Josh

This one was a little too subtle for me. Definitely could be a "me" thing. But I felt like by the time I really had a grasp of what was going on I was like 80% through the book, and up to that point it mostly felt like listening to somebody ramble on about their toxic best friend from high school.

Douglas Adams-ish futuristic sci-fi with a good amount of humor and a bit of mystery, all wrapped up in a quasi-Quixotic journey that I suspect makes more literary references than I'm able to spot.

I enjoyed the ride generally, but I felt like I was about as lost as the protagonist for most of it; unsure of where things were going, or how I should feel about them.

A sort of "Michael Crichton in space" sci-fi thriller that goes to some wildly unexpected places and has a surprisingly optimistic ending for the genre. A very interesting look at humanity through the lens of another species' evolution. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Didn't finish; gave up about a quarter through. The writing felt very unpolished, the plot seemed overly convenient, and the only character with any dimension was also mostly dislikeable (though that could change; as I said, I didn't finish, so maybe there's more of an arc there). The book-within-the-book parts were fairly interesting, but the narration style kept it from being better. It felt more like being told about a book somebody else read than reading one for yourself.

One of my favorite reads of all time. It's an experience unlike any other. It asks a lot of the reader (in some ways, you have to keep several stories in your head at once, and you won't see the format begin to pay off until around the halfway point), but for intrepid readers with an open mind, the journey is unforgettably worthwhile.

Fine enough as a YA book; I probably would've loved it as a teenager. But as an adult, I find it to be an occasionally engaging but uneven read. I enjoyed parts, and some twists were interesting. But it's not particularly well written, the characters are barely more than stereotypes, and there's a massive plothole paradox at the center of the story.

Incredibly dense with info (in both the good way, and the challenging way). It's an incredibly good and important read; I just wish there was an abridged version that didn't need to dwell so much on every historical detail. Nonetheless, it'll rock your perspective of modern politics and events. History does indeed rhyme.