The basic story was exciting, but much of the telling involved science that was pretty dull and that I didn't bother taking the time to understand. In addition, the author was very proud that he knew a lot of swear words. The fourth word in the book was profanity, as was the ninth. It went on like that for quite a while, although once the story got going the pace slowed a bit. All of them were entirely gratuitous. That alone knocked the book down a full rating.