Michael Crichton meets Stephen King (in his heyday). A computer mogul called Matthew Sobol designs the ultimate online game to take over society after his death.

The first half of the story is creative and exciting, in a Jerry Bruckheimer style, with AI-controlled houses and killer cars, but the conclusion is rather lost beneath the author's message about the state of our technology-dependent society (wealth and power are more important than human life, which is how Sobol manages to enlist so many drones to do his bidding).

A dark vision of technology and democracy, played out like a Hollywood blockbuster (or a shoot-em-up game). ( )

If-Then-Else=The End of the World? ( )

Masterpiece. ( )

I really enjoyed this book - a perfect blend of technology, plot, and suspense - I can't wait for the sequel. I was impressed by the restraint the author showed in not swamping the reader in technobabble, especially since the mechanism of the plot hangs on it. Very clever, and really exciting - I was disappointed to get to the end! ( )

Really well written book. I highly recommend this book to fans of William Gibson's work. ( )