I have enjoyed in my life reading Sci-fi, with Philip K Dick being amoung the strangest (movies Total Recall, Minority Report, Blade Runner, Scanner Darkly, and Paycheck being among the best of his works), but right up there have been the works of Vernor Vinge. None of his have been made into movies, and to be honest, this one isn't his best. However, if you want to read The Peace War and Marooned in Realtime, you will not be disappointed!

Rainbow's end is in the not too distant future, when govenment surveilance capabilities are significant, and meeting occur as virtual overlays with avatars. The biggest threat is bioterrorism, especially dispersed chemicals that can allow mind control. Will recovering 20th century poet and Altzheimer survivor Robert be able to stop the plot, or is he just a pawn of the enemy and destined to end at the old people's home Rainbow's End? An interesting picture of computing (wearing) and communicating in the future where knowledge is instantaneous but wisdom is not.