Before the arrival of homo sapiens, five Patron Lines were established to govern the creation and interaction of species. Over time the Lines and the Galactic Library have been corrupted. But a human expedition to the sun begins to uncover hidden secrets.
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.
The Uplift books are as compulsive reading as anything ever published in the genre. - John Clute, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION
His best stories surge forward with tremendous energy, each one avid to find some extrapolated consequence of its premise which will startle and challenge the reader. - INTERZONE