Anthem's Fall, by S.L. Dunn

Rating: 3/5
374 pages
2014
Publisher: Prospect Hill Press
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers
Note: I read an ARC.

Description: Above a horrified New York City, genetics and ethics collide as the fallen emperor and a banished exile of the same herculean race ignite into battle over the city’s rooftops. In the streets below, a brilliant young scientist has discovered a technology that can defeat them both, yet might be more terrible than either.

Set both in modern New York City and in the technologically sophisticated yet politically savage world of Anthem, Anthem’s Fall unfurls into a plot where larger than life characters born with the prowess of gods are pitted against the shrewd brilliance of a familiar and unlikely heroine. (from Goodreads)

Three to Conquer, by Eric Frank Russell

Rating: 4/5
202 pages
1956
Publisher: Penguin
Source: Borrowed from family
(Note: Does not seem to currently be in print, at least in the US.)

Cover: I don't know what's up with the cover of the edition I read. The flowers don't have anything to do with the story, and it hardly sets the tone for the book.

Description: 'Wade Harper--Forger'. 

That was the cryptic inscription on his card. But it was lucky for the F.B.I. and the world that this tough, thick-set micro-instrument maker who first discovered the dying state trooper just off highway one April afternoon in 1980. For Harper possessed the uncanny telepathic power of 'hearing' thoughts which alone could track down the killers and crack a staggering interplanetary plot to grab world control through men's minds.

How he does it, his desperate fight to convince police and Pentagon of his own innocence and the Venusian threat, and the urgent America-wide manhunt that follows make a skillful scary blend of science and fiction at their best.

Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie

Rating: 4.5/5
384 pages
2013
Publisher: Orb
Source: B&N.com

Description: On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.

Breq is both more than she seems and less than she was. Years ago, she was the Justice of Toren--a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of corpse soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.
 
An act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with only one fragile human body. And only one purpose--to revenge herself on Anaander Mianaai, many-bodied, near-immortal Lord of the Radch. (From the back cover)

Consider Phlebas, by Iain M. Banks

Rating: 4/5
512 pages
1987
Publisher: Orbit
Source:My collection

Description: The war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction, cold-blooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans fought for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist. Principles were at stake. There could be no surrender.

Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade. Deep within a fabled labyrinth on a barren world, a Planet of the Dead proscribed to mortals, lay a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans sought it. It was the fate of Horza, the Changer, and his motley crew of unpredictable mercenaries, human and machine, actually to find it, and with it their own destruction. (from back cover)

The State of the Art, by Iain M. Banks

Rating: 4/5
216
1991
Publisher: Orbit
Source: My collection

Description: This first ever collection of Iain Bank's short fiction includes a novella never before published in Britian-- The State of the Art. A Striking addition to the growing body of Culture lore, it adds definition and scale to the previous works by using Earth of 1977 as contrast. The other stories in this collection, all previously published in magazines and anthologies, range from science fiction to horror, dark-coated fantasy to morality tale. All bear the indefinable stamp of Iain Banks staggering talent. (from the back cover)

How Much for Just the Planet?, by John M. Ford

Rating: 1.5/5
253 pages
1987
Publisher: Pocket books
Source: Borrowed from family

Description: Dilithium. In crystalline form, the most valuable mineral in the galaxy. It powers the Federation's starships... and the Klingon Empire's battlecruisers. Now on a small out-of-the-way planet named Direidi, the greatest fortune in dilithium crystals ever seen has been found.

Under the terms of the Organian Peace Treaty, the planet will go to the side best able to develop the planet and its resources. Each side will contest the prize with the prime of its fleet. For the federation-- Captain James T. Kirk and the starship Enterprise. For the Klingons-- Captain Kaden vestai-Oparai and the Fire Blossom.

Only the Direidians are writing their own script for this contest-- a script that propels the crew of the Enterprise into their strangest adventure yet! (from the back cover.)

