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A collection of short stories is always a crap shoot for me. I get one that is so-so and is a drudgery to read and then I will read the next and never want it to end. But such is the life of a reader. However I will say that The Best of David Brin was loaded with those I would love to see fill a full book. I highly enjoyed the stories with medical speculation. "Chrysalis" was about a new amount of healing using age old ideas. "Dr. Pak's Preschool" told of nurturing a child in the cutting edge wa A collection of short stories is always a crap shoot for me. I get one that is so-so and is a drudgery to read and then I will read the next and never want it to end. But such is the life of a reader. However I will say that The Best of David Brin was loaded with those I would love to see fill a full book. I highly enjoyed the stories with medical speculation. "Chrysalis" was about a new amount of healing using age old ideas. "Dr. Pak's Preschool" told of nurturing a child in the cutting edge ways. To give any more of the stories away is too much, and would spoil the fun. I also especially liked that Brin discussed each story afterward with his thoughts on its writing. His works are a joy to those that like vintage sci fi, and are all very different in their ideas and creativity. I received a free ecopy of the collection from NetGalley for my honest opinion. ...more

Sep 15, 2021 Dan Trefethen rated it really liked it

David Brin stunned the science fiction world in the 1980s with such novels as "Startide Rising" and "The Postman". He also amassed a fair body of shorter work, some of which is represented here, including the original novella "The Postman" from which the novel was developed. (As usual, the novella version is tauter and better.)

Brin is a hard science guy and loves to pick a big speculative idea and run with it. This is idea-driven SF at its finest. The only problem is that there's a lot of infodu

David Brin stunned the science fiction world in the 1980s with such novels as "Startide Rising" and "The Postman". He also amassed a fair body of shorter work, some of which is represented here, including the original novella "The Postman" from which the novel was developed. (As usual, the novella version is tauter and better.)

Brin is a hard science guy and loves to pick a big speculative idea and run with it. This is idea-driven SF at its finest. The only problem is that there's a lot of infodumping in the dialogue between characters, as Brin lays out the background of his ideas and cautions about the ramifications thereof. It's fun if you like chewy ideas, the sort you love to talk about over a beer with nerdy friends, but not so great for action-adventure fans. Although there is still some of that, especially in such stories as "Thor Meets Captain America" (an alternate WWII story), and "The Tumbledowns of Cleopatra Abyss" (a story of humans clinging to a habitation on (in?) Venus).

If you squint, you can see a connection between Brin's stories and those of Ted Chiang, although Ted is a better stylist. They both focus on very outlandish yet technically plausible (maybe) scenarios that humans (or their successors) must deal with. Ted is more philosophical, while David is more technologically oriented. Choose your preference.

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May 22, 2021 Casey Wheeler rated it really liked it

This is a collection of short stories and novellas written by the author over a number of years. As with any such compilation, some are very good and some are just okay. I will leave it to the reader to determine which are which as different stories appeal to different sorts of people. What I enjoy about these stories is that they are more science fiction than fantasy which is a refreshing break with this genre. Overall this will be a good read for any fans of science ficition.

I received a free

This is a collection of short stories and novellas written by the author over a number of years. As with any such compilation, some are very good and some are just okay. I will leave it to the reader to determine which are which as different stories appeal to different sorts of people. What I enjoy about these stories is that they are more science fiction than fantasy which is a refreshing break with this genre. Overall this will be a good read for any fans of science ficition.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.

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The Best of David Brin by David Brin is a very highly recommended collection of 21 science fiction short stories and novellas spanning 1982 - 2020. Those who love and enjoy Brin's work will appreciate this retrospective collection. Those who are new to Brin's writing will become fans after reading this introduction to his work and discovering the breadth and scope of his writing. As with any compilation of stories, some are stronger than others when comparing them side by side, but each of them The Best of David Brin by David Brin is a very highly recommended collection of 21 science fiction short stories and novellas spanning 1982 - 2020. Those who love and enjoy Brin's work will appreciate this retrospective collection. Those who are new to Brin's writing will become fans after reading this introduction to his work and discovering the breadth and scope of his writing. As with any compilation of stories, some are stronger than others when comparing them side by side, but each of them represents an outstanding example of hard science fiction stories. Brin is known for his skillful world building and the inclusion of science in his stories without sacrificing great, imaginative plots and character development. His skill is exemplified in many of these stories. (Rather than reading all these stories in one sitting I spread the enjoyment out to better appreciate what each narrative had to offer. This was a smart move as it precluded a lot of comparison between wildly different stories.)
After a personal introduction by Catherine Asaro, the stories are sorted into seven sections. Contents include:
Lift your gaze!: Insistence of Vision; The Crystal Spheres; The Loom of Thessaly; Transition Generation
It's alive! So be wary: The Giving Plague; Chrysalis; Dr. Pak's Preschool; Piecework
Persevere! (Tales of the Coss): The Logs; Tumbledowns of Cleopatra Abyss
Things may just get weird: Detritus Affected; Mars Opposition; Toujours Voir; The River of Time
Light. Let it shine!: The Tell; The Escape
Prevailing... despite everything: The Postman; A Need for Heroes; Thor Meets Captain America
And good news may get... complicated: Stones of Significance; Reality Check

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Subterranean Press.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2021/0...

