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Review title: Oh Dear.
Product review: I bought this book on the strength of the many-starred reviews on it's cover; reviews from the NY review of Books, the Washington post, et al.I'm still waiting for the 'verve', 'quirky charm' and 'clever wordplay' to emerge. Admittedly, the premise is clever; the alternate universe with details such as the Hyperbookworms, ChronoGuards and the biblio-centric society well thought out, but the prose is pedestrian in the extreme (as one other reviewer wrote, it's of the 'I did this, the he did that.....' style). And the witty word play? A character named Jack Schitt? Not funny the first time, and after the two-hundredth mention of Mr. Schitt, I felt like screaming. (I did giggle at a few of the names though, like 'Millon De Floss', but it's hardly subtle is it?)So, excellent ideas, shame about the writing. I should mention that I did finish it - and will probably take the rest of the series out on loan from the library.
