I read and enjoyed many of his works, and like yourself, the details of Postman have faded over time.
I vaguely recall the movie being a bit of a let down, as it's hard to really capture the magic and depth of original works.
The Kiln People and The Practice Effect were very entertaining and imho quite creative.
The last book I read of his was Existence (2012)
It was very ambitious, rich in many creative and interesting subplots.
Apple's AI describes it..
David Brin's novel Existence (2012) is a futuristic novel about an alien artifact, a crystalline "message in a bottle," discovered by orbital garbage collector Gerald Livingston, which reveals a hidden message to join a larger cosmic community. The book explores humanity's varied reactions of fear, hope, and curiosity to this first contact scenario and introduces the concept of a universal "crystal plague" that could spell disaster for civilizations. It follows multiple characters, including Livingston and a Chinese shoresteader named Peng Xiang Bin who finds a rival artifact, as they navigate the complexities of this monumental discovery.
Plot Summary
The Discovery: In a near future set around 2050, Gerald Livingston, an orbital garbage collector, finds an unknown crystalline object amidst space debris.
The Artifact: This artifact turns out to be an alien emissary probe containing digitized representatives of various alien species, offering humanity an invitation to join a galactic community.
Humanity's Reaction: News of the discovery creates global chaos, with reactions ranging from fear and selfishness to hope and insatiable curiosity.
The Rival Artifact: Simultaneously, in China, Peng Xiang Bin, a scavenger, discovers an intact alien capsule that seems to hold a different, possibly rival, message.
The Crystal Plague: It is revealed that these crystals are a form of technological virus, and humanity must learn to navigate a potentially hostile universe to avoid the "crystal plague".
Exploring the Past: The story also involves exploring the fate of other civilizations by finding destroyed robot emissaries in the asteroid belt, which were victims of ancient wars and the crystal plague.
Themes
First Contact: Existence offers a realistic depiction of how human society would respond to the discovery of alien life.
Humanity's Future: The novel grapples with the question of whether civilizations can survive the challenges of the universe and avoid making fatal mistakes.
Technology vs. Humanity: It explores the societal and individual impacts of advanced technologies like AI and virtual reality on human existence.
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