Let me start by saying that I rarely give reviews for a book, and when I do judge Science Fiction I do so using the Campbellian model.
That model being the kinds of science fiction that John Woods Campbell of Astounding magazine published and/or wrote.
In short, I determine whether it's Hard SF or not and will rate it accordingly.
I dislike Soft SF (unless it is exceptionally done), and have a personal preference for Military Science Fiction, thus I give my rating based on how close a novel/story is to Hard SF verses Soft.
Leslie Woods Davis' Rune Logic is a novel that meets most of the criteria for a Hard SF novel in my opinion.
Here's a basic overview (no spoilers):
The story takes place in a future benevolent-dystopian world that consists of two major countries: Hagal and Tyr.
These countries are ruled by the "Runes" who are responsible for everything that happens within the world, even the weather is controlled by them.
But all is not well within this "Utopia" as an Underground movement of "Sprites" has begun to rebel against the dictatorship of the Runes.
With the destruction of an airbus, Greg Weaver/Physician Twelve, and his close friend and co-worker Paul Childers/Physician Twelve, find themselves sucked into the rising disturbance by the Underground.
The death of a Rune at the hands of the Underground only escalates the situation.
Matters get worse when Greg Weaver is called to the lair of the Runes to attend to a medical problem that starts a series of events which could bring down the whole of society in general and allow chaos to reign.
My critique:
The Good.
Rune Logic reminds me of the movie Zardoz with the secret council using advanced computer technologies that control the lives of the population of Earth. For me this is a plus and makes the book very unique in its handling of a digitally controlled society. I enjoyed the computer interfaces, the futhoric language, the subtle manipulation strategies by the characters, and the overall plot of the story.
The advanced forms of transportation, the drugs for both entertainment and medical use, the high-tech weapons of the Civil Sens, the contracts, and the general politics of the story are quite good. The characters are detailed, rich, believable, and not flat by any measure. The events of the story make sense, and the plot flows to what is the only real logical conclusion.
The romantic elements are done quite well, and the dialogue is smooth.
The writing overall is done with a gentle prose that is easy to read.
Spelling and grammar are acceptable by my standards.
The Bad.
The sex.
I don't like sex in Science Fiction stories at all.
I have no problem with romance in a story, or the implication of sex, I just don't want to read the details about it in SF.
For paper-porn I read Danielle Steel type stories.
However, since this is a personal preference I cannot in good conscience hold it against this book.
The Ugly.
Not really anything other than the History of how the Runes came to power.
Most military hardware (submarines, aircraft, nuclear launch facilities) are all "stand-alone" machines that operate within military intranets and are not accessible from computers on the outside world.
The War Games scenario is not possible under current military conditions due to security doctrines.
Perhaps at a latter date in the future they might be, but not yet.
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