Can I give 3.5 stars? This one took a bit to get into, mainly because the author kept over explaining all of the pop-culture references and it reads a bit like wish-fulfillment fantasy. I think he was trying to make it friendly for more mainstream audiences, but I don't think they're the ones who'll be reading this anyway. After the first quarter of the book he stops over explaining and lets the plot take control. I loved the geeky references, which include everything from coin-op arcades to D&D manuals to Monty Python. The plot was fun and I kept having flashbacks to it while we were watching the Amazing Race, which is a slightly odd. This was a fun read, and I think anyone geeky of about my age or older would likely enjoy it.