** spoiler alert ** Interesting and challenging book. Neil is a terrific writer. I've only read his fiction for younger readers so the adult themes were a bit of a shock at first. It took me about half way through to get fully engaged, but that is not a criticism. I don't mind when an author makes me work a bit. I didn't read anything about the story ahead of time, so it took me a while to figure out exactly what was going on. I enjoyed the effort; I spent a lot of time thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. I found the characters compelling and that's what kept me reading. Wanting to know what happened to them in the end. My favorite thing besides the characters is the pitting of the old, traditional gods against the new gods of technology. I found it to be so topical and reflective of our world. I think it would spark great discussion for a book club. Warning though - lots of violence.