Together they live in a pre-technological, but quite civilized, society. But big trouble drops into their laps in the form of the human exploration ship Streaker. Jijo's harmonious society falls apart overnight. There is panic, exaltation, armed resistance and civil war. A score of characters struggle to achieve exciting goals and epic plans, sometimes working together, sometimes in opposition.
Families are rent asunder and new loves are found.
And all the while poor Streaker hopes to carry its terrible burden home against all odds, and save Earth, now threatened with extinction. Brin weaves this complex web quite handily. The intricate society that he built so well in Brightness Reef crashes down like the Hindenburg , beautiful and terrible. The plethora of viewpoint characters ensures that readers get to see all the grand sites and heroic deeds in the process. Brin also continues to explore, as he has throughout the Uplift series, the question of evolved human intelligence versus intelligence gained through the scientific process of uplift.