Entertaining but with some drawbacks
591061
Louise Cantor has to be one of the dumbest heroines to ever see the printed page. In an effort to shed light on the untimely death of her son, who wasn't the person she thought he was, she finds herself embroiled in the middle of a dangerous situation. With death and mysterious disappearances happening all around her, does she listen to her better instincts and back off? Oh, hell no. Rather, she barges full speed ahead, placing her trust (and her life) in the hands of total strangers, sharing her suspicions with one and all--completely oblivious to her own vulnerability. Louise feels that her son's demise has left her nothing to live for. However, considering their apparent lack of closeness as a family, it doesn't really fly as a reason for putting one's self in mortal danger.

On the other hand, if it weren't for Louise's stupidity, there would be no story. Other flaws include too many incidental characters and too much chasing around between Europe and Africa. The whole thing starts to run together and becomes a bit muddled if you don't pay attention. By the way, Kennedy's brain is pretty much a non-issue throughout, little more than a catchy title.

That said, and assuming you can suspend intelligence and common sense long enough to relate to blabbermouth Louise's naive bumbling, it's actually not a bad read. Typically, Mankell sounds as if he didn't have any idea where he was going with this story while he was writing it, but he also manages to hold one's interest in the process.
2151265
This novel was entertaining, and the mystery of it drew me in while I was reading it, so that I purchased the sequels as well. Some have praised the writing, but when it is most trying to be poetic, I find it maudlin and overwrought. Otherwise, it's not distractingly bad. Kvothe's story is entertaining, but the interludes (during the present time, which form the frame story) are less so. The beginning was more promising, before Kvothe suffers his tragedy and the mystery begins. I find his hubris irritating rather than charming and am always waiting for the other shoe to drop (perhaps because of the rampant foreshadowing). I don't buy his relationship with his love interest, so that takes away a lot of the pleasure to be had from the book. Having had time to pause, I doubt I would buy the last book in the trilogy when it comes out, though I might borrow it from the library or a friend if I had extra time on my hands.
4721600
This was an entertaining book which I did enjoy.  A few things bugged me like the sexual stuff because I was reading it to my ten year old daughter.  She loved the book but we did skip the sexual parts.  At times the story seemed to "modern" to me but it did keep me interested.  If Mr. Godawa ever has a few hundred million dollars to spare, it would make a great series of movies!
4574189
Entertaining, Clean

Not great dialog and story
4231748
This was an intriguing idea, an interesting plot, and mostly likeable characters. It was a quick, entertaining read. That said, the plot and the description of what was going on and how the map reading worked (and what Nix did vs what her father did, at least in the beginning) was sometimes a bit convoluted. Also, I object to people taking the Lord's name in vain, and the author does this multiple times.
949209
I enjoyed the descriptions when the protagonist is flying and assume the author has some experience as a pilot. This was a very entertaining book and I found I missed my stop on the bus on one occasions as I was so absorbed in the book. I found the plot to be original in premise with the space station tumbling to earth and also found the authors descriptions of the manner in which  many trends occuring today morphed over the span of time. That said I have a few niggles. First, Betelgeuse is not spelled "Bettlejuice." Bettlejuice is a movie not a star in the Orion constellation. Also, there are no canyons on Mars that tricked early earth observer into thinking canals were present. They were an optical illusion. Also, although you might be able to fly a shuttle on Mars, you would need to reach an air speed North of 250 mph to do so in the thin atmosphere. Not sure you could slow down enough to safely land without just dropping out of the sky. Such things aside, it is an enjoyable read.
1660649
Prepared for Rage is an entertaining book that contains a number of individual stories and combines them into one at the very end; similar to a Quinten Tarantino film.  Although I enjoyed the story itself, I had a number of issues with the author's writing style. In particular, the story jumps around a little too much for my taste and the author uses 2-3 different names for each of the characters - making it a bit cumbersome to closely follow the story....especially in the very beginning.  I found the book to be fairly well researched; however, I got the sense that the author went too far into the weeds on little details and missed a number of more important BIG details.  What I found a bit annoying as well was the number of overt political cheap shots the author conveniently wove into the storyline.  Overall, however, the book was enjoyable but it definitely wasn't anything special.
4196128
This was a good book and has a great main character, Nick Mason. The premise is unique, the plotting is done well, and the author has done a great job of working in the 'gray' area. Even by the end of the book you aren't sure who the bad guys are and who the good guys are.

But for all its good, there are a couple of things that bothered me and hurt the experience of the book overall. The cars Mason drives are all classic cars in mint condition, regularly wrecked and chopped up, and the next dream car is brought up. This just doesn't work and it feels like a cheap way to give the main character a James Bondian quality. It just feels so far-fetched that it hurts the overall experience of the book. In the same way, the relationship with Lauren the pet store owner seems ridiculously forced. Fortunately there's only about 8 pages or so total that cover it, but very far-fetched and unnecessary. If Mason drove regular cars and just skipped the girlfriend, I would have been more lost in the book itself instead of thinking how ridiculous it was at certain points.

Overall, a good quick read that has more potential than delivered. Will try the next book in the series.
92231
I read this book and found it to be highly entertaining. The book structure and narrative is cohesive and the mystery is rather gripping. It is fun to uncover the secrets the book slowly unravels.

