Slight apologies for the necromancy, but I will justify it by pointing out that this is a timeless topic; it's just as relevant now as it was when Kemstone first posted it.

I unearthed this minor gem of a thread just to suggest a series of 3 books on the subject by David Brin.

Sundiver
Startide Rising
The Uplift War

I would mention that the first, Sundiver, is notably weaker than the other two. Each novel is capable of standing on it's own, but part of the reason why Sundiver is weaker is because much of the novel is consumed with setting the milieu. You can read and enjoy either Startide Rising or The Uplift War alone. It's just that the background is mostly in Sundiver.

I mention these because, of all the SF I have read in the last 38 years, this series is a neck-and-neck tie for the most credible portrayal of multiple alien species that I have ever encountered.

The other contender for that title, (most credible portrayal of multiple alien species), is the Chanur series by CJ Cherryh, which is also notable for the fact that homo sapiens does not form the centerpiece of the story. It centers on another race entirely, and only one human has anything but a cameo appearance.

Instead, Cherryh sets up the race which is at the center of the story almost as a mirror image of humanity, and uses that fact to make several sly, catty points about human nature along the way.

by RedPossum on 08/08/2010 12:52:27 PM EST