Joe Kessler > Recent Status Updates

There are... no likeable characters in this story. And not much worldbuilding, either.

Equating telling automakers you'd push for higher fuel economy standards with telling an activist group you refuse to agree to lower Pentagon spending, as though those are equivalent acts of 'speaking truth to power' is certainly a very Obama take.

Oof, a parent "joking" that they'll only pay for certain colleges. I know that feel.

This is more a complaint about the title than the book itself, but we're only NOW getting to internet stuff. The first third is entirely early, pre-network computing.

This dude is 153 dating a 23-year-old. I... have questions.

Almost the ‪entire first hour of this audiobook has consisted of an introduction bragging about how many people love it.‬

Okay, that's a legitimately great twist.

Surprised the book didn't end there, but excited to see what happens next.

Happy to report this story has gotten a lot better.

So much exposition...

This is a lot better than the last Matt Haig book I read.

Massive privacy / consent issues here. Again. Which I'm sure will not be addressed. Again.

Z: *spends pages talking about interesting but irrelevant Tolkien trivia*

H: *brings up a valid critique of race in LOTR*

Z: *angrily snaps at her that they don't have time for that*

So.... There's been almost no plot movement so far, but a TON of wildly invasive abuses of power from the now-CEO protagonist. Maybe this is intentional and is setting up some sort of comeuppance? But it's not fun to read, especially considering the author is also more famous and powerful now than when he wrote RPO. It's pretty awful, and I say that as an honest fan of the first book.

This has been almost entirely catch-up exposition so far, with no signs of that slowing down.

Can't watch the Doctor Who New Year's special until tomorrow, so I'm chipping away at this instead.

I'm barely into this book, but why are we referring to him in text as the Tenth Doctor?

"The Ghostbloods are not a Rosharan organization." !!!!!

Not sure I'm finishing this one by the end of the year. But we'll see.

I sort of forgot I was reading this on Kindle. Trying to get back into it now.

Volume III! Only 10ish hours of the audiobook to go.

The way this book is organized can be a bit odd. Like, okay, halfway through the biography. Time to rewind and talk about his relationship with his brother now.

Done with Part 1!

All those reviewers that say the love story comes out of nowhere.... You need to pay more attention to how she thinks and talks about her throughout the book, and maybe read more F/F in general.

Well, that's a surprise reveal. Not sure it counts as a betrayal, though.

Is it just me, or has there been approximately zero betrayal so far in this book?

This new plot sort of came out of nowhere? But okay.

I see the twist coming, but it's been nicely deployed.

This hypnosis stuff has aged even worse than the computer technology in the 25 years since publication.

I don't understand why she doesn't just tell these people the truth?