Rating: 
Summary: Awesome aliens
Review: This is the book that got me hooked on Longyear. Unfortunately he hasn't written too much, but what's there (and not out of print yet) is great. The three stories, Enemy Mine, The Tomorrow Testament and The Last Enemy, are all great and fairly different in topic. The first one is about two enemy soldiers forced to rely on each other - a fairly basic plot but it gets to you, especially after the alien child Zamis is born. The Tomorrow Testament centers around a blind human (female) POW that is destined for greatness... and the story has one of the best plot twists I've ever seen. We're in the League of movies like The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects here (for lack of a better way to compare it). The Last Enemy tells us something about wars such us the one that rages in Palestine or in Northern Ireland, written from the perspective of a Drac Freedom Fighter who's fed up with fighting. The aliens are beautifully rendered; they have their own culture that may well be the most finely worked out alien culture I've ever encountered. Even though a lot of it is borrowed from our own cultures and schools of philosophy, it still makes a beautiful whole. The Talman, the alien bible, is a neat feature to add to the book and stands on it's own. Science fiction that captures you, makes the book a page-turner and still manages to cut deep. You'll come away from these stories deeply moved and wishing for more.
Rating:
Summary: The definitive novel on war and peace.
Review: This vastly under-appreciated novel by Barry Longyear has more to say about war and peace than any book I've ever read. In a science fiction setting peopled by fascinating aliens, the author tells some troubling tales of interstellar war, and why peace is so hard to come by, in their world and in ours. There are no pat formulas or solutions put forward, and the questions that are raised have no happy answers. In addition to the famous short story, "Enemy Mine" (not to be confused with the truly awful movie version), the book contains two complete novels which continue the train of events set in motion by the original story, plus the complete text of the Talman, the "Alien Bible" of the Dracs. Be warned: this is not an easy read. It will tear your guts out. But you will love it anyway.
Rating:
Summary: The definitive novel on war and peace.
Review: This vastly under-appreciated novel by Barry Longyear has more to say about war and peace than any book I've ever read. In a science fiction setting peopled by fascinating aliens, the author tells some troubling tales of interstellar war, and why peace is so hard to come by, in their world and in ours. There are no pat formulas or solutions put forward, and the questions that are raised have no happy answers. In addition to the famous short story, "Enemy Mine" (not to be confused with the truly awful movie version), the book contains two complete novels which continue the train of events set in motion by the original story, plus the complete text of the Talman, the "Alien Bible" of the Dracs. Be warned: this is not an easy read. It will tear your guts out. But you will love it anyway.
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