The Uplift War by David Brin

Hello, Stranger.

Let's talk about David Brin's The Uplift War.

The Short of It

Plot: It's all-out war pitting the Earthlings (both human and chimp) and their allies against the Gubru, a race of birdlike aliens... with no sense of humor.

Page Count: 638

Award: 1988 Hugo, 1988 Locus SF 

Worth a read: Yes
Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
Bechdel Test: Pass
Technobabble: Moderate.
Review: Everything that makes the concept of Uplift delightful is still here. This is a good follow up to Startide Rising - but not a necessary one. Quality of writing is better, but pacing fluctuates, an overwhelming cast of characters can be hard to track, and deuses jump out of machinas frequently. This does add more depth to the mechanics of Uplift, but not to the broader ideas that made Startide Rising so cool.

The Medium of It

Spoiler Free! Sorta! Spoilers for Startide Rising might be included.

I liked this book. I'm not sad that I read it. But... when compared to Startide Rising, it's hard to spin this as hugely positive. It's also both difficult (and silly) to try to avoid comparing them, so I'm not going to try.

The plot of this is centered around a full planetary conflict. Parts of this are delightful - intelligent distinctions between different areas, well-considered use of lines of communication, and who does or does not know what and when. On the other hand, this explodes the number of characters and locations for us to track. Startide Rising does an excellent job of utilizing the atmosphere of a single ship as a microcosm to explore the universe more broadly; that does not work the same way here. Consider, as a close parallel, the difference between the books of the Hunger Games trilogy. The first focuses small, but gives us a good taste of the world, while the third goes much bigger - but in exploring that larger world, lacks the nuance and charm that made the first enjoyable.

This book is also quite long. A whole lot of stuff just happens - as it must, to fill this number of pages. But is every skirmish necessary? Every flashback? Each perspective switch? This is exacerbated by Brin's need to flesh out his world. There are rules of the world that come up - and are usually important - but that should probably have been in an earlier book.

Neo-chimps are neat enough. They're chimps! But upgraded! Which is not nearly as interesting as doing the same with dolphins in the previous book. Put another way: what makes the neo-dolphins so fascinating is how alien they are. We know now that dolphins are intelligent, but that's a massive stretch away from "let's give them opposable thumbs so they can operate tools and put them in mech-suits." Chimps, as already hominids, don't come off as nearly as striking when Uplifted. 

The same issues of scale apply to characters. There are a ton of them. And minus all the points for names: Fiben Bolger, Major Prathachulthorn, Uthacalthing... it's a lot. There are also more antagonists who need attention, and have their own perspective chapters. I was actually a fan of these - they're just so bizarre and alien - but it adds to bloat.

I am aware that this sounds quite negative, which is why it's important to reiterate that I did still enjoy it. Some characters are great - I was delighted to encounter Uthacalthing, and his schemes are one of my favorite ways of building tension in the story. There are some good character arcs - Robert, arguably the "main" character - has a fuller arc than many. Antagonists were interesting and surprisingly complex - both the Gubru and Irongrip.

One other point of note: while it's tied to Startide Rising, it does not feel like a required conclusion to the story. Which is to say, I was content with the closing of Startide Rising. This adds, but not necessarily needed.

On the whole, I'd say it's worth a read. Despite the book overstaying its welcome, I was happy to have read it, there are surprising twists, fun characters, and the world stays clever and thought provoking. 

If you'd like to give it a spin, consider using the link below! I'll get a few cents at no extra cost to you.

You wanted a link? It's here! Apparently it's not yet, actually, I'm having some issues making affiliate links. But maybe it will be in the future!

The Long of It

Spoilers Ahead!

As noted above, Brin's strengths lie in using microcosms to illustrate his world. There are a number of smaller arcs that allow this.

To determine their leader, the Gubru form a trio. Each member aims to come out on top using any means necessary: wits, strength, trickery - whatever works. These scenes were excellent, showcasing how different not just alien physiology can be, but also how unnatural their thoughts can be, how they sort priorities, and so on. We don't explore everything about their society, but the conspiracies, backstabbing, and back and forth between these three (and their lackeys) shows us so much about Gubru society. And it's understanding that elevates how bizarre it is.

Similarly, the best character moments happen when different actors are isolated. Robert (a human) and Athaclena (an alien [Tymbrimi]) wandering together does wonders for showing how humans view aliens and how aliens see humans. Among other things, Tymbrimi create symbols to indicate complex emotions, as well as influence the emotions of others - but this leads to some fundamental misunderstandings, as it's a different way of interacting.

I've stated a number of times that this does not do too much to expand the conceptual side of the uplift process. There is one particularly noteworthy exception: the inclusion of Irongrip and other borderline uplifted neo-chimps. In short, we get a peek at how priorities are made in determining who does and does not deserve to be uplifted, what characteristics are prioritized, and the distinct bitterness that rejection foments. 

On the whole, the weakest sections of this are the action. Everything that makes Brin's writing and story interesting goes and hibernates during these plodding, generic depictions of violence. Conceptually, I understand where he's coming from with his climax: that there is something to be said for the physical power that Uplift works to erase, but that it must be tempered with reason. That does not really excuse the climax of the book being a fight between two chimps that lasts a bit over 3300 words.

Don't fight chimps if you can avoid it, Stranger.

And don't forget to read a book!