Glenn Reynolds is asking for science fiction recommendations again. I don't think he mentioned one of the best authors of fiction of all time, John Varley. His style is reminiscient of Niven, Haldeman, and Heinlein. The John Varley Reader is the tightest collection of great science fiction short stories you'll ever see. (Some stories are reprints from older collections, some are new.)

His latest two novels:

Red Thunder is an homage to Heinlein, a book that asks: if we could solve the thrust requirements easily, how hard would it be to get to Mars? Answer: well, read the book. The plot and structure were, for Varley, a little underwhelming. It reads like something he wrote VERY quickly. Not sloppily, but something that came to him so fast he could barely keep up with the words. Still, recommended.

Mammoth is his most recent book (shipping took one day from Amazon!). A frozen mammoth is dug out of the ice in Canada, and a human body is found next to it... wearing a wristwatch! A stronger and more compelling work than Red Thunder, and 3/4 of the way through when you think you have it figured out, there's one more twist for good measure. The mood is overbearing throughout (intentionally), yet it comes to an end which is satisfying and even bittersweet. Thumbs up.