Technogenesis wasn't the right novel to pick up when trying to restart my reading habit. The beginning was a little slow and rather typical of cyber fiction. On the other hand, once I got past the cliché bits, I really got into the characters - particularly after the introduction of Dixon Tully, an Australian Net hacker. He and Herridge, an NSA general, were two of the most intriguing characters, and I wished the book had gone into them in a little more detail. As it was, an Indian-Irish woman named Jasmine Reese was the main character. As far as protagonists go, she was one of the most frustrating that I'd ever read about. In my own opinion, a number of her actions...well, most of her actions, were unnecessarily stupid. She was frequently unable to pass by her own ego and, therefore, caused more problems than she prevented. By the end I was practically chanting the mantra of her stupidity. Also, there were characters at the beginning of this book, some of Jaz's coworkers, that I had truly liked and hoped would continue through the story, but they didn't. The actual plot was intriguing and held me because it involved a lot of interaction. By that time I wanted to know just how things would be resolved and what Jaz's decisions on the matter of infiltrating a scientific commune would be. Of course, at the end, they dropped a little bomb in my lap and I was hoping they would thoroughly resolve it, even though the remaining number of chapters was very small indeed. Alas, it was resolved but not REALLY....and I felt a little cheated by the end. Not because the story didn't come to a sufficient close, but I suppose I was hoping something else would happen to validate all the troubles they had gone through. Nevertheless, an interesting idea. Probably not one I'll read over and over, but good nevertheless.

ISBN: 0451458648
Edition: M.M.Paperback