Choices of One, by Timothy Zahn

Rating: 4/5
433 pages
2011
Publisher: Del Rey
Source: Library ebook

Description: Eight months after the Battle of Yavin, the Rebellion is in desperate need of a new base. So when Governor Ferrouz of Candoras Sector proposes an alliance, offering the Rebels sanctuary in return for protection against the alien warlord Nuso Esva, Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie are sent to evaluate the deal.

Mara Jade, the Emperor’s Hand, is also heading for Candoras, along with the five renegade stormtroopers known as the Hand of Judgment. Their mission: to punish Ferrouz’s treason and smash the Rebels for good.

But in this treacherous game of betrayals within betrayals, a wild card is waiting to be played. (from Goodreads)

Shards of Honor, by Lois McMaster Bujold

Rating: 4.5/5
250 pages
1986
Publisher: Baen
Source: Barnes & Noble

Description: In her first trial by fire, Cordelia Naismith captained a throwaway ship of the Betan Expeditionary Force on a mission to destroy an enemy armada. Discovering deception within deception, treachery within treachery, she was forced into a separate peace with her chief opponent, Lord Aral Vorkosigan - he who was called "The Butcher of Komarr" - and would consequently become an outcast on her own planet and the Lady Vorkosigan on his. (from the back cover)

Heir to the Empire: 20th Anniversary Edition, by Timothy Zahn

Rating: 4.5/5
403 pages
1991
Publisher: Bantam
Source: Library ebook

Description: Five years after the Death Star was destroyed and Darth Vader and the Emperor were defeated, the galaxy is struggling to heal the wounds of war, Princess Leia and Han Solo are married and expecting twins, and Luke Skywalker has become the first in a long-awaited line of new Jedi Knights.

But thousands of light-years away, the last of the Emperor’s warlords—the brilliant and deadly Grand Admiral Thrawn—has taken command of the shattered Imperial fleet, readied it for war, and pointed it at the fragile heart of the New Republic. For this dark warrior has made two vital discoveries that could destroy everything the courageous men and women of the Rebel Alliance fought so hard to create.

The explosive confrontation that results is a towering epic of action, invention, mystery, and spectacle on a galactic scale—in short, a story worthy of the name Star Wars. (from Goodreads)

Dragonquest, by Anne McCaffery

Rating: 4.5/5
352 pages
1971
Publisher: Del Rey
Source: Kindle ebook

Description: Another Turn, and the deadly silver Threads began falling again. So the bold dragonriders took to the air once more and their magnificent flying dragons swirled and swooped, belching flames that destroyed the shimmering strands before they reach the ground.

But F'lar knew he had to find a better way to protect his beloved Pern,and he had to find it before the rebellious Oldtimers could breed anymore dissent... before his brother F'nor would be foolhardy enough to launch another suicide mission... and before those dratted fire-lizards could stir up any more trouble! (from Goodreads)

Dragonflight

Rating: 4/5
203 pages
1968
Publisher: Del Rey
Source: Kindle ebook

Description: On the beautiful planet Pern, colonized for centuries, Land Holders and Craftsmen have traditionally tithed food and supplies to the dragon weyrs to which they are bound. In times past, the mighty telepathic dragons and their riders were the only protection from the dreaded, life-threatening Thread.


But it has been over 400 years since the last Thread fall, and some people have come to doubt that the menace will every strike again. But F'lar, rider of Pern's greatest bronze dragon, has no such illusions. The Red Star is near; Thread will fall soon. (from Goodreads)

Concealed in Death, by J.D. Robb

Rating: 3.5/5
402 pages
2014
Publisher: Putnam
Source: Library book

Description: In a decrepit, long-empty New York building, Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s husband begins the demolition process by swinging a sledgehammer into a wall. When the dust clears, there are two skeletons wrapped in plastic behind it. He summons his wife immediately—and by the time she’s done with the crime scene, there are twelve murders to be solved. (From Goodreads)

Wool, by Hugh Howey

Rating: 5/5
56 pages
2011
Publisher: Broad Reach
Source: Amazon.com

Description: They live beneath the earth in a prison of their own making. There is a view of the outside world, a spoiled and rotten world, their forefathers left behind. But this view fades over time, ruined by the toxic airs that kill any who brave them.

