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A review by felix_matteo
Brilliance by Marcus Sakey
2.0
It's like X-Men meets Jason Bourne, and it's fine. Just fine, though, not great.
The story gets off to a promising start, plunging us headlong into a world of secret government agencies and mysterious powers, and more than one tense rooftop chase.
However, from there it devolves into a cookie-cutter thriller with all the trappings of just about every secret agent film you've ever watched. There is plenty of action, but for me it was devoid of all suspense. I never once doubted that the book would turn out the way it ultimately did. The dialogue was stilted, the characters mostly uninteresting, and the plot just so damn convenient. The characters, and especially the antagonists, make baffling decision after baffling decision, and it all gets wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end.
If you're into secret agent thrillers, it's worth a read. But if you want unadulterated science fiction goodness, this book is probably not for you.
The story gets off to a promising start, plunging us headlong into a world of secret government agencies and mysterious powers, and more than one tense rooftop chase.
However, from there it devolves into a cookie-cutter thriller with all the trappings of just about every secret agent film you've ever watched. There is plenty of action, but for me it was devoid of all suspense. I never once doubted that the book would turn out the way it ultimately did. The dialogue was stilted, the characters mostly uninteresting, and the plot just so damn convenient. The characters, and especially the antagonists, make baffling decision after baffling decision, and it all gets wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end.
If you're into secret agent thrillers, it's worth a read. But if you want unadulterated science fiction goodness, this book is probably not for you.