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I would like to thank the David Brin and Subterranean Press for kindly providing an electronic review copy of this book.

"The Best of David Brin" delivers exactly what it promises. This compilation of 21 stories and 624 pages of excellent hard science fiction by David Brin provides a lot of entertainment. These stories were originally published nearly 40 years from 1982 to 2020. Each story is a delightful gem!

I would like to thank the David Brin and Subterranean Press for kindly providing an electronic review copy of this book.

"The Best of David Brin" delivers exactly what it promises. This compilation of 21 stories and 624 pages of excellent hard science fiction by David Brin provides a lot of entertainment. These stories were originally published nearly 40 years from 1982 to 2020. Each story is a delightful gem!

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Jun 24, 2021 Rt rated it really liked it

Short story collection (ranging from a few pages to the novella that became the first part of The Postman). Speculative fiction in the classic sense; my favorite was the story about the geneticist who worked to reawaken now-useless DNA, first to help us regrow organs and later for a much more complex purpose, ignoring what the biologists would have told him.

Jun 19, 2021 Paul rated it really liked it

Choosing this is a no brainer for hard sci-fi fans. Brin is a great writer with staying power, and this is full of good stories, well told. There is a nice variety, including longer and shorter stories. Recommended for anthology and sci-fi fans.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

Sep 28, 2021 Doug rated it really liked it

A great collection of one of my favorite author's shorter works. The only criticism I have of the stories is that, run together as they are, you begin to see too many similarities in theme across many of them, and so it feels a bit repetitious in places. Still, a great read. A great collection of one of my favorite author's shorter works. The only criticism I have of the stories is that, run together as they are, you begin to see too many similarities in theme across many of them, and so it feels a bit repetitious in places. Still, a great read. ...more

Aug 24, 2021 Adam Meek rated it really liked it

I'd read all of these before in other collections, but it was nice to revisit classics like "Dr. Pak's Preschool". I'd read all of these before in other collections, but it was nice to revisit classics like "Dr. Pak's Preschool". ...more

Overall a very good short fiction collection by David Brin. The strongest stories include such well-known ones as "The Postman," "The Crystal Spheres," "Chrysalis," and "Thor Meets Captain America." It also features several that aren't as well known but deserve to be, including a strong SF adventure story set on Venus ("Tumbledowns of Cleopatra Abyss") and a near future piece of what can happen if we extend the way parents are insisting on teaching kids more and more earlier and earlier to teach Overall a very good short fiction collection by David Brin. The strongest stories include such well-known ones as "The Postman," "The Crystal Spheres," "Chrysalis," and "Thor Meets Captain America." It also features several that aren't as well known but deserve to be, including a strong SF adventure story set on Venus ("Tumbledowns of Cleopatra Abyss") and a near future piece of what can happen if we extend the way parents are insisting on teaching kids more and more earlier and earlier to teaching them and making them productive in the womb ("Dr. Pak's Preschool").

Subterranean is doing a great job of producing "Best of" collections for some of the most significant SF writers of the last 30 or 40 years.

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David Brin is a scientist, speaker, and world-known author. His novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. At least a dozen have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Existence, his latest novel, offers an unusual scenario for first contact. His ecological thriller, Earth, foreshadowed global warming, cyberwarfare and near-future trends

David Brin is a scientist, speaker, and world-known author. His novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. At least a dozen have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Existence, his latest novel, offers an unusual scenario for first contact. His ecological thriller, Earth, foreshadowed global warming, cyberwarfare and near-future trends such as the World Wide Web. A movie, directed by Kevin Costner, was loosely based on his post-apocalyptic novel, The Postman. Startide Rising won the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel. The Uplift War also won the Hugo Award.

His non-fiction book -- The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Freedom and Privacy? -- deals with secrecy in the modern world. It won the Freedom of Speech Prize from the American Library Association.

Brin serves on advisory committees dealing with subjects as diverse as national defense and homeland security, astronomy and space exploration, SETI, nanotechnology, and philanthropy.

David appears frequently on TV, including "The Universe" and on the History Channel's "Life After People."

Full and updated at:

http://www.davidbrin.com/biography.htm

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