Rating: 
Summary: A fascinating, complex story
Review: Although Summer Queen lacks the mythic structure which lent such power to Vinge's Snow Queen, it is an expertly written "social science fiction" exploration of colonialism, as well as an appealing story about characters worth caring about. The characters who were young and simple in Snow Queen have grown up, and grown more complex in their view of the world. Vinge also develops the political situation on Tiamaat in more complexity. The world she develops is believable. Her best characters struggle heroically to do the right thing, but are often hampered by the need to compromise with more powerful military, cultural, or economic forces--just like real revolutionaries, visionaries, and leaders. I'm impressed by the depth of political consciousness Vinge brings to this story.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating, complex story
Review: Although Summer Queen lacks the mythic structure which lent such power to Vinge's Snow Queen, it is an expertly written "social science fiction" exploration of colonialism, as well as an appealing story about characters worth caring about. The characters who were young and simple in Snow Queen have grown up, and grown more complex in their view of the world. Vinge also develops the political situation on Tiamaat in more complexity. The world she develops is believable. Her best characters struggle heroically to do the right thing, but are often hampered by the need to compromise with more powerful military, cultural, or economic forces--just like real revolutionaries, visionaries, and leaders. I'm impressed by the depth of political consciousness Vinge brings to this story.
Rating: 
Summary: The summer queen
Review: Beautiful, quiet, elegant. Shocking, powerful, inspiring. The personal lives of the characters are realistically imperfect with moments of joy and sadness. The personal touch of the characters makes this book very subtle and elegant. Meanwhile, you have the primary plot of the story, which is exciting and truly amazing. The plot transcends the needs of the characters and demands that the characters become more than they are. A powerful story which interacts with the lives of the characters. A wonderful touch of the personal and the universal - a truly artistic contrast of writing styles. Very similar in style to Ender's Game and it's sequels. A wonderful read - plan on spending time on contemplation!
Rating: 
Summary: Subtle yet sweeping
Review: Beautiful, quiet, elegant. Shocking, powerful, inspiring. The personal lives of the characters are realistically imperfect with moments of joy and sadness. The personal touch of the characters makes this book very subtle and elegant. Meanwhile, you have the primary plot of the story, which is exciting and truly amazing. The plot transcends the needs of the characters and demands that the characters become more than they are. A powerful story which interacts with the lives of the characters. A wonderful touch of the personal and the universal - a truly artistic contrast of writing styles. Very similar in style to Ender's Game and it's sequels. A wonderful read - plan on spending time on contemplation!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book, but a bit too long.
Review: Having read the Snow Queen, I started to read the Summer Queen expecting an excellent story. I wasn't let down, although it was a bit too long for me. I liked the way all the sub plots merged together to create a happy ending (sort of anyway), just like in the Snow Queen. I would recommend the book to sci-fi readers, but read the Snow Queen first to understand the Summer Queen better.
Rating:
Summary: Joan Loves her Characters
Review: How you will feel about Summer Queen will depend on what you're looking for when you pick it up. I disagree with the last reviewer's doorstop comment. I feel that it's a bit unfair. I certainly agree that Snow Queen was a tighter work from an "action" perspective. However, I was never bored with the sequel. The pace just doesn't remain at breakneck throughout, and I suppose some people are only interested in that kind of pacing. While I was in the middle part, I kept thinking "Ah, the plot thickens." "Ooh, the plot thickens yet again." "Hmm, the plot is becoming molasses!" However, I was very excited for the last few hundred pages. This book is more solidly about characters and their relationships than the universe in which it's set. People who prefer a "genre fiction" approach like Asimov's Foundation or Tolkien (where the world is the main character) will probably lose interest in Vinge's detailed character development. Science fiction is often disparaged for a lack of character development, so I applaud Vinge for tackling that stereotype. She also ventured into the still-risky topics of homosexuality and transgenderism. I give Summer Queen a high rating. If you have a low attention span, then perhaps you shouldn't be reading books which are over 900 pages long!
Rating:
Summary: Joan Loves her Characters
Review: How you will feel about Summer Queen will depend on what you're looking for when you pick it up. I disagree with the last reviewer's doorstop comment. I feel that it's a bit unfair. I certainly agree that Snow Queen was a tighter work from an "action" perspective. However, I was never bored with the sequel. The pace just doesn't remain at breakneck throughout, and I suppose some people are only interested in that kind of pacing. While I was in the middle part, I kept thinking "Ah, the plot thickens." "Ooh, the plot thickens yet again." "Hmm, the plot is becoming molasses!" However, I was very excited for the last few hundred pages. This book is more solidly about characters and their relationships than the universe in which it's set. People who prefer a "genre fiction" approach like Asimov's Foundation or Tolkien (where the world is the main character) will probably lose interest in Vinge's detailed character development. Science fiction is often disparaged for a lack of character development, so I applaud Vinge for tackling that stereotype. She also ventured into the still-risky topics of homosexuality and transgenderism. I give Summer Queen a high rating. If you have a low attention span, then perhaps you shouldn't be reading books which are over 900 pages long!
Rating:
Summary: The summer queen
Review: I have read the Snow Queen as well as the Summer Queen, and I really liked both of them. The Snow Queen did more for me, however, because it had more an air of innocence about the characters in it than the Summer Queen did. I was somewhat disappointed in the rolls of the characters, here, especially Sparks. However, this book did well at carrying on the story.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing characters, unpolished storyline
Review: Joan Vinge developes characters like none other, by the end of the book you are left with a "leaving camp" feeling...like you just spent a week at camp making new friends and now it's time to go. Sure other books develope one or two, but Joan has nearly a dozen going by the end that are all wonderfully done. Which has it's drawbacks, you get the feeling thoughout the read that Arienrhod is constantly being dwelled upon, and much of the 600+ pages are spent backtracking on character developments. This detracts from what could have been one of the better storylines in sci-fi, I wanted to hear more about the Sibyl net and the mers. I feel perhaps a character could have been cut, or a development cut to make way for this. At any rate, if you liked the Snow Queen then you need to be reading this, however don't expect to finish with a pleasent feeling. There are some slow parts in the beggining and middle, but once you hit the home stretch it can't be put down :)
Rating: 
Summary: One word: boring
Review: Snow Queen was magnificent!
Tangle Up in Blue was a solid sequel.
The Summer Queen falls flat.
It is long, slow, dull, uninspired, and seemingly directionless with well-known characters who no longer evoke empathy in the reader. Skip it unless you need a doorstop.
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