The galaxy's two multi-species superpowers stand on the brink of yet another pointless war. Soldiers, draft-dodgers, smugglers and spies from both sides are rushing towards Cedar Commons, an uninhabited forest planet near the border. Everyone has some plan for fighting, avoiding, or profiting from the conflict. None of these plans are going to work out: war destroys plans as efficiently as it does lives. But as the visitors to this once-quiet planet discover each other, they'll make new friends, new enemies, and new plans that have a chance to end the war before it causes the collapse of several civilizations. "A triumph: madcap and trenchant, dancing on the precise meridian between funny and weird, with a wild, imaginative boldness that reinvents space-opera from the gravity well up." - Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother , co-editor of Boing Boing , IP activist "A fast-paced romp reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut channeled through the wild inventiveness of Charles Stross and the irreverent political attitude of Cory Doctorow." - Don Vicha, Booklist (starred review) " Situation Normal is an entertaining look at the question of what war is for, as well as a clever demonstration of the supreme power of chaos." - Don Sakers, Analog Born in Los Angeles and raised in California, Leonard Richardson now lives in New York City where he writes programs (for the NY Public Library, inter alia) and fiction; among his creations are robotfindskitten, Beautiful Soup, RESTful Web APIs, and, of course, Constellation Games (Candlemark & Gleam 2011)