Williams, Sean -- Saturn Returns
Picture Wright's "Golden Age" trilogy without the overwrought diction
or the eventual collapse into Randsturbation. Okay, without the
colossal ambition either, but it's still good fun. A guy is revived
by aliens from a long-lost backup copy, and tries to figure out what
happened to the galaxy in the N-thousand years he's been gone. I liked
the various neural architectures and how they played into the plot.
This is a strictly non-FTL setting, which is also well-worked out,
as long as you buy civilizations lasting thousands of years while our
heroes transmit themselves around. (This only bothered me in a few
spots.)
Currently in my to-read pile. See? I meant it about the Berg.
Books I have acquired recently
All the books I own