The Best Book I Read this Summer ...

... was Charles Stross' Glasshouse. A brilliant blend of science fiction and horror, which is a fast-paced, brilliantly plotted, and fully realized post-singularity story. In a world where Stargate-like warp T-gates allow people to leap across light years and Star Trek replicator A-gates allow them to produce anything they like, including cloned versions of themselves, a gaggle of (we eventually learn) war criminals and espionage agents are trapped on a multi-generation starship for nefarious purposes by the side that lost the war. A bit heavy on computer jargon and the ending arguably is a little too pat/anti-climactic. Yet, even so, this book is further proof that Charles Stross is the best new talent in science fiction (with all due apologies to John Scalzi, who is also in the running for that title IMHO).