I was in a mood for an exciting science fiction adventure. I’d have probably settled for a somewhat entertaining one. But this book…let’s just say if it were a knife, it wouldn’t have cut through warm butter. I mean, I might have had more exciting time watching water boil than I did reading this book. Definitely have had more exciting time watching the cloud amble through the sky. Or just staring at the ceiling. In fact, the main characteristic of this book is its constant consistent lack of any excitement whatsoever. It doesn’t sound right, not when you read the description, not even when you go by individual sentences or paragraphs, but the sum total is torpidly tedious, like someone deliberately washed all the color and joy and fun out of it. Am I being too tough on this book? I don’t think so, I really don’t. It took a large percentage of my day to get through and at no time did it make it worth it. Not once. In fact, the very first chapter was so bland that had I not been such a freaking completist, this would have definitely been put aside and forgotten. But no, I plowed through. Lured in by a promise of a first contact story, which also…surprise, surprise…had got to be the least exciting one of those. There’s tons of tech jargon, meticulous procedural descriptions, loads (way too much) corporate espionage, uncompelling attempts at intrigue and suspense and also…zero excitement, zero fun, zero dynamism, zero wow factor and, notably, zero character development, like not at all, there are just there going through paces but displaying almost no personalities. It’s all so freaking mechanical somehow, technically faultless and strikingly unengaging and lackluster. It’s almost odd in a way, until the author’s bio tells you about her experience as a video game creator. Now I know video games these days are actually supposed to be very advance and indeed engaging, but it really isn’t for me and neither was this book in much the same way. Good graphics, but lifelike at best. If you’re into tech driven video game like science fiction, it might work for you. I wish I had nicer things to say about this book, since I am its first reviewer here on Goodreads. Sure, it has three high ratings, but no one has thought to say a single word about it before me and mine aren’t the most flattering, but this was an compete irredeemable waste of my time. So maybe my review can help someone save theirs. Thank Netgalley.