Macroscope, as best I can tell, is the only science fiction book by Piers Anthony. He seems to mostly be known for fantasy. I had heard his name but had never read any of his books.

I was underwhelmed by the book. I thought some of the reveals were too obvious and others too dull. I will say that most of the characters were interesting and I didn't think any of them got the shaft by the narrative. Overall I simply did not enjoy reading this novel.

I won't elaborately summarize the novel as I dislike that when I read other reviews. It is, loosely, about a group of four (no, five) characters and their search through the galaxy for the source of a mysterious signal. All this occurs in the early 1980's (the book was published in 1970). The title refers to an alien technology that allows one to view far distant objects or societies through an device dubbed a macroscope.

I wouldn't actively attempt to keep someone from reading this book, but I can't recommend it.

I recently ordered, and just received, two Perl-related books. One is the fresh off the presses Modern Perl, and the other is a 2009 book about Catalyst. After I read them I will review them here. I expect them both to be good.

I bought Modern Perl because I think I can learn a thing or two from it and because I'm a follower of the eponymous blog.

I bought the Catalyst book because I need to start using it for a project I'm working on at work. It is the most recent book on the topic and the authors are people who are highly regarded in the Perl community.