Review: Interesting, but...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 22, 2011
From the description I expected either a thriller, a sci-fi story, or some combination of both. Instead, it was mostly about John Timmons depressing, messed up life. The book begins when John is just 24 years old and he's already experienced a life's worth of sadness, insecurity, and tragedy and it doesn't end there. Even as he starts to find his place in the world and experience some happiness, it's taken away from him yet again.John's relationships with his adopted parents are not fully explored or defined. He seems ambivalent towards them, but it seems clear that his mother loved him like he wanted her to.The device from the title really plays a very minor role in the story. It's not until the end of the book that we find out anything about it. Except for the government confiscating it, there's nothing thrilling about finding it. No chase, race. hunt suspense or any excitement around it.Jacob's ramblings were confusing and never really said anything. How John got any clues out of what he said beats me.A lot of the story revolves around John at work and with his co-workers, but those things aren't really integral to the story. It feels like his job and boss are just there to give him time off when he loses it and for him to meet Lisa.I found the great leaps in time somewhat disconcerting as well. John decides to make a life with Lisa, but all of a sudden we're 8 years into their marriage. There's nothing that shows their relationship building, are they happy, where are they in their lives, etc.The political culture of the times jumps around too. You're reading along, and suddenly something about the climate or healthcare is inserted into the story. There's no real setup of the circumstances or history of the political culture. I get that it's a warning about government control of our daily lives, but it's choppy and awkward.All in all, it was interesting, but confusing, vague, and incomplete.