Books I've Read (Winter/Spring 2006): Blood Music

Greg Bear, Blood Music. Like Vitals and Darwin's Radio, a molecular-biology-themed sci-fi thriller. Nicely crafted, right through the ending. It's really rewarding to see someone doing such excellent work around the life sciences. Plays the classic "what-if" game, but instead of extrapolating a technology's effect onto a hypothetical future, Blood Music takes us from one lonely loser scientist today and determines if he'll cause the end of the world.