2005-09-24 Eagerly awaiting the next book

I'm in total agreement with strictlylowbrow's review. This is a very entertaining and thought-provoking book and the writing is snappy, funny and often brilliant, with phrases worth stealing. The two drawbacks are the extreme length--the result of quite a lot of repetition--and the sentimentality, especially regarding the character of Harmony. It's always unwise for a writer to fall in love with one of his own characters, and this one--who's willing to let another major character suffer for her own benefit--didn't strike this reader as nearly as perfect as the protagonist (and author) seemed to think. And there's always something deeply annoying about a protagonist going all noble and sacrificial--especially when the protagonist is also the narrator. In this case, it just makes him seem a bit silly. By the way, I'm a publicist, yet the scam confused even me the way it came going back and forth with such a "Who's On First?" complexity. But the book is such well-written fun, and raises such important issues that it's well worth the investment. I know I'll look forward to Price's next.