Review: Almost Great
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 22, 2014
This review contains very minor spoilers.  It should be safe to read, and I feel the minor spoilers will help you make your decision.This book starts pretty strongly, with wit and style, as we learn how Dale, aka Blackjack, a minor super-villain, gets caught up in the schemes of the most prominent villain.  The book feels gritty, and (in terms of this type of book) "realistic", at first.  However, eventually, things just started to feel slightly, but consistently, off for me.  First, there is the plot, which we eventually learn involves some bad aliens that want to carve off a piece of the earth and keep a subset of humans for, apparently, zoological purposes.  For me, this was a somewhat jarring shift given the realistic feel of the beginning of the book.  Second, even leaving aside the plot, the book got a little surreal for me in other ways, including a lengthy dream sequence that didn't seem to have anything to do with anything.  Third, the characters and their motivations seemed off at times, including the true hidden villain who seemed to alternate motivations between ecological motives, hating Dale, and just generally being an evil nut job.  Similarly, the primary romantic interest seemed to alternate between falling for Dale and just merely wanting to set him on the right path, in odd fashion (she was mind controlled at times, but the point stands).I did like this book.  It just didn't fully gel for me.