The best thing about this book is probably the slick and snappy writing style: clever bordering on literary, with an evocative metaphor and multiple sharp turns of phrase on every page, all delivered with carefully crafted pace and timing.

On the other hand, for me this style blurs too easily into a snarky tone that ends up pervading the book, making its characters less likable than they could have been. Certainly the bad guys are unpleasant enough to read about, but I found it difficult to sympathize with the protagonists as well, with the exception of Leila.

Also, although the pace is good, a lot of the book feels like setup, with not much going on other than character development. Things come together quickly in the end, and the wrap-up is satisfying up to a point, although I’m not sure I agree with the decision to leave things in a bit of a cliffhanger.

With its secret government entities and hidden plots. the story reminded me a bit of Pynchon and possibly Tom Robbins, but primarily of Stephenson, and in particular Reamde, which I managed to enjoy despite being uninterested in much of the subject matter. Likewise, this one held my interest during the reading experience but left me somewhat unimpressed in the end.