Brightness Reef David Brin by David Brin 9780553573305, 0553573306 instant download after payment.

This is the first volume in a projected trilogy set in the universe of
Brin's Hugo-winning The Uplift War. It's a multivoice narrative
concerning the six diverse cultures living on the banned planet
Jijo--and what happens to their peaceful society when more humans arrive
there via starship, searching for species to ``uplift'' by bringing
them to the next level of sentience. Because, long ago, the advanced
Buyur civilization declared Jijo off-limits in order to preserve its
ecology, the species that have secretly sought sanctuary on the planet
have been expecting a ``Judgment Day'' on which the starfaring races
will punish them for ignoring the ban. Focusing on narratives from the
planet's inhabitants, including the three human children of the
paper-crafter Nelo (one a mathematician/linguist, one a religious
conservative, one an expert Tracker), and on diary entries from the
aliens Asx and Alvin, as well as on the thoughts of a mysterious human
starfighter whose memory was badly damaged during his crash-landing on
Jijo, the story line follows the characters' attempts to respond in
civilized ways to the devastating changes wrought by the arrival of the
human starfarers. While the narrative does not so much conclude as
simply stop in midstream, it describes a universe that's immensely
appealing, leaving readers hungry for more of this exciting, epic
adventure.