Rating: 
Summary: What do an ice age, ecofacists & S.F. fans have in common?
Review: After eco-facists get control of most governments and shut down most fossil fuel consumption an ice-age quickly results. Politically correct ideas, appropriate (environmentally freindly) technology, and persecution of technophiles are the rule of the day as the U.S. descends into barbarism. When a scoopship from the isolated space community gets shot down and crash lands on a North Dakota glacier, the pilots are rescued by an underground organization of S.F. fans. The fans outmaneuver ineffectual government alphabet soup types (FBI, INS etc.) in a cross country man hunt. The book is full of references to to other S.F. books and the characters are said to be patterned after real people from the S.F. fan community. Criticism of many of the tenets and beliefs of the current green movement abound. I for one am happy that someone is taking a swipe at these sanctimonious mindless prophets of doom. If you like that sort of thing, (as I do), the book is a 9.
Rating:
Summary: A very good book
Review: Alex MacLeod is flying what may be his last mission. Injured while rescuing Space Station Freedom from disaster, he is expendable, and as such sent on a mission to scoop some much needed nitrogen from Earth's atmosphere. But, when his ship is shot down over the United States, Alex finds himself on the run in a world vehemently opposed to everything he represents. The Earth is slipping into a new Ice Age, even while zealous Greens and "Eco-Fascists" put a stop to any technology that might lead to global warming. There's only one group to whom Alex can turn, one group still attached to the ideas of progress and science - Sci-Fi fans! But, what can these enthusiastic, but quirky, people do for Alex? You might be surprised!While definitely polemical in nature, this is nonetheless a very good book! The authors, two titans of the Sci-Fi genre, have put together a very good book that makes for some interesting reading. As a long-time fan of Sci-Fi, I loved all of the references to other Sci-Fi books! I highly recommend this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Angels down, Fans to the rescue
Review: An amazing account of how Fandom really would react to spacemen crashing on Earth, Fallen Angels is wonderful. Many of the characters are based on actual Fans and authors. There are so many in-jokes that trufans can get, but that 'danes wouldn't be completely at a loss in the book. This would be my pick for best novel of all time. The characters are rich, and the premise all to possible. When news reports are saying stuff about pollution and enviromentalists, and the greenhouse effect and how it's all terrible, all I can say is that it's the only thing saving us from the next ice age. The twist at the end of the book is nice, too. Speaker-to-Seafood and the other two authors should be commended for their fine book. 'Tis a proud and lonely thing to be a Fan.
Rating:
Summary: I have owned five copies of this book...
Review: And I've given four of them away to friends, who all liked it. You can get the story from other reviews. While the Greens are the "enemy" in this story, it's really aimed at anyone who would rather follow an emotional cause than think for themselves. While the argument over global warming is far from settled (despite the popular press), the "dumbing-down" of our society is not in question. Science is a mystery to the vast majority of Americans, and nobody trusts anything mysterious for long.... This book is not about politics. It is about a small, intelligent, educated, and devoted group (of sci-fi fans)outsmarting a country of mindless followers (of environmental socialism). While the details are a departure, the basic theme is not new. Frankly, my favorite parts of the book are the actions of the Greens, and how apparent they are in today's society: A Federal officer arguing how his gun is "appropriate technology"... the infighting on the committee in charge of finding the "Angels"... the focus on process over results throughout the pursuit.... I see this behavior more and more since first reading this book. Final word: Don't let the word "politics" scare you from an enjoyable book. Read it and decide for yourself. If you're a sci-fi fan, you'll get the inside jokes and obscure references (some of which are explained). If not, there's plenty of material inside for you, too.
Rating:
Summary: I have owned five copies of this book...
