Review: Could not get through it
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 04 3, 2013
I really wanted to finish this, and still might. But even though I have put it aside to read other things I thought I'd do a review. The book has both pros and cons, to me.Pro: A big pro. I think the basic premise is great. A society of intelligent but ruthless people who feel that Thomas Malthus' theory is the absolute truth, and then work to increase the effects of war, famine, and disease to keep population in check. What's not to like about that! It's a refreshing change from the usual Knights Templar, Masons, Islamic, or Catholic conspiracy novels.Pro: well, pro for me, could be a con. There is a sort of Hardy Boys (but current and sort of grown up) feeling to the main male characters. Another reviewer mentioned being reminded of Scooby-Doo (and we would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those pesky kids) and I like that comparison. I enjoy reading old Hardy Boys books, as well as many current Young Adult offerings. Unfortunately, I doubt that the author had that in mind. Still, I rather enjoy that aspect of the book. A slight rewriting to make this a Young Adult novel might be worthwhile.Con: again, con for me. There is a jarring dissonance for me between the characters and the language they use and the language that is used to describe the action. The main male characters  are undergraduate students at the University of Virginia. Wealthy and privileged (one drives a Porsche and the other buys a house when they move out of the dorms); they just don't talk like Americans. One decides to "take the mickey" on the other. They say things like: "You look that up on the Internet, whilst I get us some Bud Lights".OK, I made that second one up, but it is close to what shows up.I almost hate to complain about that, because I expect that the English-speaking world outside of the US & Canada is used to miss-applied slang and figures of speech. Maybe even Canada. But--I found it jarring. I tried to be charmed by it, but couldn't. I think the author (who is from Australia) would have been better served to have had the action set in Perth (or other city with a big University). I don't think it would have hurt US sales; we like to read stories that are based outside the US.Final Con: The standard one of poor copy editing. I read very quickly, and it really bugs me when my eye stumbles because of a missed comma. There is a big difference between "Let's eat Grandma" and "Let's eat, Grandma." I hate having to go back to the beginning of a sentence to make a decision on what the writer meant. On one page I found both the there<->they're and the your<->you're problem. Grr. That's OK in an online review (like this) but geeze.So, I don't feel cheated because it was a freebie. But I wish it could have been better--it is a fine premise.