Customer Reviews

01-01-00

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I enjoyed the code in the book, the matrices and the puzzles. I was really interested in the Mayan cultural history and found the connection to be invigorating to a topic that might get bogged down in digerati details. The jungle warfare, the astrphysics, and the main character's handling of mourning and loss was all very perceptive parts. It was definitely a romp, but I wasn't disappointed - I ended up reading it straight through - a definite page-turner. At one point the computer scientist heroine turns to her arhcheologist boyfriend and says that she appreciates the perspective that he gives her - I felt this to be a good encapsulation of the entire project. RJ really crosses the boundaries between sciences and humanities to pull in general themes and it was not a flailing attempt at all. Good read!

I was intrigued by the description of this book. It sounded like it had such possibilities that I just HAD to try it. However, I felt the author was just trying to impress us with his computer knowledge. I do have a working knowledge of computers (hence my interest) but, geez. How in the world do you expect your average Joe Blow to understand this?

Sorry. I passed on the remaining 1/4 of the book. It wasn't worth my time.

Piniero starts out with some interesting ideas, but fails to create a book with a coherent plot, or believeable characters. His run-on sentences, uni-dimensional characters, and many inaccuracies make the book hard to read. Descriptions of Mayan culture (particularly its calendar)are novel for most readers, but better described on several web sites. The mix of computer hacking, archeology, Russian spies, the FBI, and radio astonomers is not coherent. The graphic violence does not move the plot along. The inaccuracies and improbable events are so bad, they are actually humerous. I got tired of reading in the middle of the book, whereas the author seemed to get tired and just stopped writing at the end.

This book was very original and entertaining. Despite being at the post-graduate college level, I did find myself bogged down by the computer science details. I did learn how to read binary numbers, though, so it was not time wasted. I look forward to this author's next effort.

When you guess the ending of a novel during the opening one gets pretty miffed. One is especially let down when the novel in question proclaims itself as the "Novel of the Millenium". Ok, sure, that subtitle is not meant to be a critical statement, but still you can't help but have high and lofty expectations.

Mining material left over from Chariots of the Gods and old episodes of In Search Of , the novel mixes in some Contact, a little Silence of the Lambs and even a few action thriller conventions. We first find our lead heroine, Susan Garnett on the eve of an attempted suicide. Satisfied with having put behind bars the hacker who unwittingly killed her family, a selfish little bugger nicknamed Bloodaxe, she decides to off herself when that fateful phone call rings through. Thus begins Pineiro's predictable task of showing Garnett that life is still worth living via a global crisis (nothing like the end of Western civilization to snap me out of a suicidal stupor) and a new page of love with Indiana Jones' illegitimate son Cameron Slater. Together the pair head off to the jungles of South America to trace the source of a milleniumal computer virus which just happens to be tied to a signal from a distant corner of space. Also in the jungle we find a cool brother and sister assasain tag-team, enterprising Japanese astronomers, and enough trivial nuggets about the Maya from Pineiro to form a feature length episode of Unsolved Mysteries. With most of the plot based on 70's psedu-science that begs for Orson Wells narration, its pretty hard to imagine all these charecters taking such Earth-shattering revelations in such stride. And the idea that a French minister would somehow endanger the world for the sake of saving face is a farce not even the French would buy into. Oh and let's not forget the sudden international jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (See how X-Files has spoiled us). Despite these plot hurdles, Pineiro's prose is a fast and painless read, tackling the computer jargon with a clear style that should make itself readable to even the most computer illiterate (and God bless him for using BASIC). Events moving along at a brisk pace and once everyone is in the jungle and Mayan headpriests start rearing thier heads the novel begins to have a little more fun with its premise.

I thought this would be a real winner. It has all the pieces of fiction I love to read about, Computers, Science Fiction, Archaeology and ruthless assassins. Unfortunately, the author never put them all together in a believeable or logical recipe. Also, the ending left me wanting, it was as if the author just gave up because he had enough pages written. I also cannot believe that the hacker could possibly go to jail for the heroines poor driving ability.

Great idea, just poorly executed. I thought I was hooked from the first page, but by the time Susan was going to...(for those who haven't read it yet, I won't say what she was going to do), I had lost interest.

Then when Ishuguro popped up with all that techno mumbo jumbo (Pinerio gives way too much information and way too many characters) I forced myself to read on. The next time he popped up, I skipped. Concentrated on where Susan was in the book only. Only up to page 160 (after having the book since August), but I can read it faster and enjoy it more by skipping to the Susan parts. (I agree with the NY Times review).

The real shame here is that Pineiro had a great idea here but he weighed it down with trying to come off as 'smart'? I don't know the word but I do know what the average reader wants is a good old fashion read, with not too much narrative and a real focus on one individual, not a bunch of people crowding the pages with plots and sub plots, making me care less and less about them as I go along.

A re-edited version of just Susan as the focus would made a great book. I know where you were going Pineiro, but you just failed in getting me there so far.

I was attracted to this book after reading a review that mentioned its "countdown" hook and eclectic Y2K/SETI/archeological components. But the book itself was tedious. Once it became clear that the characters were no more than cartoonish stereotypes, I lost all interest in what was happening. And what was happening wasn't much: the plot was formulaic and in great need of subtlety and humor. The author is also no wordsmith. Among other annoying habits, he is addicted to packing his nouns with stiff or hackeyed adjectives ("the tall and stocky operative") that make the prose a constant uphill read. And did you notice? -- everyone in this book is "seasoned." Everyone. And I do mean everyone. This adjective is so overused, one of my few joys in the book was to play the game of waiting for its next appearance. (If you're going to read this book, it might be fun to do an actual "seasoned" count. Better yet, if you haven't read the book, my advice is: don't.)

The information on the Mayans is interesting, if true, but the overall story is so cartoonish that I am not quite sure if one should believe it. The story hangs together by a thread and is poorly written. How does the Japanese couple from South America fit in? And more importantly, why? The ending? No wonder there was an epilogue. The editor did a disservice to the author and to the buyers of this book.

What is this book? A mystery? Harlequin style romance? Science fiction? Suspense? Who knows... Certainly the author doesn't appear to know. There is nothing that the main characters appear to be incapable of. They "outsmart" the Mayan culture and in the process reduce the intellectual abilities of the people to that of a computer addicted ten year old. Unrealistic emotional reactions to events (sorry I'm not going to elaborate since you might actually want to read it.) predominate.

The first half of the book is the best. Before you read it, open it 2/3rds the way through and write..."and they all lived happily ever after"... Stop when you reach that point. Only then will it be worth your time to read... I did enjoy the first 2/3rds.