Golden Anvil

Rainbows End by Verner Vinge

This is a book about a guy who is healed of alzheimer's and is trying to adjust to a world that's different from what he remembers. Except, it's really more of a book about cool, plausible sci-fi, and what kinds of dangerous things can happen in such a world. The alzheimer recovery bit is really just a vehicle to allow the reader to adjust to the new world at the same time as the character.

This book does start off a little rough. It's very disjointed in spots, and the plot, which is introduced in the first chapter, seems to go on hiatus for a good chunk of the book. I can't quite tell if the disjointed bit is intentional, but it certainly can make spots a bit confusing as you try and figure out exactly what's happening.

Hero in the Shadows by David Gemmell

This is a Gemmell book in the Drenai series. It focuses on the recurring character, Waylander, who is (or rather, was) an assassin. He no longer assasses, but he can't seem to keep himself from protecting those around him. Unlike others of Gemmell's books in this series, the plot is more complex than "man inspires others to hold out against impossible odds". This time there are a number of other things going on admidst a backdrop of an ancient evil seeking to enter the world through a breaking down magical gate.

Gemmell always writes intense (though usually brutal) action scenes, and this book is no exception. There's plenty of action here, and a relatively straightforward plot that is carried forward by very compelling characters.

Reality Disfunction by Peter F. Hamilton

I really wanted to like this book. It had a feel that was pretty simliar to Stephen Baxter, who is one of my favorite sci-fi authors, but generally a little less "far out" and without Baxter's strong, common theme. Unfortunately, I didn't end up reading the entire book, but gave it back to the borrow/take library at work.