odinblindeye's review against another edition
2.0
Old Children's Book. Liked it as a kid, but haven't read it in years.
spaceykate's review against another edition
I actually found myself enjoying the book, once I realigned my thinking of it as an alternate future of tech wherein 9/11 hadn't occurred (since Clancy wrote the book beforehand) instead of science fiction. I liked exploring the weight of the characters and how they interacted. My favorite bits were Howard & Fernandez's banter, the Selkie's pissed off death (seriously, one of the highlights towards the end was her culmination of frustration when Michaels shot her in the back - like oh, there was a gun on the floor??), and Ruzhyó. Ruzhyó was my favorite character. He just kept trucking through, letting life flow around him and the currents push him where he went. There's a 90% chance I think this way because of his final decision in who should die (or rather, who shouldn't) in the final pages. Regardless, it was an interesting novel to partake in. I don't know if I'll continue on in the series (now that I know there are more), but it is nice to have the option.
immunis's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
eileenslibraryofwords's review against another edition
I found it to be quite confusing that there were so many parts to one story line
echan's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
jjwalter2001's review against another edition
2.0
There was a point where I read quite a few of the Net Force books and, in returning to the series with this book, I remembered why I kind of just stopped reading them...
The books are generally interesting and the action is well-paced, but the books have too many distractions - whole chapters built around events completely extraneous to the plot of the book.
I understand the idea of character development, but these books always seem to go way overboard with it...I like understanding the motivations and character behind the major players, but there's a point where it becomes overkill - and distracting from the book itself.
The books are generally interesting and the action is well-paced, but the books have too many distractions - whole chapters built around events completely extraneous to the plot of the book.
I understand the idea of character development, but these books always seem to go way overboard with it...I like understanding the motivations and character behind the major players, but there's a point where it becomes overkill - and distracting from the book itself.
seaglass's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
bzzzzzz's review against another edition
3.0
A bit pathetic considering there were only three things that had detailed descriptions: cars, weapons and women's bodies. But still, cool idea. It's always interesting to read books written in the past and set in the present.
penwiper's review against another edition
3.0
Of course I picked this up because Diane Duane, and it was free at my library so why not? I felt that the plot was a bit predicable but not bad for what it is (fanfiction written by a really excellent author). Since I've not read/watched the original material and am only here for the author's name, I'll not go into too much depth about this except that if you want a popcorn novel (light fare, not too much thinking) than you can do much worse, certainly.
I liked Duane's explorations of the virtual world and can't help but laugh when I think of Dairine programming an ancient computer in the first chapters of High Wizardry in a book from 1983 when having a kid programming was considered genius.
The main thing I objected to was the fact that the MC does a whole bunch of illegal stuff in the name of stopping a worse crime and then gets rewarded for it at the end under the guise of 'punishment' with a wink and a nod. We've seen that elsewhere in novels (Harry Potter really did break a lot of rules) but I expect a bit more than that from Diane Duane.
Honestly I kind of wish she'd used the time on this series to write more of Young Wizards or even about the Feline Wizards, but that's just me being selfish. If this gets new younger readers into Duane's books, I'm all for it.
:-)
I liked Duane's explorations of the virtual world and can't help but laugh when I think of Dairine programming an ancient computer in the first chapters of High Wizardry in a book from 1983 when having a kid programming was considered genius.
The main thing I objected to was the fact that the MC does a whole bunch of illegal stuff in the name of stopping a worse crime and then gets rewarded for it at the end under the guise of 'punishment' with a wink and a nod. We've seen that elsewhere in novels (Harry Potter really did break a lot of rules) but I expect a bit more than that from Diane Duane.
Honestly I kind of wish she'd used the time on this series to write more of Young Wizards or even about the Feline Wizards, but that's just me being selfish. If this gets new younger readers into Duane's books, I'm all for it.
:-)