Talking to Myself

Got this summary/review from jancola (in amazon.com)

The best one-line description of this book that I can come up with is this: Imagine if "Dune" had been written by a female anthropologist. It is a book about the changing of power on a planet, much like Dune. Instead of a planet that is almost entirely desert, Tiamat is a planet almost entirely ocean. Instead of sandworms and the Spice, Tiamat has dolphin-like mers and the Water of Life. Instead of featuring one man with a unique ability, it stars Moon, a woman who is seemingly less than unique; she is the clone of the current queen of Tiamat. As the book continues, however, it becomes clear that Moon is unique, as she is the only one with the ability to see the truth about their place in the universe, and the only one trusted with the secret of the sybil mind.

But it is so much more than Dune, really. The world of Tiamat and the Hegemony is as large and complex and ancient as the world of Arrakis and its empire, perhaps larger; it is so large that it is not even apparent that this is the future of humankind as we know it until you get deep into it. There layers upon layers of political scheming in this universe, so deep that no single person can explain it all. There are so many different levels of conspiracy and technology and religion that is difficult to grasp it all at once. But none of it will mean anything unless Moon can keep them from destroying themselves....

It is a brilliant book, and its sequel, the Summer Queen, is as good or better. Joan D. Vinge has a unique insight that makes you feel like you are discovering something new instead of reading a book. I heartily recommend it to anyone who has interest in the kind of thoughtful science fiction that opens the mind with possibilities.