Helpful Score: 1
ISBN 0979805600 - I have to begin with two confessions. One, I'd have reviewed this a while ago but a friend swiped my copy. (I tend to refer to the book when I write) Instead of returning it, they told a friend to read it... and passed it along. Finally, I gave up and bought a new copy. Last I heard, the first copy had been passed through 5 sets of hands, which ought to tell you something.
Two, oddly, has nothing to do with my review rating. I love this book. The contents, I'll get to in a moment, but I mean the book, the appearance, the layout. The cover image, which looks a little washed out online, is actually richly colored and the level of detail seems to be one reason why so many other people keep passing my copy around. Once inside, I discovered one reason that the book is thinner than I'd expected: measuring 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" helps, but so do the smaller margins, all the way around. Each chapter begins at the top of a page instead of in the center and the text is slightly wider, but not so wide that it disappears into the binding. This might be a small thing to normal people but for me it made a positive impression because (a) everything that saves a publisher a penny is good news for the future of real, physical books and (b) less wasted white space translates into fewer dead trees and conservation is good. The author is the publisher but it is as NetLeaves that Batchelder earns 5 stars. It's about time I get to the book, isn't it?
Scott Waverly is quite possibly the least likely adventure hero. The single IT security geek who's in business with his parents is approached by an ancient secretive organization to help them into the 21st century. The weird secretive-ness might chase away others, but it seems to appeal to Waverly, who takes the job and finds himself more interested than he'd anticipated. Val, hot chick with a slight accent and resident of "the dungeon" at Soul Identity, certainly helps focus Scott's curiosity - but will they find time to fall in love while they investigate?
The way the book began had me thinking about putting it down, but I was way too curious for that - so in the end, the beginning actually did hook me! The action and the number of odd characters kept me interested throughout, despite the sometimes stilted dialogue and the kind of weird vibe that I got about Scott's extra-close relationship with his parents (reflected in the scene where he finds an older couple having sex in his room and doesn't so much as blink).
I've got one problem with the story. Soul Identity (and, really, what are the odds that such an ancient company would have such a cool, double entendre kind of name?) does one thing, and it's a rare thing with a long history, it's a little weird and they've had no competition for a really looong time. Therefore, it seems a bit strange that they seem to run around telling everyone what it is that they do. Using eye doctors made sense to me - it was a way to get a peek at eyes without having to divulge anything. Letting Santa in on the secret, but refusing him admittance, and spelling everything out to the bad guy, pretty much up front, that all makes me wonder how this organization could exist for so long in secrecy. This is not a flawless book - it's got a couple inconsistencies that seem hard to miss - but the premise is really interesting, leaving me hopeful that the kinks have been shaken out and the next book will be up to the five star mark.
- AnnaLovesBooks
Two, oddly, has nothing to do with my review rating. I love this book. The contents, I'll get to in a moment, but I mean the book, the appearance, the layout. The cover image, which looks a little washed out online, is actually richly colored and the level of detail seems to be one reason why so many other people keep passing my copy around. Once inside, I discovered one reason that the book is thinner than I'd expected: measuring 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" helps, but so do the smaller margins, all the way around. Each chapter begins at the top of a page instead of in the center and the text is slightly wider, but not so wide that it disappears into the binding. This might be a small thing to normal people but for me it made a positive impression because (a) everything that saves a publisher a penny is good news for the future of real, physical books and (b) less wasted white space translates into fewer dead trees and conservation is good. The author is the publisher but it is as NetLeaves that Batchelder earns 5 stars. It's about time I get to the book, isn't it?
Scott Waverly is quite possibly the least likely adventure hero. The single IT security geek who's in business with his parents is approached by an ancient secretive organization to help them into the 21st century. The weird secretive-ness might chase away others, but it seems to appeal to Waverly, who takes the job and finds himself more interested than he'd anticipated. Val, hot chick with a slight accent and resident of "the dungeon" at Soul Identity, certainly helps focus Scott's curiosity - but will they find time to fall in love while they investigate?
The way the book began had me thinking about putting it down, but I was way too curious for that - so in the end, the beginning actually did hook me! The action and the number of odd characters kept me interested throughout, despite the sometimes stilted dialogue and the kind of weird vibe that I got about Scott's extra-close relationship with his parents (reflected in the scene where he finds an older couple having sex in his room and doesn't so much as blink).
I've got one problem with the story. Soul Identity (and, really, what are the odds that such an ancient company would have such a cool, double entendre kind of name?) does one thing, and it's a rare thing with a long history, it's a little weird and they've had no competition for a really looong time. Therefore, it seems a bit strange that they seem to run around telling everyone what it is that they do. Using eye doctors made sense to me - it was a way to get a peek at eyes without having to divulge anything. Letting Santa in on the secret, but refusing him admittance, and spelling everything out to the bad guy, pretty much up front, that all makes me wonder how this organization could exist for so long in secrecy. This is not a flawless book - it's got a couple inconsistencies that seem hard to miss - but the premise is really interesting, leaving me hopeful that the kinks have been shaken out and the next book will be up to the five star mark.
- AnnaLovesBooks
