Space Viking

Rating:
Summary: A lost science fiction classic
Review: This was one of my favorite books when I was in my late teens; I recently re-read it and found it to be as exciting as the first time around. Piper had the ability to create realistic worlds and the several worlds in this book are no exception. I think its a shame that this, along with most of Piper's other books, is no longer in print.

Rating:
Summary: Still relevant.
Review: Though some of the technology is dated in Piper's books, the story, characters, writing and themes are perfectly fresh. "Space Viking" is a gripping space opera on surface but is also a great essay on the rights and responsibilities of citizens as well as a questioning of civilization itself. The only other science fiction books to address these concepts so well are Heinlen's "Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" and "Starship Troopers".

Rating:
Summary: Still relevant.
Review: Though some of the technology is dated in Piper's books, the story, characters, writing and themes are perfectly fresh. "Space Viking" is a gripping space opera on surface but is also a great essay on the rights and responsibilities of citizens as well as a questioning of civilization itself. The only other science fiction books to address these concepts so well are Heinlen's "Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" and "Starship Troopers".

Rating:
Summary: This book was pulled from my grade school library.
Review: Written at the hight of the Cold War, this SF novel is filled with atomic weapons being used in the far future after the colapse of a federation, and the return, centuries later, of a branch civilization that fled after a civil war. But the book was pulled because of the shooting of an unarmed civilian. Makes one wonder why killing one person, in person, is more horrific than killing 100,000 with one push of a button. And THAT is one of the hidden themes of the book. Think back to the 60s, if you can, before reading it. Slide rules are used and computers take up entire rooms.