There were two things that struck me from the start. The first being that the characters are very one dimensional and simple, and the second that so is the story.

The book almost completely lacks all descriptions of surroundings, and it is in some ways so shallow that I can not say that I connected to any of the characters until one, being so utterly stupid he did not even figure what was wrong with a gun when the safety was on, somehow connected with the absurdity of the society he lived in.

Now, simple stories should not be ignored. Asimov's novels are simple but brilliant, and I always end up being impressed after the last page. Jennifer Government has some good points, tries to repeat the feat that Asimov does so well, but Barry only almost make the whole way. The story does pick up during the book .. but not enough for my taste.

Don't get me wrong. The novel is good. It has a good point of what could happen when too much power is put into too few hands with too little control. And the story becomes intertwined in a curious way in the second half that I enjoyed a lot. But greed as the only driving force for power, well, I think I find greed mixed with a lot of madness more entertaining, and this book is not mad enough to make it into the list of my favorites.