The first chapter of this book was difficult to read as it contained footnotes on every other page. I found this extremely distracting and, in many cases, unnecessary as it was details that could have been incorporated into the story-line.

The plot of this novel is interesting and could have made a good story, but it was spoiled by the mediocre writing style. I found the characters superficial and the technology clichéd. I won't be bothering to re-read this book. ( )

This book was an on-and-off read for me in nearly every respect. First, the story/plot is incredibly thought out and engaging, not to mention original. The problem comes stylistically and balance-wise. Kerr went into writing this sci-fi thriller treating it as something of an experiment in style and voice, and unfortunately, I feel the experiment failed. Without giving away plot or the supposed twist (which I found extremely predictable, even early on in reading), a reader should go into this book being aware that a good portion of the text is given in lengthy and formal footnotes that often make you feel as if you're reading a textbook instead of a story. Additionally, there's an incredible amount of superfluous information which has little to nothing to do with a reader's understanding of the plot, characters, or action. They seem to be there for the sole benefit of letting the reader know that the author has thought through this future world and created details in all respects, from disease to war to architecture and art. It gets old--fast. Compounding the problem is that, mixed in with the superfluous and tiresomely detailed footnotes, there is necessary information. Without reading every footnote completely (which you're expected to do) it's impossible to know what is a stylistic addition and what is necessary for the story. I found this incredibly frustrating, especially since the footnotes came across as awkward and wordy, if not rambling.

Beyond this fatal flaw, there is the problem of character. For a book that is supposed to be suspenseful, it's hard to achieve this effect without having the readers be interested in the characters. Unfortunately, the author gave little time to the characters themselves. As a result, they were flat and unsympathetic, even at the moments when a reader should have felt sorry or frightened for them. Simply, he didn't give you enough information to be interested in their outcomes. For me, this made it easy to put the book down. I finished it rather quickly primarily because I left it in a convenient spot so that it was often at hand when I had spare time, and partly because I'd glance at it, and simply want to get it over with.

If you're interested in looking at a failed experiment in style, I'd glance over the first fifty pages or so of this book. If you want a good plot/story and don't care much for characters, you might also enjoy this. For me, I needed fewer heavy-handed footnotes, and more detail and feeling when it came to the actual people in the book. ( )

"Utterly absorbing"
-ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY ( )

This is a horrible book to review, at least for me.

There is an interesting story, actually two interesting stories in here, and an interesting and plausible (if not very pleasant) culture.

BUT...

It's written rather self-consciously as a history book, complete with footnotes. It's an interesting ploy, but a bit heavy handed at times. Worse even than that, at least for me, is the lousy quality of the science. The moon doesn't have a microgravity, it has low gravity but not microgravity. Thalassaemia doesn't, never did, protect against malaria (that's sickle cell anaemia).
Any virus will fit through a 1µm gap, HIV is only 120nm in diameter, so 5 fill fit through in a line without touching each other nor the sides. The list of hair-tearing errors continues. ( )