Rating: 
Summary: Worth It Just for "Marooned in Realtime"
Review: You know by now that this book comprises the novel "Peace War", the short story "The Ungoverned" and the novel "Marooned in Realtime." The first two stories are interesting, but probably not something that I would rush out to recommend to friends. However, "Marooned in Realtime" is an amazing joyride! If you like the big ideas, big consequences, big time-spans, all carried out their logical conclusions, this is the story for you! Vinge clearly shows his skills in writing stories with a "sense of awe and wonder" that he later showcases in his "A Fire Upon the Deep" and "A Deepness in the Sky" novels. If you liked those two novels, you'll most probably like "Marooned in Realtime". One note: If you wonder if you "need" to read the "Peace War" and "The Ungoverened" in order to fully enjoy "Marooned in Realtime," there are a couple of concepts and characters that are introduced that are important to fully understanding "Marooned in Realtime." In fact, the conclusion to the "murder mystery" in "Marooned" hinges on your being familiar with a certain character introduced in the earlier stories. I was surpirsed by this since I was hoping that "Marooned" could stand alone by itself without too much backreferencing.
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