Although his other work never really hits the mark, this trio of hard boiled detective novels set in nazi germany (pre,post,and during) are truly great fiction. I have recommended this book to a wide variety of readers and everyone of them has loved it.

One of his last books that maintains some accessibility and entertainment value to balance off his increasingly abstract theses. After this, his books are quite difficult but this one is a lot of fun -- especially for CS people. Be warned however that it's definitely *hard* sf....

This book is visionary, adolescent, misguided, overwritten, funny, thought provoking, eclectic, and absolutely, positively brilliant. Don't give up if you find the first 50-100 pages difficult or odd (almost everyone does) -- this is essential reading for anyone with even a passing interest in computing.

A very nice book that requires some patience at points, but is definitely worth the read. For hard boiled detective fans it has all the elements with a very unique main character.

Connelly writes some of the best police procedurals if one also likes the hard boiled detective genre. The Harry Bosch novels move well, are genuinely moving at times, and contain very strong suspense elements. At the same time, the novels ring with the authenticity that procedurals require.

Willeford's Hoke Mosely novels (of which there are four) are essential reading for any fans of this genre.

Fantastic book -- Egan's earlier work like this and Axiomatic is some of the best hard science fiction ever written. He's always enjoyable but the early stuff is decidely more accessible as well as being truly innovative and dramatic.