So they leave it to the criminals, those who break the rules, and who are sent to cleaning. Why do they do it, these people condemned to death? Sheriff Holston has always wondered. Now he is about to find out. (from Goodreads)

The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham

Rating: 4/5
272 pages
1951
Publisher: Penguin Books
Source: Borrowed from family

Description: Tired of watching humanity struggle for survival against hordes of vampires or zombies? How about predatory plants for a change?

After a strange event leaves most of the world's population blind. Humanity's struggle to survive is complicated by the Triffids, a species of mobile carnivorous plants.

The Android's Dream, by John Scalzi

Rating: 3/5
394 pages
2007
Publisher: Tor
Source: Barnes&Noble.com

Description: A human diplomat kills his alien counterpart. Earth is on the verge of war with a vastly superior alien race. A lone man races against time and a host of enemies to find the one object that can save our planet and our people from alien enslavement... a sheep. 

Yes, you read that right. Welcome to The Android's Dream.

For Harry Creek, it's a nightmare. All he wants is to do his uncomplicated mid-level diplomatic job with Earth's State Department. But his skills and past training get him tapped to save the planet - and to protect pet store owner Robin Baker, whose own past holds the key to the whereabouts of that lost sheep. Doing both will take him from lava-strewn battlefields to alien halls of power. 

All in a day's work. Maybe it's time for a raise. (From the back cover)

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick

Rating: 4.5/5
177 pages
1968
Publisher: Library of America
Source: Amazon.com Marketplace

Description: A final, apocalyptic, world war has killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending the majority of mankind off-planet. Those who remain, venerate all remaining examples of life, and owning an animal of your own is both a symbol of status and a necessity. For those who can't afford an authentic animal, companies build incredibly realistic simulacra: horses, birds, cats, sheep . . . even humans. (From Goodreads)

Alternately, the book that was the basis for the movie Blade Runner.

Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline

Rating: 5/5
372 pages
2011
Publisher: Broadway Books
Source: B&N.com

Description: In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines--puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.

But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win--and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape. (From the back cover)

Way of the Wolf, by E.E. Knight

Rating: 4/5
380 pages
Publisher: Roc
2003
Source: Used through Amazon.com

Description: Louisiana, 2065. A lot has changed in the 43rd year of the Kurian Order. Possessed of an unnatural hunger, the bloodthirsty Reapers have come to Earth to establish a New Order built on the harvesting of human souls. They rule the planet. And if it is night, as sure as darkness, they will come.

On this pitiless world, the indomitable spirit of mankind still breathes in Lieutenant David Valentine. Brought into the Wolves, an elite guerrilla force sworn to win back Earth, Valentine leads his first command in the Kurian Zone. Driven by the losses of his past and the hope of a future, Valentine is in it to win. No matter how long it takes. No matter what doom awaits him beyond his wildest nightmares  (from the back cover)

Use of Weapons, by Iain M. Banks

Rating: 5/5
Publisher: Orbit
486 pages
1990
Source: Amazon.com

Description: The man known as Cheradenine Zakalwe was one of Special Circumstances' foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks, or military action.

The woman known as Diziet Sma had plucked him from obscurity and pushed him towards his present eminence, but despite all their dealings she did not know him as well as she thought.

The drone known as Skaffen-Amtiskaw knew both of these people. It had once saved the woman's life by massacring her attackers in a particularly bloody manner. It believed the man to be a burnt-out case. But not even its machine intelligence could see the horrors in his past.  (From the back cover)

The Player of Games, by Iain M. Banks

Rating: 4.5/5
Publisher: Orbit
391 pages
1988
Source: Amazon.com

Description: The Culture - a human/machine symbiotic society - has thrown up many great Game Players, and one of the greatest is Gurgeh. Jernau Morat Gurgeh. The Player of Games. Master of every board, computer and strategy. 

Bored with success, Gurgeh travels to the Empire of Azad, cruel and incredibly wealthy, to try their fabulous game...a game so complex, so like life itself, that the winner becomes emperor. Mocked, blackmailed, almost murdered, Gurgeh accepts the game, and with it the challenge of his life - and very possibly his death.  (From the back cover)