So, why have I only given it three stars? It is because of the characters. The characters in this story fall completely flat. The characters behave and act like broad archetypes and are shallow at best. They do not react to their situations in ways that any human being would react to in a believable way. Where they should be terrified and surprised, these caricatures behave startled and nonplussed. They are like broad brush strokes creating a distorted shell of a picture rather than anything specific. I can't really give any examples without spoiling key scenes of the story, which makes this review difficult to comprehend.

This is such a shame because the nature of the story is gripping and the mystery is fun. It is a shame that the characters really brought it down. But if you are the sort of reader who just wants a fun tale and can overlook these sorts of things, I would say that you absolutely should give this a read.
4258122
Overall, this was a relatively fun read, and I enjoyed the happy ending as always. The problem was that I had a really difficult time liking the main character.  For being a late 20-something and a Christian, she sure seemed to have the maturity of a teenager and the Christianity of God knows what.  However, those are my only real beefs with the story.  It is otherwise entertaining and light, and I'm glad to have read it.
2072789
If you aren't acquainted with the format, the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books promise some extra fun by allowing readers the chance to make some decisions and take the story line down one path or another.

In the case of this book there are twelve possible endings.  Unfortunately quite a few of them are "sub-standard", even from a child's perspective. [My own sample audience is a 6 year old boy.] In one ending, for example, the robot flies into a big pile of ice cream and the president of the company charges you --you become a defacto character -- $800 dollars for the damage; while in another situation the robot leaves you having to replant a neighbors rose bushes because your robot exclaims, "SORRY! I AM NOT PROGRAMMED TO PLANT ROSE BUSHES."  Don't know about you, but we didn't find it all that entertaining.

As to an official Reading Level (aka Accelerated Reading or ATOS) none is listed.  But the word level is fairly advanced and at least at the 2nd Grade level.  Which makes the silliness probably even less attractive since I'm assuming older children would be a bit more discriminating than than my 6 y.o. boy.

Here's an example of text from page 18 so you can judge the level for yourself:

===============================
"Now I will try pressing your RUN button," you tell him.  So you do--and off he runs.

"Terrific!" you cry, and you turn him off before he can run too far.

"Say, maybe if I let you run fast enough, you could take off, like a plane!" you say.  "But, of course, I don't know how to fly a plane.  So that might be dangerous."

"Besides there a lots of things we could do in the yard. We could build a fort.  That might be fun."

But you keep thinking about flying.  Should  you try it?  Or should you build the fort?
===============================

Two Stars ::: Try this one out at the library first.  The reading level is fairly sophisticated, but most of the plot endings aren't.
4977501
A somewhat enjoyable read, with a plot-line that keeps you interested. A fun journey through a "future" world, but certainly could be improved by some proof-reading and editing. The frequent spelling and grammatical errors truly detract from the enjoyment of reading, and become quite the nuisance. There are a number of words used improperly, potentially related to an automated spell check, as well as some odd or opposing object references.

  I would recommend as an entertaining story, however I would really like to see the author put forth the extra time and effort to at least ensure accurate spelling and grammar. Perhaps have some friends and family read through and make note of flaws if hiring an editor is not feasible as a beginning author.

  I would like to have given this book more stars, as the story is indeed good, but for me personally it becomes quite annoying to stumble across so many typographical errors.
2601653
The world building is immersive and exceptional, but many of the characters are less well defined. While the main character Kell is a rounded individual full of humanizing flaws and passions, I found myself often wishing we could get to know more of the side characters better, such as his adopted brother, Holland, or even the villainous Dane siblings who are fascinating, but barely covered. I especially disliked the one prominent woman in the story, Lila, who felt like a cobbled together homunculus of "strong female character" traits. As a result, I often rooted against supposed heroes and wishing some of the antagonists, especially Holland, were given more spotlight. While some may argue that later stories in the series may pick up the slack of these meager characterizations, I don't feel as if that's a sufficient excuse for flat personalities and unexplained motives in the current novel.

The writing style is excellent, but the story, which has an immediate appeal, fades into something in which the plot is lazily moved along by convenient happenstance. I wanted to enjoy this book, but ultimately grew bored during the rising action and climax.
693856
It was entertaining and there was some good information in this book. But there were some things I disagree with the author on. I don't dispute she has her own deep perspective, but not really an empathetic perspective. I found it motivation for the superficial not really motivational for those who truly have problems to overcome.
4426571
entertaining,good characters,engaging story, and a few twists
2867315
I enjoyed this installment of Jim Eckert's adventures, but it bogs down a bit in the details. More than once Gordon Dickson took three chapters to relate something that could have been tightened down into one. I grew impatient when the action came to a screeching halt so that we could listen to a lecture by Carolinus or we had to wade through every thought that passed through Jim's head when he pondered a problem.

I really like the way that Jim comes up with unexpected solutions to the problems presented to him--Dickson shows a lot of creativity in that area.  Secoh, the mere dragon, brings some charm to the story, and when he's not lecturing, Carolinus adds magical spice to the action. Though it's not quite as much fun as The Dragon and the George, it's a pleasing sequel.
2425810
This was an entertaining, sometimes funny / sometimes trying too hard to be funny book that will turn you on to many obscure underground treasures. The only problem I had with it were the large amount of spoilers that ruin key scenes and finales for many of the movies. It wouldn't take much to keep from ruining surprises and scenes of suspense in future reviews so I hope the author reads this and considers my point. As I said his reviews are fun to read but the copious spoilers also take some of the fun out of watching the movies. As a result, reading this turned out to be a bitter-sweet experience.