I received an ARC through LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. I admit I was excited to be able to read this book. It should have been thrilling and full of excitement. Instead, it took me ages to slog through it. The fact side of things clearly has been researched and is well understood by Clarke. I felt he had a complete grasp of how things work and what each position is responsible for. The writing is ok; it's free of grammatical issues and is easy enough to read and understand. The plot, while containing a couple bits that were a touch over the top, was intriguing and should have been exciting to read. Where this book falls apart is the execution of the characters. For me they felt more like cardboard cutouts and lacked any true fleshing out. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to connect with the characters or to care anything about them. When there is no connection there is very little enjoyment in the read. This in my opinion, which may or may not mirror your own. ( )