The best nine SF novels you've never heard of
Neither idea is completely new but Egan has thought harder than most about the implications and written it as a novel. Like Asimov, not much character development. A different take on the well-worn feudalist theme: treachery and chivalry with airplanes in a low-tech future Balkanized by whales (sic). Complex plot, large cast of characters; part of the Greatwinter Trilogy. Comparable to Martin's Ice and Fire series but more creative in concept and less formulaic in execution.