Having been a bit cranky and just wanting to get away from it all a bit, in the past two nights I’ve plowed through Rainbows End, by Vernor Vinge. It is typical Vinge in some senses (the renegades who want to stay free of government surveillance use the HURD), but very near-future- set in 2025, just like True Names. The characters aren’t his best, but the ideas are all over the place, and most are just far enough out there to be challenging, but also close enough to be plausible. Anyway… I thoroughly enjoyed it, and anyone who likes Big Ideas scifi should definitely pick it up.