QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News Service, June 23) – When it comes to reading, my tastes run to science fiction and fantasy. I have been following a lot of authors but lately, I have been reading the “Uplift” series by David Brin.
In the Uplift universe, the dominant civilization is called the Five Galaxies – a conglomerate of oxygen-breathing species. At the center of the civilization is the practice of “uplift” – wherein a patron species will raise another species to sapience – that is intelligence and self-awareness. This newly-uplifted species, known as a client, is then obliged to serve the patron species for 100, 000 years. This practice stretched long into the beginning of time and was started by the mysterious Progenitors, who have left the Five Galaxies long, long ago. Civilization is dominated by powerful star-clans – patron species with long lines of client species – sometimes with clients of their own.
Then, humans entered into the scene, claiming that they achieved sapience on their own – a blasphemy to the established beliefs of the Five Galaxies. Humanity is in a precarious position, surrounded by powerful alien enemies. Humans must delicately maneuver if they want to survive the undercurrents of the Five Galaxies.
The series is divided into two sets of trilogies. The first set is composed of the Sundiver, Startide Rising and the Uplift War. The second set is composed of Brightness Reef, Infinity’s Shore and Heaven’s Reach. Both series brought awards and recognition for Brin, who is known for basing the technology in his books on real technology, whether already being used or still theoretical, in his novels.
Brin is also credited for introducing the concept of “uplift”, which is now commonly used by many other sci-fi authors.
If you love intricate political maneuverings coupled with deadly battle scenes using lots of hi-tech weapons, this is the novel series for you. Throw in a lot of strange aliens and we have a winner.
(ENS, written by Jay Paul Carlos additional research by Vince Alvin Villarin, images from amazon.com)