War in Heaven by David Zindell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There is absolutely no way to review this book with any justice.

Suffice to say, I have to revise my top ten book list.

Mind you, I must put all four books into the pile as one long story because while they can be read individually with their own major punctuation point, there's simply no way to separate one YES, YES, YES from the rest.

What is this book, these books?

They are some of the finest Science Fiction I've ever read. It has everything.

Heart-searching, amazing worldbuilding, philosophy, amazing action, gorgeous prose, and ... even now, after having read nearly 6 thousand books in my life, even manages to CHANGE MY LIFE.

Look. I'm kinda skeptical and I take certain book-journeys with kid gloves. If a book accomplishes what it sets out to achieve, or if it is entertaining, or if I learned a ton from it, I tend to give it full marks just because it was excellent on its own terms. But then there are some books that take me by the back of my neck, stare deep into my eyes, and fill me with a soul-hungry WILDNESS that asks me that single, awesome question:

"How do you capture a beautiful bird without killing its spirit?"

THIS book is the answer.

I laughed, I cried, and I want to scream out to everyone I know... YOU MUST READ THESE!!!!

I can't say it enough. They are amazing. They should be ranked right up there with the best books of any field, not just SF or Fantasy. I say the same thing about Dune. It's not only wise and overflowing with life. It's heart-wrenching.

Don't let the fact that it's hard-SF set in a far future filled with lightships and computer gods and alien worlds. Those are for context. The heart of these books in nature of life, of the injustice of life, and how to live with it. In that respect, it's very much a classic tale.

But when you answer the question that I posed, before, it answers about three dozen other questions and it may simply blow your mind.

I think I'll be putting all four of these books in my place of pride on my bookshelf and read them over and over. Danlo is a friend I will always want by my side.

Oh, and if this isn't that clear, I need to say: OMG ya'll, FIND these, READ them. They BEG for readers.

There is serious injustice going on here. It's hard to FIND them. The publishers SCREWED the author over. These books deserve to have airtime and be gushed over by millions of readers and be subject to endless online arguments and be petitioned for movie deals. But instead, I'm afraid that they will remain forgotten and left to rot under tons of trash.

I cannot stress this enough.
These are CLASSICS. The REAL DEAL. Utterly amazing.

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