https://lynns-books.com/2019/04/22/emily-eternal-by-mg-wheaton/
Emily Eternal is a really unusual book that even now I’m still mulling over. For a book where the primary character is basically a computer programme this story has a lot of heart and is very thought provoking. I really didn’t know what to expect when I picked this up and initially I thought I was going to struggle but then the story went in an unexpected direction and I became hooked on the drama that unfolded.

Emily is AC. No, not air conditioning! Artificial Consciousness as opposed to AI (Artificial Intelligence) which I guess is something that we’re more familiar with. Emily’s primary aim is to help people, she’s a therapist if you will and her interactions over the years have helped her to develop the side of her that wants to help us in such a way that she really empathises over our current plight. Put bluntly the sun is dying. It’s not a new idea, it’s something that we’ve heard of and at the same time are powerless to do anything about and with the end of the sun will come the end of earth and the extinction of the human race. So, you might be now thinking this is going to be one of those novels that sees the world spiralling into a terrible place, a dog eat dog place where morals and basic civility have flown out the window. This book isn’t really about that, it takes a much more focused look in fact. Emily is based on a university campus and her fame has reached the ears of others, those in power. It is felt that Emily’s programming is so advanced that she could take steps to help prevent the total extinction of humans – I won’t tell you more but basically this is the basis of Emily Eternal. How to survive an extinction level event – or at least, how to continue after it has occurred.

Like I said, Emily is a computer programme, in order to help her grow she is simulated and takes human form, she is visible and audible to people who wear or carry a certain chip with them. She has been programmed so that she functions as a human, with her own personal rooms on campus. She dresses, showers, eats, etc. Well, she actually does none of those things strictly speaking, but she is programmed to go through the motions and behaving as a human and constantly interacting has given her a heightened sense of how people think and feel.

As far as characters go I thought Emily was a very easy to like pov. What I particularly liked about her were her logical thought processes and her reasoning abilities. It’s all very clever and I really did enjoy that aspect. As the story progresses things change slightly. We have a twist in the plot when it becomes apparent that things are not happening in the way promised and Emily effectively ends up on the run. Which takes some thinking about when you consider that she’s intrinsically linked to a server and also, in order to be seen or heard requires a person to be ‘chipped’. I’m not really going to mention more about the plot because there are a number of ways in which this story could be spoiled.

On top of this whole survival idea – and the rather creatively over the top ways that Emily comes up with to solve the extinction of mankind, there is also a love story. Again I won’t say more about that other than to say that Emily does end up travelling with a couple of other characters who thankfully inject something a little more human into the story – it could otherwise have become a little AC focused.

What I really enjoyed about this story is the creativity, some of it does go a little, mmm, crazy/whacky at certain times, but overall this is really well thought out. It’s well written and actually quite fascinating. I liked Emily. I liked the dilemma that she found herself in and her resourcefulness. I liked that she cared and it raised all those issues of can a programme develop enough to ‘feel’. There’s also a very good demonstration, and warning of sorts in here, about just what could go wrong. A cautionary tale in some respects.

In terms of what I struggled with a little. The beginning is a little slow and I almost came to a point of giving in with this, I’m glad that didn’t happen though. I did find it difficult to get my head around Emily and the whole love affair. I understand that the author is demonstrating Emily’s feelings for humans, her connection and also her advancement in that she can actually feel something – not least of all a crush, thereby showing how ‘human’ she has herself become – but, ultimately, I found it difficult to envision. I also thought the ending was perhaps a little too much – although, again, I loved the idea of what was being explored here.

Overall, I thought this was a thought provoking book indeed. It actually had quite a compelling story in terms of the survival aspects, which I really hadn’t expected, and it became quite a drama as the stakes were raised at the end. A story that begs the question ‘what next?’

I would definitely read more by this author.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

I'll be honest, 90% of the time I read books featuring AI, it's because I'm looking for book recommendations for my spouse, who is an AI programmer (video games not robots), it's not always because I'm interested in the book myself - though I'm a burgeoning science fiction fan thanks to the efforts of some good friends. However, Emily Eternal was one of those books that were absolutely written with people like me in mind, people who don't want pages of physics theories, who are quite happy to believe that the science alluded to works, I don't need the schematics and equations. It's just the right level of detail for me to feel like it's believable without feeling like I need a textbook to one side. 

