The Peace War (Peace War)

Submitted by Reviewer (not verified) on Saturday, November 12, 2005 - 23:35

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Vernor Vinge: The Peace War

Author	Vernor Vinge
Made	Tor Books
Date	2003-12-01
Media	Paperback
Catalog	Book
Sales Rank	85679
Availability	Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price	US$14.95
Our Price*	US$10.17

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Reviews:

Rating 4.5/5 from 25 reviews

Solid Scifi with interesting ideas and technology

Rating: 5/5 2008-09-05

While it is true this is not Vinge's best work, but it is still a very interesting read, has everything you would expected from a solid scifi: fancy technology and its impact on future society, characters you can related to, and an enemy who is not cardboard villains.

Superior

Rating: 4/5 (1 out of 1 think this is helpful) 2008-04-29

This is a superior SF novel. Vinge builds his story around a clever technological conceit; the bobbler. 'Bobbled' individuals and spaces are placed in extra-dimensional stasis for the life of the bobble. From normal dimensional point of view, a bobble is an impenetrable and perfectly reflecting sphere. In the background of Vinge's novel, bobbling is discovered by a shadowy contract research organization in the USA which uses the technology to overthrow all governments in the world and impose themselves as a world government - The Peace Authority. The Peace authority retains power by use of bobble technology and active suppression of technological/scientific progress.
The Peace War is the story of the overthrow of the Peace Authority. Decently written and plotted, The Peace War incorporates aspects of time travel, clever articulation of the bobble idea, and an entertaining future history.

Not Free SF Reader

Rating: 4/5 2007-09-04

Intriguing look at the possible uses and misuses of anti-weapons
techology, i.e. seriously hardcore force fields, for example. Or,
military conflicts fought as world wide games of Bubble Bobble! Well,
not quite, but that sort of thing. Some altruists are working on either
side, so not black and white.

Near future vision, happy ending

Rating: 4/5 (1 out of 1 think this is helpful) 2007-05-12

Vinge portrays a society not that far in our future where governmental borders and organizations have shifted. Overlords control technology, with a few at the top, and almost feudal societies below.
Good story, well written, a bit too much "superman" in that the principal characters manage fantastic feats (via technology, not brawn).
But a nice book.

Very good book, though not Vinge's best

Rating: 4/5 (3 out of 3 think this is helpful) 2007-03-09

I'm a big fan of Vinge, and I thought this book was really good, though not at the same level as "Fire on the Deep" or "Deepness in the Sky".

As a scientist, I have to admit that I really liked the idea of scientists forcing peace on the world through their inventions. And, no doubt, it would be a disaster if this were to occur in real life...

The only quip I have with the book is that none of the characters were very compelling, due to a lack of development. Superior character development is one of the biggest reasons why I would recommend reading "Fire" and "Deepness" before this one.

Editorials:

Product Description

The Peace War is quintessential hard-science adventure. The Peace Authority conquered the world with a weapon that never should have been a weapon--the "bobble," a spherical force-field impenetrable by any force known to mankind. Encasing governmental installations and military bases in bobbles, the Authority becomes virtually omnipotent. But they've never caught Paul Hoehler, the maverick who invented the technology, and who has been working quietly for decades to develop a way to defeat the Authority. With the help of an underground network of determined, independent scientists and a teenager who may be the apprentice genius he's needed for so long, he will shake the world, in the fast-paced hard-science thriller that garnered Vinge the first of his four Hugo nominations for best novel.

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