Review: And I've given four of them away to friends, who all liked it. You can get the story from other reviews. While the Greens are the "enemy" in this story, it's really aimed at anyone who would rather follow an emotional cause than think for themselves. While the argument over global warming is far from settled (despite the popular press), the "dumbing-down" of our society is not in question. Science is a mystery to the vast majority of Americans, and nobody trusts anything mysterious for long.... This book is not about politics. It is about a small, intelligent, educated, and devoted group (of sci-fi fans)outsmarting a country of mindless followers (of environmental socialism). While the details are a departure, the basic theme is not new. Frankly, my favorite parts of the book are the actions of the Greens, and how apparent they are in today's society: A Federal officer arguing how his gun is "appropriate technology"... the infighting on the committee in charge of finding the "Angels"... the focus on process over results throughout the pursuit.... I see this behavior more and more since first reading this book. Final word: Don't let the word "politics" scare you from an enjoyable book. Read it and decide for yourself. If you're a sci-fi fan, you'll get the inside jokes and obscure references (some of which are explained). If not, there's plenty of material inside for you, too.
Rating:
Summary: I have owned five copies of this book...
Review: And I've given four of them away to friends, who all liked it. You can get the story from other reviews. While the Greens are the "enemy" in this story, it's really aimed at anyone who would rather follow an emotional cause than think for themselves. While the argument over global warming is far from settled (despite the popular press), the "dumbing-down" of our society is not in question. Science is a mystery to the vast majority of Americans, and nobody trusts anything mysterious for long.... This book is not about politics. It is about a small, intelligent, educated, and devoted group (of sci-fi fans)outsmarting a country of mindless followers (of environmental socialism). While the details are a departure, the basic theme is not new. Frankly, my favorite parts of the book are the actions of the Greens, and how apparent they are in today's society: A Federal officer arguing how his gun is "appropriate technology"... the infighting on the committee in charge of finding the "Angels"... the focus on process over results throughout the pursuit.... I see this behavior more and more since first reading this book. Final word: Don't let the word "politics" scare you from an enjoyable book. Read it and decide for yourself. If you're a sci-fi fan, you'll get the inside jokes and obscure references (some of which are explained). If not, there's plenty of material inside for you, too.
Rating:
Summary: Fandom is a way of life
Review: Any true fan needs to read this book. It provides a really entertaing look at how we fans would react to anti-tech loonies taking over the government and the facts about the current ice age at the end of the book can be very usefull in arguments with eco-nazis. A great read and full of triva about the wonderful and wacky world of fandom.
Rating: 
Summary: A lazy Sunday I'll not see again!
Review: As someone who does live on the shore of the Arctic Ocean, it's getting warmer...not colder. And yeah, I get the fact that this book has a humorous angle and was intended to get a reader thinking...but really! A tedious haul at best, and a promising premise completely wasted by lazy writing. I am a fan of Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle both, but I will be looking at their books out of a jaundiced eye for quite some time after this. If you truly want to read this, I implore you to check it at the library and save your hard earned pennies. Can a guy petition an author for his money back?
Rating:
Summary: A lazy Sunday I'll not see again!
Review: As someone who does live on the shore of the Arctic Ocean, it's getting warmer...not colder. And yeah, I get the fact that this book has a humorous angle and was intended to get a reader thinking...but really! A tedious haul at best, and a promising premise completely wasted by lazy writing. I am a fan of Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle both, but I will be looking at their books out of a jaundiced eye for quite some time after this. If you truly want to read this, I implore you to check it at the library and save your hard earned pennies. Can a guy petition an author for his money back?
Rating:
Summary: Not by Niven and Pournelle
Review: Badly written and unbelievable, this is the worst book to have these two guys' names on it since Footfall. This time Science Fiction FANS save the world. Clearly this was submitted for publication by a fan who attends conventions and Niven and Pournelle decided to capitalize on the fawning adulation of convention kids by helping to get it published. That'd be okay if it was a good story or good writing or a good idea but it's not any of those things. If you like books that suggest that it's important to go to SF conventions and that such people are special because they do, then this book is for you. If you want good fiction in your Science Fiction...stay away.
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