While for the most part, I thought the prose was well-written and the premise of this book was interesting, in the end, it just...didn't grab me. Was it unique? Yes. Was it hard to follow? Also yes, and not really in a good way. Dialog felt very stilted, and that was jarring in comparison to the prose itself.

And then, of course, the elephant in the room: sexual assault. It felt like, at the best of times, a cheap plot device. At worst, it served no purpose and could easily have been left out. It bogged down the narrative, and ultimately, while I would otherwise have given this a 3-star, that definitely bumped it down to a 2 star.

This is pretty good and pretty ambitious. It could be called speculative fiction, and it shows the author's impressive imagination. With interesting tech and a compelling premise, it's mostly engaging and not predictable. It doesn't have the polish of a more experienced author but still solid overall. I'm going to read his other book next.

I really appreciate the review copy!!

Pros: the prose was done well, the plot was alright, the Siamese twins were a nice touch.

Cons: the protagonist whined far too much about his former fiance, the author hinted too many times that the archives were going to be important to the plot.

Bottom line: OK but no big deal.