The concept of this book was what drew me in, being overly fond of both the Iliad and science fiction. And now, both -- combined! Huzzah! The thing is that I couldn't stand any of the characters. More to the point, I couldn't stand the one and only character, since everyone introduced had the same voice. Imagine, if you will, watching a movie. The 1st character on the screen is one that you do not in any way like. Now imagine that each following character, when they open their mouths, has exactly the same voice -- the same manner of speaking, the same inflections -- as the 1st character, differing in only superficial ways. Not only that, but the voice belongs to a bad actor reading from a bad script. Now, I don't expect brilliance from a mass market pocket book, but I couldn't slog through more than 75 pages of this book with its obnoxiously incomprehensible techno jargon even with a much reduced goal of being mindlessly entertained.