David Brin - Existence - Little, Brown Book Group
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    • ISBN:9781405515061
    • Publication date:21 Jun 2012

Existence

By David Brin

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A groundbreaking, mind-blowingly ambitious new science fiction novel from the multiple award-winning classic author David Brin

OUR CONTINUED EXISTENCE WAS NEVER A GIVEN.

Year after year, humanity has survived the main pitfalls awaiting us - natural disasters, nuclear war, rising seas. But when an alien artefact is found floating in Earth's orbit, it pushes our troubled world to the brink of chaos.

Is this a message in a bottle bringing peace and enlightenment from the stars? Or a warning, threatening to destroy what little stability mankind has achieved? The world is divided - holding its breath. Soon we will know the secret of existence.

Brilliant and gripping, David Brin's novel of the near future is the work of a modern master of science fiction.

  • Other details

  • ISBN: 9780356501734
  • Publication date: 01 Nov 2012
  • Page count: 688
Biographical Notes

David Brin is the acclaimed Hugo and Nebula award-winning author of over fifteen novels, including the classic Uplift series, THE POSTMAN (translated into 25 languages around the world) and the critically acclaimed EXISTENCE. He has a doctorate in astrophysics, and has been a consultant to NASA and a graduate-level physics professor. He lives in California.

A masterpiece of rock-hard SF — SUN
Cleverly argued and uncomfortably plausible — SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
Brin tackles a plethora of cutting-edge concepts... with the skill of a visionary futurologist ... [conveying] the depth and breadth of his startling future. Existence is Brin's first novel in 10 years, and it's been well worth the wait — GUARDIAN
Existence is bursting with ideas, including near-future tech, first contact with aliens, and the exploration of what it means to be human — io9.com
EXISTENCE may be Brin's masterwork — LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS
An impressive introduction to one of SF's major talents — Publishers Weekly
The seriously clever Brin has spent a lot of time thinking about big questions - and has devised a highly original yet plausible version of alien contact — BBC Sky at Night
In Existence, David Brin takes on one of the fundamental themes in science fiction - and what is also one of the fundamental questions humanity faces in this century. Since Brin is both a great storyteller and one of the most imaginative writers around, Existence is not to be missed — Vernor Vinge
Take a world soaked in near-future strangeness and complexity . . . Add a beautiful alien artifact that turns out to be the spearpoint of a very dangerous, very ancient invasion . . . Hotwire with wisdom and wonder . . . Existence is as urgent and as relevant as anything by Stross or Doctorow, but with the cosmic vision of Bear or Benford. Brin is back — Stephen Baxter
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Exiles

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WINNER OF THE HUGO, LOCUS AND NEBULA AWARDSUnder the caverns of Mercury, the Sundiver Mission prepares for a momentous voyage: a journey into the blazing inferno of the sun, to seek our destiny in the cosmic order of life.For in a universe where no species can reach sentience without being 'uplifted' by a patron race, only humanity - it seems - may have climbed to the stars unaided. This is a feat that puzzles and even angers some of the ancient, mighty Galactic Clans.Now, in a saga that warps from Earth to the far-reaches of five galaxies, the greatest mystery of all may be explained . . .This omnibus contains the first three novels in David Brin's classic and award-winning science fiction series, the Uplift Saga: SUNDIVER, STARTIDE RISING and THE UPLIFT WAR.

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Circling the Sun, under the caverns of Mercury, Expedition Sundiver prepares for the most momentous voyage in our history. A journey into the boiling inferno of the sun, to seek our destiny in the cosmic order of life.For in a universe in which no species can reach sentience without being 'uplifted' by a patron race, it seems that only mankind has reached for the stars unaided. And now, the greatest mystery of all may be explained...Sundiver is the firs book in David Brin's magnificent Uplift series.

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Long ago, the Founding Mothers left old Earth and the Phylum Worlds, seeking a hidden place to reforge human destiny. Through genetic wizardry, they have altered human sexual patterns. For most of the year, any child born on the planet Stratos is a clone of her mother, identical to all the sisters in her veritable clan. Only in summer are 'vars' conceived - old-fashioned, gene-mixed girls, and even sometimes boys - each one garishly, ignobly unique. Maia, one lonely young var, grows up knowing she must summon all her skill to win a place in this world run by and for high-caste clanswomen, a world far gentler than those of the old Phylum . . . except for those rare seasons of change, when the planet seems to call its people forth to glory. Rich in texture, universal in theme, monumental in scope, GLORY SEASON is a saga of remarkable passion and drama, set in a faraway place and time but shining light upon issues vexing our own confused era.

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Foundation's Triumph

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As for me, I am finished.' With these words, a frail, dying Hari Seldon completes his life's work. The old man has just recorded messages for the Time Vault of the First Foundation. Psychohistory's Seldon Plan is unleashed, propelled by the ponderous momentum of destiny. Younger hands will now take up the task. For the first time in his life, Seldon is no longer watched, nurtured and guided by robots and he retires to a corner of the Imperial Park to garden. The Seldon plan has three possible outcomes. None of them fills him with joy but he is consoled by the thought that any of the three is better than the chaos that would have happened without him. But the future still holds some surprises for Hari Seldon...

David Brin

David Brin is the acclaimed Hugo and Nebula award-winning author of ten novels and two collections of short stories. He has a doctorate in astrophysics, and has been a consultant to NASA and a graduate-level physics professor. He lives in California.

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