The Uplift Storm trilogy, also called The Uplift Trilogy is a series of novels set in David Brin's Uplift Universe. The entire trilogy is one long tale, with no gaps in the timeline between volumes.
The three novels are: Brightness Reef (1995) Infinity's Shore (1996) Heaven's Reach (1998) Additionally there is short novella, Temptation set around the same time as the events of Heaven's Reach
Setting Jijo The setting of the majority of the first two novels and the novella Temptation is the planet Jijo. Jijo was declared fallow for one million years by the Migration Institute, in order to give it a chance to recover from successive colonies, but has been illegally populated by fugitives from several races seeking refuge there. By mutual agreement, they all live on one geologically active area of the planet called "The Slope", ensuring that in time all trace of their settlements will be recycled back into the planet by subduction. If this law is broken and the so-called "Sooners" refuse to return to the Slope, the penalty is death.
The Commons is a loose quasi-government on the Slope of Jijo. It is composed of members of six races: G'Kek's, Humans, Hoons, Traeki, Qheuen, and Urs. The Commons was formed as a unity government to stop wars that had plagued the Slope for decades. Each race has a "High Sage" that represents them on a council, and lesser sages perform various other tasks on behalf of the Commons. Other races present include Glavers, the only race on Jijo to actually progress down the devolutionary "Path of Redemption", partially uplifted chimpanzees, known as "Chims", and Noor Beasts, a blend of non-uplifted root stock of the Tytlal race, and actual Tytlals passing as beasts.
The Fractal World The Fractal World is an enormous, hollow artificial structure built around a dying dwarf star, the inside of which is used as a refuge by races in the Retired Order, or "Old Ones", that have supposedly retired from active participation in the affairs of the Five Galaxies.
Kazzkark Kazzkark is a small planetoid, hollowed out to serve as a base for several of the Great Institutes, and a way station for travelers passing through nearby transfer points. For a time it is extremely crowded with refugees and religious fervor as the Time of Changes begins, but space tremors cause it to be abandoned shortly before it is destroyed.
E-Level Hyperspace E-space is an off-limits level of hyperspace for most orders of life, a strange realm where thoughts can become real and mere concepts can cause real harm. Its only natural inhabitants are "memetic" organisms. They are unable to exist outside of E-space without a host organism. Members of a mysterious order of life known as the Quantum Order are known to pass through E Level sometimes.
Main characters The SlopeAlvin. A young Hoon, his given name is Hph-wayou. Member of a group of young friends whose adventures are documented in Alvin's journal.Asx Traeki High Sage. He is later converted into a Jophur called Ewasx, and eventually transforms himself into a new being simply called X.Blade. A blue Qheuen, part of Sara Koolhan's traveling party.Lester Cambel. Human High Sage.Emerson D'Antie. Also known as "The Stranger". A human found in a swamp with amnesia and a horrifying head wound that removed his speech center. Eventually revealed to be a former engineer aboard Streaker.Huck Outspoken G'Kek member of Alvin's group.Huphu Alvin's Noor beast, mascot of their group.Jass Brutal leader of the Sooner band Rety escaped from.Jop Human fanatic who believes they should destroy all signs of civilization the moment the aliens arrive.Koolhan family Siblings, Sara, Dwer, and Lark, and their father Nelo. Sara cares for The Stranger when he is first discovered and leads a group from Dolo Village sent out in response to the alien landing. Dwer is the chief tracker for the Commons, Lark is a naturalist and later appointed a junior Sage despite his heretical beliefs. Their father owns the paper mill in Dolo Village.Mudfoot Noor beast that follows Dwer around, to his annoyance. Eventually revealed to be a fully sentient Tytlal.Pincer-Tip Qheuen member of Alvin's group who is always claiming to have seen sea monsters.Prity Chim companion to Sara Koolhan, she makes intricate mathematics-based drawings.Rety Escaped Sooner girl who has a grudging friendship with Dwer and an Urrish "husband".Uriel Urrish metal smith and intellectual, she has constructed an immense analog computer at her forge at Mount GuennUr-ronn Uriel's niece and part of Alvin's group.yee. Urrish male, "husband" to Rety.
Rothen and Daniks The Rothen are an itinerant race with no home world. They are known to many as criminals. They claim to be the lost patron race of humanity, and the Daniks are a cult of humans and other EarthClan species that believe they are humanity's only hope in a hostile universe.Kunn Human pilot.Ling Human biologist, when the Rothen's deceit and vitriol are revealed, she defects and becomes Lark Koolhan's companion and lover.Rann Leader of the humans in the Danik expedition.Besh Human pilot and biologist, killed on Jijo. She was likely an agent of the Terragens Council who infiltrated the Daniks.Ro-kenn Apparent leader of the Rothen expedition to Jijo, captured by The Commons and turned over to Streaker, only to escape, murdering Pincer-Tip in the process.Ro-pol Rothen female, apparent mate to Ro-Kenn, killed on Jijo, her symbiotic "mask" leaves her face, revealing the true appearance of the Rothen.
