False Value

It's nice to spend more time with the familiar characters, and the story is readable, but overall I find this novel somewhat unappealing.1. Peter Grant is sent into the Serious Cybernetics Corporation as an undercover agent to investigate what's going on there. The SCC is a rather dreary place full of unfunny in-jokes about [b:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 386162 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1) Douglas Adams https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559986152l/386162.SX50_SY75.jpg 3078186]; I don't enjoy reading about it. 2. The initial chapters are out of chronological order, which seems unnecessary and is somewhat confusing and annoying.3. The new characters introduced in this story will probably never be seen again; even the author doesn't seem much interested in them.4. The story turns out to have not one but various different baddies of different levels of weirdness, acting at cross-purposes. It seems too complicated.5. There's something called a Mary Engine, which seems to be steampunk technology from the 19th century, but somehow functions as a generator of magical power—mixed up with various other diverse ingredients whose relevance is unclear and never really explained. I suppose the author wanted a generator of magical power for this story, and decided to cook one up using whatever ingredients first came into his head. I don't think it was a good idea; I hope the Mary Engine won't reappear in future books.6. In the context of the series, it's an uneventful story, in the sense that the regular characters experience little change of status.7. Lesley has disappeared without trace, and is mentioned in passing only a couple of times.It's good enough to read, and reread occasionally; there's nothing about it that I seriously dislike; but it's lacking in positive attractions.