The majority of this book is empty exposition. People move about meaningless lives without purpose. The "protagonist" merely drifts through a life which offers him a potential to engage at every turn, which he either doesn't recognize, actively avoids. When he IS finally forced to take action, the plot is cliche, but you figure, you hope, you PRAY that it will be redeemed by something in the end. Meanwhile you've got an antagonist that was lifted almost directly from The Karate Kid. The "twist" ending never validates a single one of the pages you've wasted your life reading, and ultimately adds up to a useless stack of paper with no soul or meaning.True Story: The moment I finished reading this book, I stood up, strolled across the lunchroom, and threw it into the garbage can, so no one would ever need waste brain cells on its pages again.I hate Ransom like I hate Illinois Nazis. Read ANYTHING else.