J S

A bit too much like the first. Interesting crisis, but not nearly as solid a delivery. The progressive political commentary was both jarring and inconsequential to the plot, making it difficult to see as anything but an attempt to pander to modern leftist ideology fans. The ending is also a bit disappointing. Overall a story with some good points but a severe decline from the novelty of the first book. A shame really, there were many different ways to tell this story but most of it was never fleshed out enough. Too much attention was spent filling the book with references that, while in the first book were novel and fun, but in this one feel like a chore to read. I read it to the end, but i didnt end up liking most of it. For the lazy: Stale plot but good characters. Interesting story paths but mostly unexplored. References became a chore rather than fun this time around. Ending was lackluster. Could have used a hundred more pages to flesh some elements and characters out, or better yet, split this story into 2 books of equal length to really delve into the avenues only lightly touched upon.