My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is crammed with lots of fascinating elements – triathlons, bitcoins, geocaching, energy policy, and more. I especially liked the Cal Tech ditch day stories, the Mexican cave exploring, and the history of the Esselen Indians to name a few. The author is clearly knowledgeable and passionate about all these things and I learned a lot reading it, but in the end, it suffered from a lack of cohesion. The plot took second place to the author’s desire to educate us on yet one more thing. The dialog was often clunky and full of exposition. It was nice to read a thriller that wasn’t burdened with the usual gore and pornographic scenes that seem so common in this genre, and I appreciated the clear, precise grammar, spelling, and overall professionalism in the writing, which is so often lacking in self-published books. If you’re looking for shootouts and graphic bedroom scenes, this isn’t the book for you, but if you’re looking for something that tells you all you ever wanted to know about bike fitting, botnets, and a dozen other interesting things, give it a try. I was provided a free copy in exchange for an honest review.