Title: Cardboard characters and unengaging plotting
Product review: I bought this book following a paper enthusing about some of its ideas in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (JBIS Jan/Feb 2005). Unfortunately, I have to agree with earlier reviewers who have highlighted a pedestrian writing style, implausible 'characterisation' and character motivation, and the unengaging 'by numbers' plot development.I abandoned the book at page 78 as unreadable, not something I do often. My advice to the author is to read the books which you just can't put down, and really think about how their authors achieve that effect. Even in plot-driven stories, the characters have to be real and must be able to invoke empathy from the reader.
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