримент в съавторство с Грегъри Бенфорд. Как би описал Жул Верн марсианското нашествие от "Война на световете"? За жалост изпълнението куца - не останах никак убеден, че това би могло да е написано от Верн. - 2,5
Fortitude - Още един нелош разказ, в който се забелязват наченките на идеи, развити в романите за Ъплифта. Само тоалетният хумор ми дойде в повече. - 3,5
The Diplomacy Guild - Разказ, написан специално за едноименната антология в света на Азимов. Но по всичко личи, че Брин може да пише само като Брин. Както и да е, тук той е вкарал сума ти интересни идеи, но нито една не е развита както трябва, може би заради ограничението в обема. Прилича по-скоро на начало на роман. - 3
News from 2025: A Glitch in Medicine Cabinet 3.5 - Нескопосан опит за хумор, не ми понесе. - 1
A Professor at Harvard - Разказът представя фиктивната история на някой си Хенри Стивънс, който уж измъкнал Торичели и Галилей от Европа и ги завел да преподават в Харвард. Аман от избиване на американски комплекси! - 1
An Ever-Reddening Glow - Не може да бъде! Добър разказ? Най-после! Не знам дали заради предишните бълвочи, но това малко, симпатично разказче много ми хареса. Има си всичко - идея, наука, хумор, послание. - 4,5
The Other Side of the Hill - Доста посредствен разказ на екологична тема. Една от първите публикации на Брин и му личи. - 2
В заключение - не си губете времето с тази книга.
В този сборник се редуват разкази и есета; тук ще дам оценки само на разказите. Есетата като цяло не ме впечатлиха, макар че имаше едно-две, които прочетох с интерес.
Aficionado - Приятен разказ, но нищо кой знае какво. Забележителен най-вече с това, че залага основата за цикъла за Ъплифта. - 3,5
Stones of Significance - Досадни размишления за правата на изкуствения интелект. Скучен и протяжен, не можах да го дочета, макар че се опитах. - 1
Reality Check - Хаотичен и безинтересен, с някаква мъглява философска идея, за която изобщо не ми пукаше. - 1
Paris Conquers All - Любопитен най-вече от писателска гледна точка експеримент в съавторство с Грегъри Бенфорд. Как би описал Жул Верн марсианското нашествие от "Война на световете"? За жалост изпълнението куца - не останах никак убеден, че това би могло да е написано от Верн. - 2,5
Fortitude - Още един нелош разказ, в който се забелязват наченките на идеи, развити в романите за Ъплифта. Само тоалетният хумор ми дойде в повече. - 3,5
The Diplomacy Guild - Разказ, написан специално за едноименната антология в света на Азимов. Но по всичко личи, че Брин може да пише само като Брин. Както и да е, тук той е вкарал сума ти интересни идеи, но нито една не е развита както трябва, може би заради ограничението в обема. Прилича по-скоро на начало на роман. - 3
News from 2025: A Glitch in Medicine Cabinet 3.5 - Нескопосан опит за хумор, не ми понесе. - 1
A Professor at Harvard - Разказът представя фиктивната история на някой си Хенри Стивънс, който уж измъкнал Торичели и Галилей от Европа и ги завел да преподават в Харвард. Аман от избиване на американски комплекси! - 1
An Ever-Reddening Glow - Не може да бъде! Добър разказ? Най-после! Не знам дали заради предишните бълвочи, но това малко, симпатично разказче много ми хареса. Има си всичко - идея, наука, хумор, послание. - 4,5
The Other Side of the Hill - Доста посредствен разказ на екологична тема. Една от първите публикации на Брин и му личи. - 2
В заключение - не си губете времето с тази книга.
June 19, 2018
The three star rating really has less to do with the quality of work present in this anthology than it does with personal satisfaction.
I love Brin's Uplift work, and as a completionist wanted to read the piece in here that it turns out essentially functions as the 'origin' so to speak of the events on earth in that universe. I'm not sure this was a point in the human history of that universe that needed to be explicitly shown, but it was still a fun short story.
However, while a very talented author, I've never been as big a fan of Brin's short-fiction work as I have been of his novels. So, while generally event/action focused like any good short story, a lot of the rest of the stories here left me feeling a bit flat.
Also, the structure of the book as a whole isn't really what I was looking for. It alternated between short stories and an essay covering similar themes. While Brin is a *brilliant* essayist and futurist, if I would rather have seen a volume comprised solely of his essays and a separate volume solely of his fictional work. Or even better, just read his extensive blog posts here on goodreads for social and technological commentary from so informed a source.
Don't get me wrong, there's plenty to like here, just not exactly what *I* wanted out of the volume. Probably something for extreme completionists that just want to read everything he has in print.
I love Brin's Uplift work, and as a completionist wanted to read the piece in here that it turns out essentially functions as the 'origin' so to speak of the events on earth in that universe. I'm not sure this was a point in the human history of that universe that needed to be explicitly shown, but it was still a fun short story.
However, while a very talented author, I've never been as big a fan of Brin's short-fiction work as I have been of his novels. So, while generally event/action focused like any good short story, a lot of the rest of the stories here left me feeling a bit flat.
Also, the structure of the book as a whole isn't really what I was looking for. It alternated between short stories and an essay covering similar themes. While Brin is a *brilliant* essayist and futurist, if I would rather have seen a volume comprised solely of his essays and a separate volume solely of his fictional work. Or even better, just read his extensive blog posts here on goodreads for social and technological commentary from so informed a source.
Don't get me wrong, there's plenty to like here, just not exactly what *I* wanted out of the volume. Probably something for extreme completionists that just want to read everything he has in print.
April 3, 2021
Fun mix of short tales and related science/non-fiction essays!
April 18, 2011
This is really a celebration of Brin's varied work along with his own comments as put together by NASFA - it does not really add much to the canon of his work but give an interesting insight in to how he forms his work and his general views on things - after all he was asked to contribute to the final foundation trilogy after Asimov's death and has won numerous awards and accolades.
December 24, 2013
a nice interleave of fiction and essays.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews