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    <user id="152621">
    <name><![CDATA[James]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Arlington, VA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/152621-james]]></url>
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      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <read_at>Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Dec 29 13:12:51 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Feb 06 14:14:42 -0800 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[Overall an enjoyable work of historical fiction, based on the true story of a late 18th century chess-playing machine that was, in reality, just an elaborate hoax.  The story is told with lots of eccentric characters, and the narrative is well-paced and helped along by occasional flash-forwards that slowly reveal how things worked out for these characters over time.  By the end I think the author may have tried a little *too* hard to be unpredictable and defy the readers' expectations by making characters act out of line with their established personalities, and turning a few hints from the future into completely meaningless red-herrings, but overall it was a very enjoyable read.]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11228406]]></url>
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