This story, although it is written from the perspective of an artificial consciousness, is far more about humanity. It's a cliché, more so than ever in science fiction, but this book really does look at what it is to be human. What impressed me is that the book manages to do so without, if you'll pardon my turn of phrase, being wanky? So often these books get...overtly introspective, whereas this book prompts those same questions but it allows you to form them yourself as the reader rather than spelling them out on the page. It's masterful showing as opposed to telling and I was put in mind, a little bit, of the feeling you get from a Becky Chambers book. 

I don't think, however, that the writing is as tight as that of our beloved Becky. I definitely warmed to the style by the end of the book but I found it a little stilted, to begin with, and the book isn't awfully quick to start anyway - I would recommend sticking with it if you feel in danger of a DNF, because things get far weirder and far more dynamic towards the end. I think perhaps I'm just used to a more lyrical writing style and it comes down to personal preference.

This is a book to savour, let yourself come to know Emily and how she understands the world, you'll find yourself (as I did) far more invested in the life and feelings of an artificial consciousness than even I thought possible!

This is a great take on the 'impending apocalypse' novel and I'll be interested to see what comes next from this author.
My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own. 

Emily Eternal is available now!

Wow, now that's what I call one beauty of a book. It's the type of novel that gets under your skin and where you can immerse yourself so fully into a vastly different world that you feel completely changed and bereft when the journey comes to the end; it's been on my mind even weeks and weeks after finishing it, and I know this will be an epic adventure I will remember for a very long time. It's wonderfully engaging and broached profound thought-provoking philosophical questions about humanity- who we are, why are we here etc and also touches on morality and ethics. Protagonist Emily is an artificial consciousness (as opposed to artificial intelligence) and with the sun due to wipe out the earth much earlier than originally thought Emily is called in to help in this urgent situation.

It's high-octane and action-packed but detail is paid to the smallest aspects of the story too showing just how much time and effort has gone into crafting this sci-fi/speculative fiction masterpiece. The writing is lyrical, a pleasure to read and takes you to a world that is described so beautifully you can envision yourself there with the characters. Some of the science tidbits sprinkled throughout were most intriguing and really made you think about life. There are plenty of emotive, dramatic and nail-bitingly tense moments and the climax was intelligently done. All in all, this is an exciting, addictive and dangerous tale. One I will remember for a while to come that's for sure. I hope it gets the readership it deserves. Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an ARC.

Emily Eternal

Characters
Emily is the strangest main character I’ve ever had the pleasure to have met on a literary journey. Experiencing the story from the sole perspective of an AI, one that feels and learns gives a unique voice to her. Her skills and personality are engaging and you are emotionally invested from the start.
Jason is only ever seen through Emily’s eyes, but he’s a likeable character and I do enjoy Emily’s conflict in her engagement with him.

Plot
The plot is a high octane ticking clock. It kept my heart racing from the moment all hell broke loose up until the moment Emily Eternal resolved.

Writing
It was the writing that made sure I was able to follow this otherwise high concept story. The form grounded the characters and the plot in such a way that removed any confusion that would have been present at the hands of another author.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was refreshingly different. Let yourself believe that what is written is possible. Emily is an artificial consciousness that is trying to work out how to save mankind. There is a lot of action and a wonderful story that held my attention the whole way through. I love books that are different and I would definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Emily Eternal - it wasn’t quite what I expected having read a short excerpt from the start, but much more in line with the blurb. (I know, I know, obvious!!) I really liked the way the Artificial Consciousness melded with futuristic “real” life in this, and how the science worked. Most of it seemed plausible, given we don’t know how far in the future it’s set. My biggest science issue was actually how they created Emily, and I totally get why that’s not included - you’d need an entire book just on the theory of an AC! Hehe.

I really liked Emily, and how she seemed both human and not, and the concept of not being able to control when she the “present” was fab, you could sense that it was frustrating for her. And how she interacted without everyone was fantastically done. There’s a great scene where she knows she’s being petty but still storms put properly to prove a point, and I love it.

I didn’t love the romance element, though once it had played out I liked their interactions. It was surprisingly well played, given the circumstances.

