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A Separate War & Other Stories

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This is a short story collection. I like anthologies, and this one was pretty good. The stories are: A Separate War: the end of The Forever War told from the perspective of Marygay. Diminished Chord: love and music on an old harp like instrument. Giza: genetic engineering to enable space mining. Foreclosure: let's get rid of those nasty squatters. Four short novels: eventually it came to pass that no one ever had to die... For White Hill: artists as collateral damage in an interstellar war Finding My Shadow: biological warfare in Boston. Civil Disobedience: global warming in a post Bush world. Memento Mori: a very short story about modern medicine. Faces: life as a draftee on a planet with a noxious atmosphere. Heartwired: viagra for the soul. Brochure: a badly polluted Earth reopens as a Disney resort. Out of Phase: a shape shifting alien learns about power on Earth, to the detriment of the Earthlings. Power Complex: the same shape shifting alien learns about real power. Fantasy for Six Electrodes and One Adrenaline Drip: a script involving love (or at least sex) and murder in a world with immersion entertainment.

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Forever Free

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This book isn't as good as The Forever War and Forever Peace, which makes it a pretty big disappointment. The book revolves around disaffected characters from The Forever War living on the planet reserved for them by Man. Almost all of the book is William Mandella complaining about how hard it is to live on an arctic world, with some minor plot development along the way. The book often ruins surprises by Mandella mentioning them before they happen. The ending of the story is particularly disappointing, and I am left wondering why Omnis were introduced at all.

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Altered Carbon

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This is a great book... Its a hardboiled detective novel, but with a science fiction twist. The universe its set in is also pretty interesting, and I'm sure the follow up books are good too. The human backup element reminds me of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, but in a way that's different enough that they're not the same story. I really enjoyed this book.

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Cryptonomicon

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I read this book on an international trip, and it was a good choice for that. Its long (around 900 pages), but very readable. This is the second time I've read the book, and this time its amazing how well the description of Silicon Valley startups matches my experiences there. I love this book. Update 2022: having now read this book for a third time, I have to say it does stand the test of time. However, having read the rest of the Baroque Cycle now, I do wish somewhere in the series more attention was paid to explaining Enoch Root's back story.

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Beyond This Horizon

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This book is only the second book I have failed to finish in the last few years. This is Heinlein's second novel, and that's the problem -- its clumsily written in a style which moves at a lethargic pace. Its also pretty badly dated, and possesses that creepy EE "Doc" Smith eugenics theme that is so disturbing. I made it to page 67 before I stopped caring. [isbn: 0743435613]

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The Colour of Magic

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There isn't much point in writing a review of this book, because it seems that you'd have to have been living under a rock to not have read it. On the other hand, I feel this book isn't as good as people make out. Its not as funny as Douglas Adams, it jumps around, and the plot is sketchy at best. Overall, not Pratchett's best work. [isbn: 0061020711]

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Burning Chrome

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This is a collection of William Gibson short stories. They're gritty and real, and make more sense now that I've been to both the US and Japan. I read these stories as a kid and loved them, although their vision for the future isn't a happy one. Its good to see I still like them as an adult. Stories in this collection: Johnny Mnemonic The Gernsback Continuum Fragments of a Hologram Rose The Belonging Kind Hinterlands Red Star, Winter Orbit New Rose Hotel The Winter Market Dogfight Burning Chrome [isbn: 0441089348] [award: nominee nebula_short_story 1981 (Johnny Mnemonic); nominee nebula_novelette 1982 (Burning Chrome); nominee nebula_novelette 1985 (Dogfight); nominee nebula_novelette 1986 (The Winter Market)]

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Bolo Series

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Created by Keith Laumer and then followed on by many others, this series was very entertaining whilst not being fine literature. 1986: The Compleat Bolo by Keith Laumer (includes Bolo, and Rogue Bolo) 1990: The Stars Must Wait by Keith Laumer 1993: Bolos Book I: Honor of the Regiment by S.M. Stirling, S.N. Lewitt, J. Andrew Keith, Todd Johnson, Mike Resnick, Barry N Malzberg, Christopher Stasheff, Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dickson and David Drake. 1994: Bolos Book II: The Unconquerable by S.M. Stirling, Shirley Meier, Christopher Stasheff, Karen Wehrstein, Todd Johnson, and William R. Forstchen 1995: Bolos Book III: The Triumphant by David Weber and Linda Evans 1997: Bolos Book IV: Last Stand by S.M. Stirling, David Weber, William R. Forstchen, Robert Greenberger, William H Keith Jr, Todd Johnson, Steve Perry, John Decamp, Mark Thies, and Linda Evans 2001: Bolos Book V: Old Guard by Mark Thies, John Mina, J. Steven York, Dean Wesley Smith and William H. Keith Jr 2002: Bolos Book VI: Cold Steel by J. Steven York, Dean Wesley Smith, and Linda Evans 1997: Bolo Brigade by William H. Keith Jr 1998: Bolo Rising by William H. Keith Jr 2002: Bolo Strike by William H. Keith Jr 2006:…

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