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Existence (2012)

by David Brin(Favorite Author)

3.69 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0765303612 (ISBN13: 9780765303615)

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

publisher

Tor Books

review 1: This was my first foray into David Brin's writing; at first I was a bit put off by Brin's literary writing style...vocabulary, syntax, descriptions, and so forth. But as the novel moves forward, it became a page turner as the breadth and scope of his ideas coalesce, building a suspenseful read I eventually couldn't put down. It's a novel of ideas and imagination, rather than a novel of character development, a pretty intriguing vision of possible futures, and one which was carefully thought out based on our modern technological direction. So as a book of ideas and imagination, 6 stars...as a work of literature and characters, maybe 3 stars. there are several plot threads, and though they do often tie together, characters simply disappear, having accomplished their plot... more purpose. Brin has thought out the future well in this novel, not only examining potential technological advances, but how they relate to society and affect man's sociological and cultural development (and ultimately, biological development). As such, I think this book is a great read for hard core thoughtful sci-fi readers.
review 2: Some reviews I read gave me a wrong impression of this book: I thought it was a dour representation of a future earth at the brink of extinction, shaken up by the discovery of an alien artifact, but ultimately more about the way this further disturbs the fragile balance (social and ecological) of our planet, than about ideas and exploration. And as I am enough of a pessimist about our society's future already, I thus was not that eager to start reading it. I can imagine apocalyptic scenario's by reading the headlines of the newspaper, I don't need SF to tell me we are ruining our ecosystem, climate, and society. But well, I had it in my bookcase, so I finally decided to give the book a go. And lo and behold: my expectations turned out to be wrong. This is not a dour book about ecological and societal collapse, it's far more hopeful than that. Yes, there's a lot of discussion about all the ways we as a species are able to destroy ourselves. That even is part of the main plot (as it is a fate no society in all of the universe seems to be able to avoid). But the world in 30 years of time, is still going on, despite a couple of disasters, using technology and ingenuity to walk the tightrope between all the tensions that are threatening our existence. Yes, the ocean floor is depressingly shown to be full of human debris, but on the other hand there are dolphins about to be uplifted to human intelligence. Lots of great idea's and great inventions in the grand tradition of SF here, and ultimately the story leaves earth behind and enters a greater canvas of possibility. Fun to read! But more because of the ideas on every page than for the characters. Especially in the first quarter of the book there were so many story lines that I had trouble keeping the characters apart. Also the connections between these stories are sometimes kept unclear, with the resolution of some strands only hinted at in further sections. That is not to say that the conclusion is not satisfying. It is, opening up a lot of possibilities, but I think I would have liked more of a sense of closure for some lines. There's a strand of story (the cloning of a neanderthal child) that I thought would turn out to be more important than just adding to a theme of human diversity. A good theme, by the way. I liked this book enought to try and seek out more of David Brins work, as this was the first book I read by him. less

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