Against a Dark Background

Author	Iain Banks
ISBN	0316858544

A darkly brilliant novel of self-discovery the cutting edge of experimental fiction. It leads from nowhere to nowhere, the mysterious world-spanning structure on which everyone seems to live. Rescued from the sea, devoid of personality or memory, all John Orr knows is the Bridge, his persistent...

Author	Charles Stross
ISBN	1841493368

When the planet of New Moscow was brutally destroyed, its few survivors launched a counter-attack against the most likely culprit - the neighbouring system of trade rival New Dresden. But New Dresden wasn't responsible, and as the deadly missiles approach their target, Rachel Mansour is assigned...

Author	Ken MacLeod
ISBN	0765301563

Moh Kohn is a security mercenary, his smart gun and killer reflexes for hire. Janis Taine is a scientist working on memory-enhancing drugs, fleeing the US/UN's technology cops. Jordan Brown is a teenager in the Christian enclave of Beulah City, dealing in theologically-correct software for the world's...

Author	Neal Asher
ISBN	0765317311

Ian Cormac, a legendary Earth Central Security agent, the James Bond of a wealthy future, is hunting an interstellar dragon, little knowing that, far away, his competition has resurrected an horrific killing machine named "Mr. Crane" to assist in a similar hunt, ecompassing whole star systems. Mr....

Author	Alastair Reynolds
ISBN	1597800589

When Reynolds opens his heart, his mind obeys and he produces lovely mini-masterpieces: Enola (here), Turquoise Days, Zima Blue (here) and Weather. Surely his finest works.


Mostly solid collection of stories here, with some true gems.

*** The Real Story
Good solid sci-fi....

Author	Gary Gibson
ISBN	0230706800

Before I even launch into this review I have one word: Emissary.

Imagine an alien race that is half Cthulhu, half Mammoth and all bad attitude. If that doesn’t inspire you to read Nova War I’m afraid nothing will.

What a fun book! Filled with violence and sense-of-wonder, the second...

Author	Paul McAuley
ISBN	0575079371

The Quiet War is over. The city states of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, founded by descendants of refugees from Earth’s repressive regimes, the Outers, have fallen to the Three Powers Alliance of Greater Brazil, the European Union, and the Pacific Community. A century of enlightenment, rational...

Author	Peter F. Hamilton
ISBN	0812590562

Greg Mandel, late of the Mindstar Battalion, has been many things in his life. Commando. Freedom fighter. Assassin. Now he's a freelance operative with a very special edge: telepathy.
In the high-tech, hard-edged world of computer crime, zero-gravity smuggling, and artificial intelligence,...