solid 3.5 stars. like a near future version of American gods with less suspense and more tech and sex. slightly dystopian withinteresting world building and cultural ideas.

I really looked forward to this one. it just wasn't what I expected. i loved ready player one so much, and I think this book is so similar to what happens with most bands, and comedians. there first CD and specials, has 10 years of writing, and passion and life in them. the follow up is demanded in such a short time period in comparison, that its hard to live up to the first. I still really like his style, I loved the concept, this one just didn't feel as fleshed out. I felt like it needed a bit more time in the oven. its a fun book and I flew through it, but I just didn't have that same feeling I had from the first book.

I would call this 3.4 stars. It dragged some, and I found myself less enthralled than the first two. Also, I felt the ending was OK, but it really cheapened the 200 pages before it. Ultimately, it felt like all the sacrifices made by the characters not worth it. And their sacrifices had nothing to do with the final ansewer. It's like in the last 50 pages he goes from not understanding anything, to understanding everything and being an expert with no work. Still a fun book though and it tied up the lose ends.

Action packed conclusion, but this one didn't drive forward as well as the others. I struggled through the middle. It just didn't feel as tight as the other books did. The only thing that kept me reading was really wanting to hear what happened to the characters I got to know in the first two books. Still a very fun series, and overall a reasonably good conclusion to the trilogy.

3.5 stars. it's a fun world and fun characters. but foe some reason I just didn't feel pulled in most of the time. there are parts of this book(and series) that I felt like I couldn't go to sleep before I finished,but there were parts where I had a really difficult time engaging at all, and struggled to keep reading.

ridiculous, fun, stupid. but I loled

Both of Neil's books that I have read thus far have the same thing that keeps them from being 5 stars. He has a great story idea, great writing style, gray characters, and great settings. The problem I see is that the story itself is usually a little weak. It dosn't drive forward, it isn't enthralling. It isn't that I struggle to get through the books, they don't lag that bad. It just dosn't call to me the same way some books do. In other words, the books don't make me want to stay up till 2 am to finish them. I still think it is worth a read, and that anyone can enjoy the well written characters and settings.

I don't mean my rating as an insult, this book was just not written for me. The target audience was likely 10-14 year old girl. But not like the terrible twilight books. For its audience, the boon us great. You have story of a girl who is finding her inner strength. Who is finding her independence and courage. Dealing with strife an conquering it. Unfortunately for me, I am not a 12 year old girl. I thought the book was pretty OK, but just not engaging for me. The idea behind it is great. And the execution of the writing is not bad. I'll say it one last time, it was a book not written for me.

an apt title of this book could be 2004 ala 1984. it's a derivative of 1984, through the lens of the patriot act and internet society, and matches the style of 1984's thinly veiled political commentary and dire predictions for a police state future. still though, the plot and characters were interesting on there own and the tech talk is fun.
it was a little bit to on the nose sometimes. brash in sharing political views, feeling a bit like a lecture. it was good at explaining computer technology and terminology in a way that lowers the barrier of entry for folks not as familiar with how the internet/ computer systems works.
3.5 stars

there were parts of this book that were 5 stars and parts that were 3, so I'll let it average out too 4. I really loved the premise of the book. it brought me back to the happy memories of the star trek I loved growing up. and the characters and humor are great. I think where it loses the star for me is that it was a bit too meta sometimes. the stories plot is already going to be meta, but sometimes I think it just felt too self aware at being self aware. Still worth reading because it's a really fun perspective and take on classic Sci Fi TV as well as for the fact that I did laugh out loud several times while reading it.

I really give this one 3.5 stars. but I rounded up. still a neat setting, a novel approach to combat, and an interesting foe. The book was just not nearly as compelling as the first book. and I felt like despite it's length, very few new plot points were added or perhaps the pace and style of the plot points just wasn't as good. It could be I was hungover from the first book, which was action packed and full of discovery. But I think it was just that the book focused so much on side stories, especially Jadir. I just wasn't as interested in his story and the way it was told as I was Arlen's. I think it was a neat approach by the author, to tell the story of the in such detail of Jadir, and blur the lines of who is the hero. But, It just wasn't as successfully pulled off a story as the first book. I appreciate side stories, but there was just something that kept it from a full 4 stars for me.

Fun action movie style plot. Lots of action. Interesting premise. Read the summary or the thousand other reviews for the premise. Something just kept it from being 5 stars. It was a page Turner, but some of the characters are just bothersome and they really don't grow. And when they are in their toughest spots, instead of them being the heros they are saved by the mysterious demigods. I think it cheapens the climaxes(of which there are many). The writing is OK. So 5 stars for plot. 5 stars for premise. 3 stats for writing. 3 stars for character development. 4 stars overall. P. S. Some of my character problems could be that I just didn't like some of them. That's arguably not the authors fault.

better than 2, even though there were side stories, the story moved forward well and felt mite cohesive. a solid 4

3.5

TLDR:Hard scifi, you'll love it or you'll hate it.
This book is like being dropped off into the middle of another country where you don't speak the language, don't have the currency, you don't know where you are going, why you are there, and everyone in the country has a PhD. But, and this is a big BUT, the place is amazing and beautiful, the culture is fascinating, and the exploration is worth the effort. Sometimes I read 100 pages before I figured out what happened 100 pages ago. Sometimes I had to put the book down and mull over a single passage for several minutes before it made sense. The books takes no prisoners. I had to read this book at half speed. All in all, my summery is: A very "hard SciFi" book that is not for the faint of heart. But the reward for taking the time to ponder the prose allows one to experience an awesome mind bending universe, fun characters, and intrigue galore.

not as fun as the first, but still good. got really crazy. I still laughed out loud.:-)

The story drags a bit in the middle. Had a tough time staying emerged in the book . The concept is intriguing, and the setting is very interesting. I like the tech used a lot! The main characters are pretty good.

This is prolly a 3.5 star book. It was a fast and fun read. Basically take a sailing /submarine book and move it to space, which I loved. I also liked the characters. The problem that I had with this one was it was very cliche and and full of troupes. I just felt like I knew what was next. Resonable well written, and a fast read.

Reminded me of the honor Harrington series to much maybe.
Spoilers: reason being : untried crew in and untried ship. Brilliant captain who has to pull the crew up by the bootstraps. Single ship facing overwhelming forces time and time again. You know the drill.