Some older science fiction this time, and my first book by this author. Written back in the 1970s, but it still holds up well today.
The story is quick to pull you in, and this is one of the more cerebral sci-fi books I have read. There is a lot of psychology (including a clever psychiatric software program) throughout, and an odd focus on sexuality that eventually turned out to be part of the story.
Even though most of the story happens out there in the uncharted galaxies, the climax occurs somewhere more mundane, and it was a very tense ending – I loved it.
Also the book was unique in that it used short snippets of background information in such a way as to make the whole thing seem more lifelike and real. Sometimes this is done in other books but this much more effective. Space station classified ads, emails from side characters, and excerpts from academic courses contributed to make the ending all the better.
I liked this book – and I’ll be looking for more of his work in the future.
Next I’m reading two books in parallel, one is The Science of Spice by Stuart Farrimond, and the other is Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway.
