Paperback, 351 pages
Published Nov. 11, 1999 by Gollancz.
Joe Haldeman returns with a story about the horrors of war -- and how we might move past them. Julian Class is a physicist working on the largest particle accelerator ever built, a nanobot-constructed ring in the orbit of Jupiter. He is also a 'mechanic', someone who pilots the robotic combat mechs used by the US Army to fight a protracted war against a South America-Africa alliance. When he learns about the potential outcome of the Jupiter Project, he is forced to take action.
Great start, exploring asymmetric convenient war rather than endless distant war. Unfortunately, the second half is a pat caper, both too fast and too neat to be engaging.
