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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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Old Soldiers

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This is a more traditional bolo book than The Road to Damascus, which means I enjoyed it more. I'm a little sad that its the last one of the series, but there is another one coming soon (entitled Their Finest Hour due out in August) which gives me something to hang out for. This book gives some nice closure to operation Ragnarok, whilst not being too predictable. Overall I enjoyed it. [isbn: 1416521046]

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The Road to Damascus

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I didn't like this book. Bolo books should be about combat and human interactions with AI machines, which this book starts nicely with. However, the book then diverts from that and spends hundreds of pages ranting about how bad socialism is. Sure, the baddies are nasty, but its not a very believable rendition of communist Russia. Worse, the story is told with a whiney teenager I found deeply annoying as a character (she's meant to be annoying, but I just didn't care about her). Finally, after about 400 pages of such drivel, we finally get around to having some more actual bolo story. The finish of the story is ok, I just wished it didn't take so long to get there. This is by far the weakest Bolo book I have read so far. [isbn: 0743499166]

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Dragon’s Egg

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This book was strongly recommended by a friend, and has been sitting on my shelf waiting to be read for a while. Its my first real taste of "hard" science fiction, and I enjoyed it. The story is surprisingly fast moving given it has to cover the entire development of an intelligent species, and the process is interesting. There are strong parallels with our own past, which I guess isn't that surprising a thing for an author to do. I've seen complaints that the human characters in this book are a bit one dimensional, but I think that's unfair. The book isn't about the humans, and they are there only to progress the plot. I think the human characters are fine. If you want to see poor character development, checkout Robot City and Robots and Aliens series. [isbn: 034528349x]

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