Sundiver

Good hard science fiction that, at it's core, is really a closed-room murder mystery. Agatha Christie in space, if you will. Along with our intrepid yet reluctant sleuth, Jacob Demwa, we have the typical cast of characters and the usual suspects, (comprised of humans, aliens, and an 'uplifted' neo-human chimpanzee). Brin throws a few very effective red herrings into the mix and, by the time the dust settles, our culprit turns out to be someone I didn't suspect. Well done, Mr. Brin!

This would have been a solid 4-star read for me if the initial 35% or so had not been spent on setup and exposition. Lots of hard science about how the sun works and about the galactic community that humanity has recently joined made it difficult for me to lose myself in the story. BUT... once that is out of the way, and the diving into the sun stuff begins, things really start to pick up as we thunder toward a bang-up of a finale. I expect all that setup will also provide a thorough background picture for continuing with the rest of the 'Uplift' books - which I intend to do right away. Next up: Startide Rising!