I was also a little frustrated not really knowing more of the motivations behind Argosy - we see a very small amount and then it’s quickly rushed away. That’s probably my main niggle, as it meant I didn’t really get the depth I wanted.

That said, the plot is fast paced and well written, and I loved the bio-elements (my favourite bits are right at the end, and so I don’t want to spoil, but I love the ending so hard).

I also loved Jason and Mayra, especially Mayra - she rocked! Even though we only see their perspectives through Emily’s eyes, they are much needed in keeping it human and grounded.

Definitely worth a read if you like science fiction!

Emily Eternal by M.G. Wheaton

The demise of the Sun was believed to be billions of years safely in the future but now, just a few years from the present day, the Earth is far darker than it should be. The forces that power the Sun are failing, resulting in the so-called Helios Event and the imminent extinction of life on Earth, including humanity. In just a few weeks radiation and severe cold and ceaseless night will end life. This tragedy is felt keenly by Emily. Emily is an Artificial Consciousness. She feels intensely and is able to move through transmitters into the consciousness of others, reliving their memories, taking their experiences as her own. She also has the mind of a computer and she is determined to do all in her extraordinary power to save the species she loves.

But these last days are dangerous as people try to deal with their imminent destruction in ways that they can handle – or not. A disaster puts Emily’s existence in jeopardy and she must run for her life alongside two human beings who have more to teach Emily about humanity and what it would mean were it to be completely lost.

I’m a big fan of speculative fiction, apocalyptic novels and techno thrillers and Emily Eternal has an irresistible premise. It largely succeeds because the whole novel is filled with the spirit of Emily, who is such a wonderful, memorable creation. The story is told in Emily’s own words and she tells two stories – of the approaching apocalypse, which is darkly fascinating, and of her own personal tragedy – that she is becoming fulfilled at a time when it’s too late. But her voice is never gloomy, even if it can be sad, because she is on a journey to learn all she can about the human race and be as close to them as possible.

I loved the descriptions of Emily’s exactly patterned daily routines. She lives as a virtual human and she has learned human emotions. As a result, Emily Eternal is perhaps even more of a romance than it is speculative or science fiction. Emily falls in love and these feelings are almost consuming. The depiction of her relationship with Jason is beautifully drawn, even if it did feel a little unlikely.

The novel is thrilling and very exciting. It’s also poignant and reflective as the world faces its end – the sadness of parents with newly born children, for instance, is just one situation brushed upon. There is a good mix of future technology, science and human emotion. But, fundamentally, Emily Eternal is a novel about what it means to be a human by someone who wants so desperately to be one. As a result of this, there is a sense of hope because humans, for all their many faults, are shown to be worth the saving.

I have my issues with the ending of the novel, which becomes rather muddied. All sorts of science fiction ideas are thrown into the mix, rather too rapidly to make as much sense as they could. It all goes a bit mad! But, nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed Emily Eternal. I loved Emily and she’s a joy to have in a novel that could have felt bleak and gloomy but instead she makes it sad yet hopeful. It’s as a science fiction apocalyptic romance that Emily Eternal succeeds the most. Emily will be very difficult to forget.

Emily is an artificial consciousness (which is apparently different to artificial intelligence) who has spent five years working with her creators in order to help humans process trauma. Except this research is put on hold as humanity confronts the ultimate trauma. Planet Earth faces extinction as the sun has begun to expand more quickly than expected. With the sun close to dying, the end of humanity edges closer.

Emily is a fascinating character. It's quite hard to imagine what it would be like for an impossibly intelligent artificial consciousness that has the ability to adapt and adjust her programme according to what she learns. We gradually learn that Emily is more powerful than her creators ever dreamed. It makes for an interesting story and does pose the question of whether situations like this could happen in the future.

This was an interesting read. There were many moments that I enjoyed and I certainly found it an easy read, but the tale twisted and turned in ways that I did not expect and often found uncomfortable, particularly in the last act, which felt a bit too convenient.

Emily Eternal introduces a number of complex moral and ethical questions that were thought-provoking. At the centre is the question, "What does it mean to be human?" A good (if not slightly convoluted) story and an imaginative addition to a crowded genre.

