I really wanted to read this novel. When I found out about the sequel, I couldn't wait to read the story. That being said, meh. I like Doctorow and most of his views. His fear of a big brother government and a cyber-security world are spot on. The problem is that Marcus is just a dumb kid character. He never seems to put two and two together long enough to make a real change in his life. Ange is the best character in this novel and I wanted to know note about her this time. Because of all the baggage from his detention at the end of LB, Marcus is just too broken. He is weak and lost. I constantly wanted to scream at him and say, get the darknet out there and make it work for everybody. Tor isn't that complicated with the right help. It also felt like too much random stuff was happening to Marcus. The protest and riot. The goon squads and gyro copters. It was just too much to make it work because the randomness just didn't go together like it did in LB. In the end, it is a good read for those who like techno thriller. It's not great literature or his best work.