Brightness Reef
Cover of first edition (hardcover)
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| Author | David Brin |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Uplift Universe |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
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Publication date
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October 1995 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 518 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 32429193 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3552.R4825 B75 1995 |
| Preceded by | The Uplift War |
| Followed by | Infinity's Shore |
Brightness Reef is a 1995 science fiction novel by David Brin and the fourth book of six set in his Uplift Universe (preceded by The Uplift War and followed by Infinity's Shore). It was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1996.
Starting around the year 930 C.E., and continuing until the 23rd century, Beings of eight patron-class races illegally settle on the planet Jijo. They are called sooners, a term from US history. In the Uplift stories, the term describes those who illegally settle on a world that has been ordered to remain fallow so that the natural ecosystem will recover and native intelligences may have a chance to develop. A world is fallow when it has no lifeforms that are intelligent or originated on another world. The eight races are: g'Keks, Traeki (similar to Jophur), Glavers, Qheuen, Hoon, Tytlal (AKA noor beast), Urs, and Human. By the beginning of the novel, the Glavers have partially regressed to pre-sentient animals and the Tytlal have successfully disguised themselves as wildlife.
The novel begins with the discovery of a badly injured stranger. The stranger is nursed by Sara, daughter of Nelo the Papermaker. The stranger cannot speak and does not seem to recall his origin. While Sara oversees his recovery, the story shifts to her two brothers, Lark and Dwer. Lark is a widely known biologist and a heretic: he preaches a belief that only by becoming extinct can the members of the Six races be redeemed for their ancestors' sin of settling on Jijo. He believes this is best accomplished by forbidding breeding of the races. Dwer is a master hunter who serves the Council of the Six Races by keeping members of all sooner races from going beyond the Slope in an effort to limit the impact they have on the environment of the planet. The other two main characters are the young Hoon adult and keen writer Hph-Wayuo, called by his chosen nickname Alvin, and the traeki High-Sage Asx.
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