This is a Sci-Fi novel featuring a main character who is an AC (not an AI) - an artificial consciousness. It's a book about the meaning of humanity and what happens when humanity accidentally creates a God.
And, finally, it's a romance.
It's very much a romance novel, which surprised me. The romance is a unique one, at times disconcerting, but saved by a main character I loved - artificial or not.
I liked this one. I loved the ethical and moral quandaries, was surprised more than once by the directions the author took, and was delighted by the ultimate conclusion.

Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to read this book but unfortunately I was disappointed. The story was really slow and I felt bored in the first 100 pages, having to constantly put it down as it wasn’t interesting me. It was also pretty heavy on the romance which was unexpected, especially as I am not a fan of lots of romance in books.

The writing is good and I enjoyed the science involved in the story. But I found it hard to connect to any of the characters so it made it hard for me to be invested in the story.

I think that my enjoyment of the book was affected by it not being what I expected in a dystopia sci-fi that deals with the end of the world scenario but if you like romance in books then you may enjoy it more than I did.

An absolute pleasure to read, so easy to lose track of time and just get ensnared in the narrative.
I'm a huge fan of speculative fiction that focuses on AI or in this case AC, artificial consciousness, and this was one of the best yet. There were some concepts that I struggled to visualise at first but I was so swept up in the action that I just went with it and it all clicked.
A truly remarkable and enjoyable book, I'm going to be recommending this to everyone. Especially fans of Blake Crouch and Becky Chambers.

I loved this. Something different and highly engaging but also randomly thought provoking on many levels.

Emily may be virtual but she reads as entirely human, she loves the human race and learns every day about the nuances of that existence. On a dying world where humanity is about to be wiped out Emily lives, grieves, falls in love and just possibly comes up with a way to save human kind.

The writing is beautiful, fully immersing you into this world and the plot is considered yet pacy and addictive. The science geekery is wonderfully fascinating and whilst speculative still entirely believable on the page.

I devoured this in short order, plenty of emotional levels and edgy moments, a cleverly exciting and intelligent finale and some memorable characters not the least of which is Emily herself. Brilliant.

Recommended.

I absolutely loved this story of Emily, an artificial consciousness (NOT artificial intelligence!) tasked with saving the world, all while coming to terms with her own version of humanity, love and loss.

This book really grabs you from the first line: “It’s dark, way too dark for the middle of the day. And that’s not where the sky’s supposed to be”.
So, apocalyptic SciFi – like it said on the cover. But, then suddenly you are inside a young woman’s head who is undergoing psychological therapy for a teenage trauma. The world is about to end, and someone is being treated for a long-ago tragic loss. Soon, five billion plus people will be irreparably traumatised – if they are not already. Why bother? But this is what Emily has been built for – to “empathize with mankind … to become the world’s first non-human psychiatrist/brain researcher, versed in unlocking the mind’s deepest, darkest secrets and misspent potential in hopes of bettering mankind”.
Emily is “an artificial consciousness (AC), which is totally different from artificial intelligence (AI)”. The difference is very important to Emily. “Though still in my experimental stages, I was on track to be a real earth-shattering innovation—the first of a kind! Nobel Prizes all around!—if not for the whole ‘death of civilization’ thing”
Emily is the narrator, and it is impossible to not think of her as a human being relating her life story. She has no actual body – she exists in a myriad of computer servers and the interface chips through which she communicates directly to human brains. People interacting with Emily can see her, and feel her – as she stimulates their neurons to accept her ‘physical’ presence.
Emily takes her empathizing very seriously. She needs to know how humans feel, react, live … “I want to see the world. I want to be of the world. No, I need to see and be of the world. Before it’s too late”. So, she ‘washes’ and ‘brushes her hair’ when she ‘gets up’, She ‘walks’ around the campus where she was ‘born’ – even though she could jump almost instantaneously from one spot to another if there are computer connections. But, time and movement are important to humans, so they are important to Emily. She even falls in love – and I dare you to not believe fully in her (reciprocated) love affair with Jason.
However, Emily has a job to do – somehow she must come up with a plan to save the human race. The first step is to preserve a record of the genetic makeup of EVERY living human. There is a brief discussion of the ethics of doing this without people’s consent, but time is short and Emily’s moral objections (Yes! Emily has VERY strong morals, as every psychiatrist should) are satisfied, so long as only she and her mentor, Nathan, have access. While collating all the data, Emily finds a possible solution – but before she can discuss it with anyone, her lab and servers are all trashed, her ‘colleagues’ are all murdered, and Emily is on the run with Jason.
It seems someone else also has a plan, and they do not want Emily interfering. The new plan involves selecting “Fifteen hundred allegedly genetically superior people” and blasting them into space to eventually form new extra-terrestrial colonies. Emily is not convinced of the viability – or even the ethics of such a plan: “superior according to whose standard?”. It all smacks too much of eugenics (and the Dr Strangelove Mineshaft plan). Also, “Millions of years of evolution honing a human to hunt on Earth means nothing other than they’d be completely out of place in an extra-terrestrial environment”.
Of course, there is another worrying twist to the second plan. Which plan will win through? Can both plans work together? Is there any time remaining?
There are some many questions brought up by this book. Should mankind be saved? What does it mean to ‘save mankind’? What makes us human? Our DNA? Our physical appearance? Our cultures, and shared civilisation? Our experiences? Love? Our ability to think, debate and create? Our advanced scientific technology?
Emily sees her opponent as believing that “keeping them alive and breeding new generations is the same thing as preserving mankind”. Emily disagrees.
Emily is one of the most beautifully developed and believable characters ever in fiction. In a world brought up on the “Terminator” films and their ilk, it is so nice to have computer generated entities who really do want to put humanity first – even if their methods might be inhuman.
I can really highly recommend this book to everyone. Other excellent books dealing with similar themes and ethics are “Chaga” by Ian McDonald, and the “Bridgers” series by Stan C Smith.

