>P.S. I'm sorta surprised at how antique most of the book
>recommendations have been, though there's nothing wrong with the
>classics...
Science fiction in general is going through a dismal period where
many of the established writers simply have run out of strong viable
story ideas, or their outlines are being farmed out to less able
writers by the publishers. A glut of badly-written books, a few
journals going under, a general weeding-out process of a bloated
market. How I miss the pulp journals! But I guess eventually all
these processes balance themselves out and more innovative writers
will become known.
If you can find it, pick up a copy of the latest _Analog_, they
usually have a decent short stories and some science news. Also, Ben
Bova has a new book out that utilizes nanotech as a plot device, it's
called _Moonrise_, I think.
Kathryn Aegis