Meta Paperback – December 1, 2011

I never want to be the first to write a review and come down against a book. The author had to have spent quite a bit of time working on the story, and I feel they get some positive feedbqack before the critics swarm.Sadly, I felt this story almsot required that I post a quick review. There were enough issues that I do not want anyone stumbling on this story unaware.And this review is not because author Christopher Latham didn't have an idea for a story. He did, sadly, he needed some serious editing support.There are 4 things that stood out for me.1) the writing switched from past to present tense. - This was very disconcerting early on as a couple of scenes just didn't scan easily due to being written in present tense. Chris clearly was trying for an effect, but he should have just kept the story in past tense and allowed the reader to fall into the story. Here it felt like he was trying to drag me into the story and in the end, it turned me off.2) Christopher didn't stick with one main character - Before I was 50 pages into the story I had identified more than 4 different point of view characters, but they weren't always clearly named at the start, nor were the jumps from character to character clear. I had a very hard time focusing on any one part of the story, and never felt I got to know the characters.3) Who were the characters? - Combined with problem number 2, Christopher did a very poor job introducing and developing the characters and world. I could puzzle out the main villain's name and relationship to the hero, but not much more. Many characters seemed to be there for appearances rather than to help move the story. They were briefly mentioned by name, and a hint was given about any "powers' they might have, but after that, they were mostly ignored except for use a props in scenes.4) I don't care what your politics are, but don't beat me over the head with politics that don't make sense. - I can't suggest what beliefs were being pushed, or even if any really were in this book, but the centerpiece of the whole conflict appeared to be some socio-political dispute over economic policy. But it wasn't coherent. If there was a clearly definied conflict I could have gotten into the story, even if I disagreed with the position, but here, I couldn't figure out who was fighitng for what, and that made it impossible to figure out if the hero was a traditional hero, an anti-hero, or an outright villain playing at being a hero to lull the masses.----What this comes down to is that this story desperately needed an editor. Not a proofreader who is looking for typos and grammar mistakes, but someone who'll go through this and mark the areas where character development is skipped, point out when a certain theme is overdone, and perhaps tighten up the plot so taht the natural flow of the story draws in a reader. The way it currently reads this story felt like it was crawling out of the book and bashing me over the head with some plot points while simultaneously burying other plot points deep in sand. It made getting into the story difficult.Still, I could see talent in the writing. Christopher just needs to hone his craft and get some help with plot and character development.

Long, bizarre, and wise. That's the best I can describe it.It took 100 pages for the story to really pick up, which is a serious investment of time. After that, it gets truly uncommon in both plot points and narrative structure. Baby universes get created, as do virtual reality social media hubs, as do utopian vampire nations. Third person present tense becomes third person past tense becomes first person present tense. Luckily one gets heaps of insightful ideas along the ride.I've only had one serious relationship, but the romances here feel real. The characters' aspirations and motivations certainly are genuine. Magahara and William Powers especially come off as sincerely flawed people trying to be good in a gray world.If you're into metaphysics, the topic is explored with rigor. If you're not, those passages will bore you bad.Must assume that anyone reading this type of book likes superheroes and magical monsters. Their fights are strong. What's better than the fights, though, are the scenes with people using their powers for normal day-to-day stuff. Like eavesdropping on friends talking about you. Or covering up for a pal that's sick. Or giving charity to some poor people. Or trying to convince your best friend to do something dirty.For anyone ready for something actually different, and smart, pick this one up.

If you like futuristic stories that mix psychological realism while breaking the laws of physics and shattering current political norms, then this book might work for you.The notion of Continental Unions is clearly inspired by current turmoil in Europe. That the former king of England is the chief human leading the forces of freedom against humanity, while paying ridiculously rich superhuman bodyguards to protect him, well that's inspired in its own right.Now I don't usually go in for 10,000 characters talking and talking and talking. Here they fought enough, and wild enough, that I was not bored. The philosophy sometimes went over my head, and I could not always visualize the battle scenes as finely as I wanted, but on the whole I followed easily enough.By the end of the book I felt rewarded and invested in the characters, who had changed considerably in their perspectives and priorities.

Normally on a first time writers book I'll find something good to write then write about the problems. Most of the first timers I've read really aren't that bad hell some of them are pretty Damn good this one isn't. It's like the story started 650 pages before the book started and seriously the past tense present tense this is really annoying almost to the point of aggravating. There is no back story given on characters and never really gives a plausible explanation as to why there are government funded rock star superheros it is kinda well written dialog wise but has a feel of an 13 year old's dream gone awry.Sex, drugs, super powered rockstar spy's. don't bother.

I don't read this type of book usually. I prefer action movies to books with lots of action. But this read like a blockbuster film.People get their hearts ripped out, decapitated, blown up, turned to stone, burned alive, thrown into space, you name it.Beyond that I enjoyed the story as well.The political questions raised are real. How much state control is too much? How big should companies be allowed to get? How much should people be expected to do for themselves? Is terrorism ever acceptable?Last thing I'll talk about is the spiritual religious aspect. This book deals with God in a way I don't fully understand and maybe don't agree. Even so, it made me think, which I appreciate about the author.Meta is definitely worth reading.