Streakers Most of these characters were introduced in Startide Rising and do not re-appear until Infinity's Shore.Gillian Baskin Physician and de facto captain of Streaker after the losses of most neodolphin command staff.Chissis: neodolphin researcher and pilot, part of the party left on Jijo due to suffering from partial stress atavismBrookida Dolphin metallurgist, somewhat older and wiser than many of the other neodolphins aboard."Lucky" Kaa Highly skilled neodolphin pilot, becomes involved with Peepoe.Makanee Female Neodolphin, ship surgeon.Mopol Crewman suffering from "stress atavism" who, along with Zhaki, abducts Peepoe as a sex slave.Niss A sarcastic artificial intelligence, lent to Streaker by EarthClan allies the Tymbrimi and programmed to be pleased by being surprised. It both frustrates and aids Gillian Baskin as one of her primary advisors.Hannes Suessi Human chief engineer, modified into a cyborg by the Old Ones.Tkett neodolphin archeologist, part of the party left on Jijo, searches for PeepoeT'sh't Dolphin command officer, she technically shares command with Gillian Baskin. It becomes clear that she is a secret member of the Danik cult, and betrayed Streaker to the Rothen in the belief that they would help. Her actions are the proximate cause of the Rothen and later the Jophur arriving on Jijo. She is killed when once again betraying the crew, this time to the Old Ones.Zhaki Mopol's partner in crime.
KazzkarkHarry Harms First neochimp ever selected as a scout in E-Space for the Navigation Institute. While his duties require him to remain neutral, he still feels loyalty to fellow members of EarthClan species.Kiwei Ha'aoulin A Synthian trader who gets caught up with Dwer and Harry and returns to Jijo with them.
Plot Brightness Reef
Brightness Reef introduces the reader to the planet Jijo, a world that had been declared fallow, but one area, known as The Slope, is illegally inhabited by eight different galactic races, most supposedly seeking the "Path of Redemption", the goal of which is to devolve into a non-sapient life form, to be re-uplifted by a new patron race in the future. The peaceful, primitive society of Jijo is severely disrupted by the arrival of offworlders, first a mysterious mute human, followed by a starship belonging to the Rothen, a race of galactic criminals, and their human devotees, the Daniks. The Commons of Jijo establishes an uneasy, distrustful relationship with the Daniks for a short time, but events accelerate rapidly and it becomes clear that the Rothen are amoral, attempting to cause friction between the races of the Commons, and possibly genocidal. Jijoan religious fanatics also cause friction and in some cases commit acts of destruction and violence, further complicating matters.
At the same time, elsewhere on Jijo, a young member of Hoon race named Alvin and his friends from several races receive unexpected help in their quest to make a bathysphere for underwater exploring. They are assisted by Uriel, a sage of the urrish race, who asks their help in locating a hidden underwater cache of galactic technology. The bathysphere fails while deep underwater, and the young crew is rescued by mysterious metal-clad beings. On the other end of "the Slope" a small group of humans attempts to quietly form a new settlement that may escape the murderous intent of the Rothen, but they find their Danik servants already there. A fight ensues and the group is scattered.
Back at the glade of gathering where the Commons of Jijo was in conflict with the Daniks, their differences suddenly become moot when a much larger starship lands directly atop the Rothen craft, imprisoning it in a quantum time-shifted substance. The huge battleship is revealed to be operated by the terrifying Jophur, the supremely egotistical and violent form of the peaceful and kind Traeki that live on Jijo.
Infinity's Shore Alvin's group find themselves on a mysterious ship hidden deep in Jijo's seas. They are treated kindly but remain ignorant of who captured/rescued them from the depths. The reader, however, becomes aware they are aboard Streaker, the dolphin-crewed EarthClan ship not seen since the events of Startide Rising, some two years earlier in the series internal timeline. The crew is astonished to find all the different races living on Jijo, and the human commander, Gillian Baskin, is unsure what to do with the youngsters. She sends a dolphin raiding party to the mainland where both a Jophur and Danik support craft have crashed after fighting one another, and they return with Rety, a human child from a band of even more primitive humans leading a wretched existence outside the society of the Slope, and Dwer, chief scout of the Commons, who has a strained but genuine friendship with the young girl. They are accompanied by Mudfoot, known to Dwer as annoying "noor beast" but recognized by the Streaker crew as a Tytlal, a client race of the Tymbrimi, Earthclan's closest and most loyal allies, notorious for elaborate pranks.
Back on the Slope, the Jophur commit terrible acts of war, they are especially enraged to find the G'Kek race on Jijo, as they had engaged in a war of extermination against them and they were believed to be extinct. The Commons are secretly communicating with the Daniks aboard their now-submerged spacecraft, and are also constructing numerous new weapons and primitive technologies to improve their communication and defense capabilities. The Jophur remain ignorant of most of these efforts as they are simply unable to recognize them for what they are, but they do capture Lark Koolhan and Ling. The two of them manage to escape captivity and hide on the Jophur ship, which they learn is named Polkihjy.