A four for the Interesting backdrop, a three for the just ok characters, and a two at best for the plot. Enjoyed parts of it, but won't bother with the sequel they try to force you into. ( )

I was really trying to read something more edifying by Rushdie, but got irritated and bored and treated myself to cyberpunk plus apocalypse. It would've been like a roller coaster ride, but there were no slow spots. Cutthroat math geeks and unscrupulous aliens in a dystopic American future - breathless in its fall and ruthless as the protagonist's adversaries. He was supposed to be ruthless too, but kept calling himself a normal guy. Hmmm. But who needs a believable character when the ride is so fun? (July 12, 2004) ( )

This was a heck of a ride. From a break-in to aliens, it was a thrill of a read. All information is valuable and has a requirement of equal or greater value to obtain. What can you offer? ( )

This book wasn't too bad. It's a novel about a dystopian future world where Jack Potter is a cryptographer at a university ... and then things go downhill. It starts with his place being broken into and rapidly degenerates into his encountering aliens who are intent upon trading technologies with he and his best friends. The science is pretty hard in this novel. The author has a couple of science degrees and it shows. I frankly didn't understand a fifth of what I read. But what I did understand was scary. Jack gets some technology that will enable him to cure cancer, to delay aging, that will be a miracle drug, and he and his friends set up a corporation to start producing this. All the while, he's being pursued by the NSO, the government agents who want him dead. Simultaneously, China plays a role, as they apparently want into his head too, as his "uncle," who is a spy for them, does brain surgery on Jack and puts in an implant that partially blinds him. All the time, the people can interact via "bubbles," or VR-type environments set up in various locations. Meanwhile, one of Jack's friends screws him over with the company and takes control, all the while while this alien is becoming more and more demanding. It seems that Jack has even gotten in contact with other aliens, has given up their location to the original alien, only to find that these newer aliens have been eradicated. So, killer aliens. Ultimately, the aliens come for Earth, while Jack's former friend aligns herself with the evil NSO. One of Jack's last pieces of technology he gets from the aliens allows for travel virtually anywhere in the universe, so he sets up camp on the moon, gets a few allies from earth, and watches as the planet is essentially blown up. That is worth an extra star in my book. Heh. Of course, there's a sequel and I guess I'll have to read it now. It's not exactly cyberpunk, although there are elements in it, and it's not exactly hard SF, although there are elements of that too. It's a pretty good book and comes reasonably recommended. ( )

Not very likeable maverick cryptologist decodes alien message and starts to use it for his own advancement, trading with an alien about as trustworthy as himself. Things go pear-shaped. All die. O the embarrassment. ( )