Posting so that I remember to take a closer look at the ones I'm interested in later. The list is pretty similar to the last SF Signal deals list I posted, but there are enough differences for it to be worth looking over. I even noticed a couple manga volumes this time around.

This is classic high space opera on an epic scale.  There are two parallel stories.  One is a story of an ancient AI that has gone berserk and that is taking over and corrupting much of the Galaxy.  That story is a lot like something that Dan Simmons or Iain M. Banks might right, but not quite as good.  It has some early riffing on the internet (the book was written in 1992) and sees the internet (here Galaxy wide) as a place that people post stupid rumours and nonsense with the occasional bit of truth.  This story is only OK.  It has some clever things, in particular a galaxy where the laws of physics work differently and science and mentality can be more advanced as people move out from the centre.  That's cleverly done, but this part of the story while good would not be enough to make the book a classic.

The second part of the story which runs alongside the first concerns a war between two factions of an alien species called the Tines on a planet with medieval technology with two human children involved.  The Tines are hands down one of the best alien races ever conceived.  They are dog like creatures that become sentient in packs of four to six.  So the individuals are the packs which share a group mind and not the individual dogs.  That is really well done, very well thought out and the aliens are very vividly and realistically made.  They are easily one of the best alien species ever in any medium.  

The book is written competently but the prose lacks artistry.  I don't know that the book has much to say and it is really just an extended adventure story, but my those Tines are awesome.  There are also another alien species called the Riders which are well done, but would not count as one of the great aliens of all time.

You should read this book if you like clever space opera or for the tines.  Outside of interests in space opera or very inventive aliens, there is not much else here of significant interest.  Its basically one of the best pieces of science fiction that has nothing to say.

Synopsis: Several thousand years in the future humanity has colonized large parts of the galaxy, but has never encountered another sentient, starfaring race. Now two civilizations race to explore a galactic anomaly, a mysterious star that shuts itself off for every 215 out of 250 years, and to make first contact with the inhabitants of the lone planet orbiting it.

But these two groups have very different goals and reasons for making first contact...

I felt like this book had a lot of potential, but that some of it was ultimately a let down. Instead of a story filled with action gratifying the more obvious plot paths, we're given something much more subtle and deep, but also a lot slower.

On one side of the story we're given a slow, methodical, revolution centered on subterfuge. The other plot line revolves around the planet's inhabitants as the book introduces alien characters and sits with them for generations.

While I don't think it's 4 star material, Vinge obviously put a lot of thought into character development here, as many of them are sincerely likeable, while others are very effective villains. While she isn't seen much in the book Honoured Pedure in particular struck me as a great embodiment of rightwing conservative villainy.

One other thing to note, Vinge appears to be making a very, very subtle play at...something. In the context of the novel inhabitants of the planet spend most of their time in a kind of biological cryostasis, only being awake an involved with the world around them for the 35 years out 250 that their sun is active. Conservative members of the population dominate the planet, and believe that their young should be born and raised in a rigid alignment with that cycle. There's some stuff about souls and what not.

The human characters in the book regard these notions as bizarre, the same way an alien race looking at Earth might say "Half of you get your panties in a knot over gay people? Wtf" or "You believe in souls ahahahahahaha".

All in all an enjoyable read, but the ending dragged on and on.

General rating: 3 1/2

Epic rating: 3 1/2

I've heard alot about Vernor Vinge before, he's a leading voice in futurism and singularity discussions, but I've never read any of his books before this.

Synopsis: Robert Gu was America's best loved poet before he developed Alzheimers (also a total asshole), but when future medicine brings him and his mental faculties back he becomes embroiled in a plot involving a traitorous intelligence officer, a group of printed book enthusiasts (most books in this future are of a virtual sort), and a mysterious and extremely manipulative entity, known as Rabbit, puppetering events throughout the story.

Rainbows End offers a fascinating glimpse of the future, but unlike so many others like it it offers little in the way of social commentary on that future. There is little said of the state of privacy (there doesn't look to be a whole lot of it) and the book speaks little of human rights or any other issue. Your pretty much left to figure the future out for yourself.

I found much of the story to be fairly boring. Events are manipulated and people are manuevered into place and this takes up the majority of the story. About 75% of the way through it picks up and becomes fairly engaging, but until then it was a bit of a slog.

My biggest gripe with this book were the loose ends Vinge left hanging. There were a couple questions I really wanted to see answered which were not. Even a large headscratching red herring.

I cant say it was badass or epic either unless you think Machiavellian style manuevering counts, in which case I don't think the book pushed it far enough anyway for it to be considered.

3 1/2 stars general

1 1/2 epic rating