While I enjoyed MaddAddam, I liked it less less than I did The Year of the Flood. The Year of the Flood is in some ways simpler: it's the story of a screwed-up world and a group of people who've found a way of living that bypasses the screwed-upedness. Even though I knew all along that it would not end well, there seemed to be a sense of hope. (Plus, I relate to separatists.) The Waterless Flood was coming, but there was a formula for surviving it. 
 MaddAddam is not hopeful. I suppose the ending could be perceived as hopeful, but I don't really see it that way. It just seems kind of depressing that everything really is left up to chance and tribalism in the end anyway. 
 In addition to feeling a little depressed by the hopelessness, I also found the small-world coincidences in MaddAddam a little unrealistic. People meet and think they're strangers, but it turns out they went to high school together or something. I didn't quite buy that the only people who'd survive the flood would be people who already knew each other. These didn't stop me from enjoying the book, though. 
 Maybe I just enjoy feeling depressed and paranoid. 
 An expanded version of this review will be available on my blog, Imperfect Happiness.