The Forever War

 The Forever War is Haldeman's classic novel of interstellar war,  and this one should not be missed.

  An elite group of soldiers is formed on Earth, conscripted into this group is Mandella, our narrator.  It is the not to distant future, and Earth has encountered a hostile alien race.  In response they form Mandella's squad-- with the best and brightest Earth has to offer, and send them out into the stars to wage war.

 There is an element of Vietnam to the war, and the story, and not suprisingly Haldeman served in Vietnam.  Eventually Mandella returns to Earth, but due to the effects of relativity, it is not the Earth he knew.  He doesn't belong, and once again he heads out into the stars for a second tour of duty.

 Read this shit

9.2/10

Anathem

Anathem is a novel by Neal Stepheson of Snow Crash fame.  Be warned, this novel bears little resemblance to Snow Crash.

 The story takes place on a fictional planet, with resemblances to a future Earth, but where technology has stalled and society is rather stagnant.

 Anathem is narrated by Erasmas a fra(like a junior priest) who lives in a Concent(convent focused on math/science, not religion).  He has lived in the Concent since he was a little boy, and is never allowed out.

 The general plot involves the discovery of an unidentified object in the sky, in the pursuit of this the story goes far beyond the walls of Erasmas Concent, with plenty of adventure and exploration, but I won't spoil any of that.

 One unfortunate aspect of this novel is that it starts very slow, the first few hundred pages drag, and it isn't until Erasmas leaves the Concent the things really start to become interesting.  The last stage of the book bears little resemblance to the first, and is very exciting.

 A damn good novel, only marred by the beginning.  Very long at almost 1000 pages.

8.9/10

Rainbows End

Rainbows End is the most recent work of Vernor Vinge(sadly, his output is rather slow).

This is not a space opera like some of Vinge's other award winning books, instead it takes place in the not too distant future, right here on Earth.

 Vinge constructs a world where technology has progressed, and virtual reality has stepped into the real world.

  People wear lenses which are able to overlay augmented information and mix it in with what is already there.  Add any vista you want outside of your window, decorate your house in any way you wish, and even use it for a form of x-ray vision, seeing what you cannot naturally see.

 The characters and plot are solid, but not really up to the standards I'd come to expect from Vinge. It centers around a man brought back from Alzheimer disease(since a cure is now available), he enters a world quite different from the one he left and must learn to adapt.

 It did win the Hugo award, but I don't consider this one of Vinge's best works, though it does present some very good idea's as is common with Vinge.

8.5/10