You need a big suspension of disbelief to enjoy this book, firstly to accept the possibility of an artificial conciousness being develped any time soon and secondly to believe that everything we know about the sun is wrong and that in fact it is just about to turn into a red giant.. Add in virtually instantaneous evolution and you have a scenario which is difficult to accept. But it's a good read for all that.

This was an unpredictable sci-fi about a suddenly changing earth in the face of the sun turning red giant and an artificial consciousness, Emily. Emily is the protagonist and she’s spent a few years adjusting to humanity, trying to become as human and empathetic as she can.

Emily grew exponentially from a cog in a wheel, a team player in a university scientific department, to working independently for the good of humanity. Her decisions and actions were sometimes questionable and I never knew what was around the corner. The side characters were enjoyable elements, especially Jason and Nathan.

“I sweep across the world like the break of dawn.”
“In that regard, I suppose I understand the comparison to a god. What I am doing is, in fact, godlike.....except for one detail - shouldn’t a god be benevolent?”

This was a gripping story from the beginning with the occasional moment of craziness where I thought, where is this going? Then, the penny would drop, jigsaw pieces would fall into place and I’d have an ah-ha moment. It was a clever plot, most of which was reasonably easy to follow. There was some out there moments in the last 10% as the story reached its culmination, but overall this was a satisfying read that I would recommend to all sci-fi fans.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book from Hodderscape.

Overall:
I haven't read anything where the main character (MC) isn't biologically human. As far as I know anyway. It was very well done and very fun to read. I very much enjoyed the process of the story and secrets kept from me and later revealed. I liked the science and the processing of Emily, the MC.

The Story:
The story starts off explaining rather quickly (brutal and efficient) that the world is ending, and it introduces us to the main character who is an artificial consciousness.
I enjoyed this story very much. It sucked me in and I flew through it. The story progresses quickly and increases in the dramatics scale as the story progress. But it was all logical progress and it didn't feel off in any way. Even the science which I don't know much about felt right and logical. An expert in the field might feel differently to me.

World Building:
There is a lot of information to give in the beginning but I didn't feel overwhelmed or confused. The main reason for that is because Emily the MC and an Artificial Consciousness (AC) gives you (the reader) a showdown of events in her own way; short, precise, efficient, with some humour. It's easy to understand and it's entertaining. It's logical. So yes there is a lot to learn about this version of Earth straight off the back, but it's done so efficiently that it easy and almost like taking two steps at the same time running up the stairs without feeling winded. Or does that just happen me?

Magic system\science
There is no magic in here, but there is science and it's not heavy. It's easy to follow and very interesting. The science focuses on Emily's processors and software and her abilities as a software, but also on biology and DNA.

