If it's indeed my turn to come up with a book selection for last time, I'm comfortable with recycling my previous choices. Original email to follow:
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Vernor Vinge, "A Fire Upon the Deep" (391 pages)
From Wikipedia: "A Fire Upon the Deep is a science fiction novel by American writer Vernor Vinge, a space opera involving superhuman intelligences, aliens, variable physics, space battles, love, betrayal, genocide, and a conversation medium resembling Usenet. A Fire Upon the Deep won the Hugo Award in 1993 (tied with Doomsday Book by Connie Willis).[1]
[...]
A human civilization high in the Beyond (see below for an explanation of the Zones of Thought) dispatches an expedition to a planet in the low Transcend, having learned of a massive 5-billion year old archive of data there which had been off the Known Net for all that time. It offers the possibility of unthinkable riches for the ambitious young civilization of Straumli Realm, and an expedition of archaeologist programmers is dispatched to open the archive and discover its secrets."
This is probably going to be extremely "hard" science fiction, not necessarily difficult in reading, but in that it will focus heavily on science concepts and extremely nerdy things. I'm interested in this book because, well, I'm a nerd, and this sounds like it has truly novel ideas about the future and space travel that you don't find often.
Neil Gaiman, "American Gods" (480 pages)
From Wikipedia: "American Gods is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning[1] novel by Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on a mysterious and taciturn protagonist, Shadow. It is Gaiman's fourth prose novel, being preceded by Good Omens (a collaboration with Terry Pratchett), Neverwhere, and Stardust. Several of the themes touched upon in the book were previously glimpsed in The Sandman graphic novels.
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The central concept is that gods and mythological creatures exist because people believe in them. Immigrants to the United States brought dwarves, elves, leprechauns, and other spirits and gods with them, but their power is diminished as people's beliefs wane. New gods have arisen, reflecting America's obsessions with media, celebrity, technology, and illegal drugs, among others."
I've heard nothing but good things about this author, either from fantasy enthusiasts, or comic book geeks (Gaiman is famous for his "Sandman" series). The concept sounds pretty interesting, and if nothing else sounds like its pretty decent fiction.
Naomi Novik, "His Majesty's Dragon" (356 pages)
From Wikipedia: "His Majesty's Dragon, published in the UK as Temeraire, is the first novel in the Temeraire alternate history/fantasy series by American author Naomi Novik first published in 2005. His Majesty's Dragon won the 2007 Compton Crook Award for best novel in the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre during 2006 by a first time author in the genre. The book was also nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2007, but lost out to Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge.
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The story is set during an alternate history version of the Napoleonic Wars, in which dragons not only exist but are used as a staple of aerial warfare in Asia and Europe. The dragons of the story are portrayed as sentient and intelligent, capable of logical thought and human speech. The series centers primarily on events involving Temeraire (the titular dragon) and his handler, Will Laurence. The first book of the series centers on how Laurence, formerly a Captain in the Royal Navy, becomes Temeraire's handler, and their early training in preparation for battles against Napoleon's aerial fleet."
I mean, who *hasn't* wondered how the Napoleonic wars would have gone if he had dragons at his disposal? I'd normally skip this one because it sounds a little silly, but this is one where other fantasy writers have said "Wow, this is surprisingly good, and I'm not embarrassed to have somebody read the book's title when I'm sitting next to them on an airplane."
