Rating: 
Summary: Beware: too violent for children!
Review: Although I enjoyed this book I was quite shocked initially at the extreme violence and the sex in the book. This was not at all what I expected from an Anne McCaffrey book. Recommended for adults or older teenagers with a warning. I enjoyed Stirling's sequel better than this one.
Rating: 
Summary: My favourite B&B book
Review: City Who Fought is an amazing book which I really love. The characters are all very real and three-demensional. I found myself so drawn into the story that I forgot about many other things, including my favourite tv show. I stayed up til...bout 2:30 AM reading this book, so that I could find out what happened to Simeon, Joat, Channa, and the rest of them. My favourite character was Simeon, of course, but Joat, Channa, Joseph, Seld, Patsy, Chaundra -- okay, all of them, just about -- are also wonderfully three-demensional. Simeon is my favourite brain -- favourite character -- from any of Anne McCafferey's B&B books. The only problems I found with this book were a) that it was much more militaristic than I like, but I knew that when I began reading it, so I can only blame myself, and b) the Kolnari were a bit..flat, and 2-demensional, not something I personally like in a book, especially for the villians. One thing that I read in another review of this book was that it was not a good book for children, having a lot of sex and violence in it. My opinion on this is: It's not MEANT for children! It's an adults book, and the person who wrote that review should have realized that.
Rating: 
Summary: Worse-than-usual McCaffrey; a very poor book.
Review: I rarely have such a severe reaction to a book as I did to this, not even to those by the redoubtable Ms McCaffrey, but this really is a lamentably bad book. Set in the same universe as the Ship Who Sang series, this falls far short of even the worst of those. The plot and characterization are about at the level I would expect from a McCaffrey book - thin to nonexistent. Unfortunately, this book also lacks the redeeming feature of most of her books - it is neither fun nor diverting. I usually read McCaffrey for mind candy, but this book possesses too many flaws (superficiality, racism, homophobia, lack of plot, lack of excitement) to commend itself even for this purpose. Don't bother to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed - definately not a McCaffrey work
Review: I really couldn't get into this book. I am a diehard fan of Anne, and I have read 99% of her books. This was the first one that I didn't even finish. I gave it about half the book, and then gave up because of the violence and awkward writing style. In fact, the style itself was nothing like Anne's! I would venture to say that Stirling wrote the majority of this work, and I found his style to be crude at best. Although, if you are into violence, hey this is the book for you! In fact, I bet it would be really good for folks who are into that. Anyway, I found it nothing at all like Anne's books, and I wondered how much of a part she had in the writing. I love the rest of the series though, and give the series a 4 star rating. :)
Rating:
Summary: Great, just great.
Review: I'm being distracted by many things. Any how, it's a great book, but I rarely don't like something.
Rating:
Summary: McCaffrey's characters fight real war Stirling-style
Review: I've always considered Anne McCaffrey a lightweight. She's superb at characterization but she doesn't put her characters through destructive testing. Her favorite plot is the _deux ex machina_.Not so here. This is NOT a book for children, and not just because of sexual tension between main characters. S.M. Stirling writes very good, very hard-core military fiction in which the bad guys sometimes win and the good guys _suffer_ even if they are lucky enough to survive. The mix of the two is incredible, better than either on their own. _The City Who Fought_ forces McCaffrey's characters to the next level of courage and heroism, realistically mixing personal concerns and the horrors of war. _And_ they measure up to the challenge in distinctly different ways. Oh, and see _The Ship Avenged_ by Stirling for the sequel. If you still want more "military McCaffrey", I suggest _Sassinak_.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Brain/Brawn tale....
Review: I've been a McCaffrey fan for over a decade, I've read 98% of her books and the Brain/Brawn books have become my favorites. Joat, Channa and Amos are interesting characters, though I think Simeon steals the show. While there is more violence than most of Ms. McCaffrey's other works, with the exception of the Generation Warriors trilogy, I feel it fits the plot and situation and is not excessive. The comic relief is great and the plot interesting and solid. A must read along with The Ship Who Sang and The Ship Who Searched.
Rating:
Summary: Brain and Brawn-an imperfect match
Review: Problem. You are confined in a metal tub, with arms and legs that do not function. You are the brain. You control the life functions of your deep space station. And they've sent you a brawn who drives you particularly bonkers! Talk about unrequited love, this dame is enough to twist your tubes into a tangle.
And if that isn't enough trouble, add a lover-boy and a malicious enemy, and love tactics isn't all you have to worry about. Forget about saving the galaxy, the first thing is to save your own metal skin. Will the shell from hell outfox the military madness?
Rating:
Summary: The City Who Fought--not your father's Anne McCaffrey.
Review: S.M. Stirling and Anne McCaffrey mix their unique styles to form this compelling book. While other McCaffrey books are/were family-level entertainment, The City Who Fought is MUCH more of an ADULT book. The sexual tension between Simeon (the "brain" of the spaceship) and Channa Hap (the foxy lady who doesn't like to admit it, also his "brawn") definitely heightens the enjoyability. Add an "intruder" type who tries to muscle in on Simeon, who is "courting" Channa, and you've got everything a good book needs, adventure, a heroine, the aforementioned sexual tension, a "bad" guy. I highly recommend this book
Rating:
Summary: Great B&B book.
Review: Simeon is revealed to the readers in a way that other brains have not been. I liked it.
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