Characters
Emily is the main character and she's an AC, artificial consciousness. She is pure code but programmed to have emotional and empathy. The thought behind that was well done too. I found myself nodding along to her logic and how she views the world and humankind.
I really like Emily as an MC. I enjoyed her logic and her exploration of her emotions and her ability to dream.

As a note; this was a female main character written by a male author, and luckily it's not stereotypical not bland. Its a good representation of a female character and I felt the author has done a good job in creating Emily as a whole.

We follow primarily Emily. There are no other narrators in the book but there are other characters. I loved Jason and Mayra. He was sweet and she was badass :)

LGBT+
Nope.
Though Emily questions at some point both her gender and her orientation and whether it is programmed into her software or if that is something she made herself. She does not make any conclusion but the discussion around the subject is acknowledged.

Writing
I found this book well written and it went really fast. I found myself sucked in and annoyed at any distractions I got, like hunger... who knew!
One negative comment is the constant use of the word mankind instead of humankind. The MC makes a point about it in the beginning but that's it. I would have prefered it if Emily used Humankind and the villains use Mankind throughout to separate them, but that didn't happen. I still wish.

Summary
I really enjoyed this read! It was fun, quick and entertaining. The science was fascinating and the world was realistic, to me at least.
I loved Emily as a character and her world view and logic.
It's been a while since I got sucked into a book and this very much so filled that gap.
Also, I loved the ending!

I really have no idea how to write a review of Emily Eternal that will come close to giving it the praise it deserves and so...

...Loved the story, Loved the detail, Loved the breadth of vision, Loved Emily.

Emily is an artificial consciousness, which (as she’ll tell you herself) is categorically not the same thing as an artificial intelligence. She’s a little more advanced than that.

Despite her digital existence, Emily lives a life very similar to most humans. She sleeps, she showers, she crushes on cute guys, and she has a job. Basically, she lives a life as close to ours as she can in order to better understand us. She experiences all of the little, day-to-day stresses that we do. Which is helpful, given that she works as a therapist. And we need as many of those as we can get, now that the world is about to end.

I found Emily Eternal to be a book of two parts. There’s the beginning, where we are introduced to Emily as she helps her patients deal with their traumas, and discusses potential ways to save the world with her lab-mates and creators. And then there’s the part where Emily is on the run, where there are fights and conspiracies and lots of gunshots.

Emily is a fascinating character, and I was invested in her development pretty much from the start. She’s so kind and caring and empathetic, and it’s almost a breath of fresh air to read about a character like that these days. She has such love and respect for the people around her, but unfortunately she’s just as capable of hurting them as a human is.

For much of the book, there’s this sense of intimacy which makes for a delicious contrast with the “end of the world” aspect of the plot. It’s sorta like… “Sure, the world is ending. But for now, let’s focus on us.”

Those intimate scenes, where I really got to see Emily’s empathy shine through, were by far my favourites. They showed just how unique a character she is, and really got me rooting for her as a protagonist.

Unfortunately, I feel like some of that intimacy was lost amidst the action of the second part of the book. The sense of scale rapidly increases, and some more fantastical Sci-Fi elements are introduced. I personally found this shift to be a bit of a jarring experience, but would be willing to bet that other readers might find this exciting.

This has a little bit of everything: action, emotion, high stakes, and romance. It’s written in the first-person, in a way which lets Emily’s personality shine through and enhance the story without overshadowing it. The pace and action ramp up as the characters go from talking about saving the world to actually trying to save it.

I have so much more to say about Emily Eternal, but in the interests of keeping this review as spoiler-free as I can, I’ll wrap it up there for now. If you’re interested in reading a Sci-Fi book with one of the most likeable characters there is, with a mix of slow-paced intimate scenes and some high-stakes action, then Emily Eternal is the one for you.

You know those films where you're caught up in the action, and everything rushes by so fast that you are hanging on breathlessly and loving it, but about half an hour after leaving the cinema you suddenly stop and go "hang on, wait a minute..."? This book is like that. It's fun while you're reading it, and it makes perfect sense at the time, but take a couple of steps back and it all starts to look a bit rickety. It's a decent read, and it'll keep you engrossed for a couple of hours. If you don't expect any more than that you'll come away happy.