Heaven's Reach

Heaven's Reach is a science fiction novel by David Brin, published in 1998 and the conclusion of the trilogy that runs alongside his Uplift novels. It opens with the arrival of the enemy that has been pursuing the settlers of Jijo for centuries.

The Jijoans, human and alien alike, brace for the confrontation that follows, and the book presents it as a moment when the universe is poised between revelation and annihilation. Their hope is the Earthship Streaker, whose crew are uplifted dolphins.

The ship is commanded by a human who has not been tested in command before, which puts the fate of the Jijoans in the hands of somebody without a record. The pursuit has lasted for centuries and it ends here rather than at a place chosen for the purpose, and the novel closes the trilogy by making its final problem one of trust.

The difficulty is not only the enemy but the fact that the defenders are several species with different interests and one ship between them. The long pursuit ends where it began, in the sky above Jijo.