An SFBC compilation of the novels Singularity Sky and Iron Sunrise.

Singularity Sky: An advanced spaceship appears at a repressive, low-tech colony world and starts dumping highly advanced technology on it. The parent system tries to retaliate and fails utterly because they do not understand advanced technology. Two spies from Earth try to prevent the government from breaking any of the laws laid down by the AI which controls the galaxy. The book has a lot of interesting ideas, but is fairly weak on character. There is too much military-tech dialogue like 'Contact with enemy forces expected in two-three-zero seconds.'

Iron Sunrise: A race of genetically-engineered supermen is slowly expanding its empire, and is involved with a causality weapon which caused an inhabited planet's sun to go nova. A survivor of that planet has information that could implicate them and ends up teaming up with Rachael and Martin from Singularity Sky. A good adventure story that is more entertaining overall than the first book. ( )