mankycat

 

 

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I finished David Brin's Sundiver (The Uplift Saga: Book One) last night.  After our move, I just wanted some fluff to read, taking a short break from Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.

I really like Brin's writing style and his vision of "the future".  My husband has more of the Uplift Saga and a few other books by this author, which I hope to read in time.

Unlike Heinlein, Brin writes pleasantly quirky characters, though realistically so.  His female characters are varied, but stay true to who they are presented.  If they are independent and strong before being involved with a man, they still are during and after.  That's not to say that they don't have layers, both strength and fragility.

The descriptions were very well done, especially given some of the imagery he was trying (successfully) to bestow to his readers.

The story basically takes place in the future (as most Sci-Fi stories do), after contact was made between humans and the Galactics (other races in the galaxy).  Humans are one of the few "wolfling" races that were possibly not "uplifted" but actually evolved to sophont status.  This, of course, causes some controversy both among the Galactics, as well as the humans on Earth; the two factions of belief among the humans bein divided into Shirts and Skins.  The Shirts believe that Man was uplifted, though possibly abandoned by their Patrons early in development.  The Skins believe that Man evolved and that their accomplishments are purely their own.  Jacob Demwa is the main character and hesitantly joins the Sundiver project, which is based on Mercury.  The story blooms from there.  I'd even say that the book didn't really pull me in until Jacob sees Mercury as they approach.

The ending was a bit... wordy for me.  A little anti-climatic, though completely understandable.  Unlike some other books (like Lucky where the overly wordy and explanative ending nearly killed the book for me), I don't feel this slightly heavy handed ending was too much of a detriment.

Would I recommend this book?  Yes, especially to people with even a mild interest in Sci-fi novels.
Is it a favorite?  That's hard to say... but I'm thinking I might add it to my favorite list.  I don't love the book, but I enjoyed it quite a bit more than just "like".
Would I read it again?  Yes.

A week or two ago, I finished reading Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell.  It was written in the 1800's about a very contraversial topic back then.  The story is about a young seamstress, recently orphaned and fairly naive, just a month or two shy of 16 years old, who becomes involved with a wealthy man.  He manipulates situations in order to appease his desire for her, taking advantage of her innocence.  He leaves her, rather coldly, and she learns she is pregnant.  This is covered in the first chapter or two and is the set up for the rest of the novel.  The story goes on about how a minister and his sister takes her into their household, under the guise that she's the widow of a relative.  ** I will refrain from writing anything more about the story line, as it would contain spoilers. **

The interesting part of this story was how Ruth was portrayed and the tribulations she faced both while keeping up this pretense and after.  It reflected her penitence for her youthful actions, even though she was too young at the time to really understand that it was considered a horrible sin in the eyes of the church and society.  It also reflects how this situation also affects her child, the changes he goes through when he learns he was conceived out of wedlock.

It is an excellent book, and I'm tempted to hold onto it for my daughter, as I feel Ruth is a great example of inner grace and strength while remaining gentle and humble.  It's a bit of a slow read at times, but it had me caught fairly quickly regardless.  I cried through the last chapter and a half.  Seriously, the tears would stop rolling as I read it and I couldn't put the book down until I read the last sentence.

Would I recommend it?  To some, yes.  Would I call it a favorite?  Not really, though, as I said before, I am considering keeping it in my home library and possibly rereading it later on.  Heck, this book made me want to take example of Ruth, even down to the religious views... (I'm borderline atheist.)