The Genius Wars

The Genius Wars continues the story of Cadel Greeniaus, as he is now known since being adopted by Saul and Fiona Greeniaus. Cadel is now attending classes at a real university, along with his friends Sonja and Hamish. He firmly believes that if he minds his own business, Prosper English will leave him alone. Unfortunately, bad things begin to happen anyway, starting with a hacking of Sonja's wheelchair system that leaves her in the hospital. Cadel is forced to take a break from college and once again face the idea that Prosper has it in for him.

I thought that this book was alright. Maybe not quite as good as Genius Squad. I thought Cadel's internal conflict might have been portrayed better. Much of the plot was interesting, however, show more especially that having to do with computers, as in the last book.

I did not expect the book to end the way that it did. I'm not sure if this book is meant to be the last in the series or not. I think that the way it ends makes a fairly poor ending for a series, but I'm also not sure where the story could go from that point if there is another book in the works. show less

This book wraps up the trilogy, and to me, it felt more conventional than the first one. The plot was still full of creativity and crazy fun, and I read it all in one day. I especially loved the caricature of the visual effects industry. Yup, I've worked with people like that.

On the downside, I expected more resolution to certain loose ends and things that were hinted at in the first two books. I felt as if the author abandoned some plot questions in ruthless pursuit of a conventional happy ending. Never mind about Cadel's biological family. We never meet his father, we never learn a shred of additional stuff about his mother. Never mind about whether Cadel will ever be treated with adult-level by his loving new foster parents. His show more status with them never seems to change. Never mind whether or not Gazo will ever be respected by Hamish. Never mind whether Prosper English is an ordinary criminal or a near-indestructible bogeyman. We don't even really know if Prosper English is dead or alive. The evidence seems to show that he's dead, but Cadel thinks he's alive, and Cadel has never been wrong about him before. All of these issues were set up as important during the series. And then, as this book ends, they just quietly slide away.

I'm still giving it a 4 star rating, because heck, it was just a lot of fun. show less

Narrated by Justine Eyre. Cadel suspects his former mentor Prosper English is trying to kill him after his friends become victims of suspicious accidents. Cadel uses his high-tech talents to evade Prosper's eye while he tries to track him down. This was my introduction to the series (this is book 3) so it took some time to catch up and understand what was going on. Eyre's narration hints at the stealth of high-tech genius but she also reads in a croaky voice that made me wish she would clear her throat. Still, this high-tech adventure has appeal for action-oriented readers and ends on a cliff-hanger that promises more ingenuity to come.

Although Cadel has established himself in his new life and has detached himself from Prosper English, he still is not safe. As one person after another is injured, Cadel realizes he will never be free of Prosper until he seeks Prosper out and defeats him. Cadel's insistence that he is the only one who can find Prosper becomes rather tedious, and the ending of this book is somewhat unsatisfying. It's not clear from the closing sequence of the book whether this is the last episode or if there will be a sequel. Either way, the close of the book is somewhat anticlimactic and leaves the reader less inclined to want to read any sequel that may be forthcoming.

A very fitting end to 'The Genius' trilogy.

It's novel and fun to have a city or town that's a character in the story.

Cadel has finally found a place where he belonged and a place to call home, and he's prepared to fight for it.

This book was fairly enjoyable, but I dislike (intensely) lack of closure in a series.

Maybe the first 2 books in this series are better? It was a slog to finish, wading through the low tech disguises, and the high tech sleuthing and dodging.