Rating: 
Summary: Zettel's getting better and better
Review: I loved this book. It was well-written and thoroughly absorbing. In addition to an interesting plot, there are engaging female characters -- including a devout Moslem woman who is Chief Engineer and boss of a star cargo ship. The one problem I had was that, although the women characters are rather fully realized, the male characters lacked something. I had trouble keeping two of them (Watch and Houston, S....? and Lipinsky) apart. I could intellectually remember their different histories, etc., but as characters they didn't keep me in touch with their personalities. Come to think of it, I was a little disoriented by the dramatic thing Al Shei does near the end of the book, too. I didn't feel prepared for her to do what she did. That having been said, however, I really liked this book! I'm really sad I've finished it, and I can't wait for Zettel to get her next one out in paperback! And I want to give Dobbs a warm hug and a nice bowl of soup. ;-
Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking and exciting.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are well-developed, the story line is original, there is plenty of fast-paced action, the ending is good - there are no loose ends. It is well-written. This is one of the best sci-fi AI-focused books I have read.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating and absorbing science-fiction read
Review: I thought Sarah Zettel did a fantastic job with this book. The characters were interesting and compelling, and one really felt for them. (One reason why some of the unhappier portions of the ending nearly made me cry.) The characters were unconventional but realistic, something that is all too rare nowadays. They were all sympathetic and their actions made sense.Where I think she had some difficulty is with the more "panoramic" parts of the book. The biggest problem I had was with the end, which was very exciting and action-packed, but sort of... out-of-place. It felt rushed, as though she wasn't as interested in it as in the things that had gone on earlier. In consequence, some of the characterization towards the end really suffered... The gloating supervillain, weird motivations, murder and mayhem that wasn't very well thought out. The hidden purpose of the Fool's Guild was very interesting, but I just didn't buy that for SO LONG they had taken this "wait, watch, don't do anything" view of working towards their purpose. It's hard to say more without destroying some of the surprises, which were some of the most fun parts of the book-- you never knew where she was going, yet she gave you enough clues that after the secret was revealed, you could go back and say, "Oh, I get it." (The one exception was Dobbs. Did anyone else guess her hidden secret fairly quickly?) All-in-all, a very interesting book, with some thought-provoking ideas and a complex and fascinating future universe.
Rating:
Summary: An irrisistable read
Review: I'm so glad to have belatedly discovered Sarah Zettel. I came across Fool's War when I was in a reading funk: I'd finished a wonderful book three weeks earlier and nothing I picked up after that piqued my interest. Then the little elves at Amazon suggested I might like to read Fool's War and I succumbed and I'm so glad I did. The plot is fascinating, the pace is energetic, the characters are believable and complex, and the visualisation of artificial intelligence is stunning. This one's good from the first page to the last. I've just bought her other books (Reclamation and Playing God) and can't wait to dive into them.
Rating:
Summary: Hi tech sci-fi
Review: If you're into computers, especially networking, you'll like this one. Not that it is for geeks or is stuffed with technical lingo but the ideas are based on enough reality to allow it to work. Great concepts folded into a compelling story. A pretty fast read. I'll definetly read her other books. I found the characters refreshing if not totally original.
Rating: 
Summary: Nuthin' spectacular.
Review: Is it just me, people? I can't relate to what I call "chick-fiction." Take a female sci-fi author and you're gonna get all this relationship crap. Oh, gee, I like him, but I think he's p***ed at me--just look at the way he "jams his fists into his pockets", and besides, I'm an artificial intelligence anyway, and... Ye-gads! I think Ursula Le Guin exemplifies this--check out The Dispossessed. So, here you've got female relationship mumbo-jumbo which is already sending all the guys heading for the hills, and now on top of it all we've got all this Islamic gobbley-gook to deal with. Yeah, I can really relate to this book, Sarah! Sheesh! The only redeeming factor was the cyber-punkish net-travel. Other than that--this book is to guys what kryptonite is to Superman... emasculating.
Rating:
Summary: Muslims and AIs and Fools...Oh my!
Review: It is a very interesting mix of characters and concepts that Sarah Zettel has woven into "Fool's War". However, she has managed the story quite smoothly, and has integrated bits of history into the narrative in such a way as to make this future universe a most natural one. A story like this is unique, so it may not agree with everyone, but it has definitely found a cherished place on my bookshelf. --S. L-S.
Rating: 
Summary: A "Recommended Novel" for 1997
Review: Locus Magazine (the Publisher's Weekly of the SF/fantasy world) has just named FOOL'S WAR to its 1997 Recommended Reading list.
Rating:
Summary: Great story
Review: One of the more unusual and interesting SF novels I have read recently. Although I agree with some of the other reviewers about weaknesses in the characterization of male characters and less than perfect descriptive skills, the interesting cultural background and plot still make it a very enjoyable read.
Something I did not understand was the reference to Neuromancer (another SF title I like very much) in one of the commentaries - apart from both books including characters zooming around in cyberspace, the background and mood of the books could hardly be more different, Neuromancer being much more high-tech oriented. In my view definitely superior to "Reclamation", also by Sarah Zettel.
Rating: 
Summary: Great concept, but way too technical for the average Joe
Review: Personally, I look for books that haven't been done before, that is why I picked this book up. However, it got so technical that the computer became as much of a character as Dobbs. It could have used more plot development and less techno babble in my opinion.
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