I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Carr, since this book is such a departure from his historical fiction ("The Alienist," and "The Angel of Darkness"--"The Alienist" is a masterpiece!). I was disappointed in this book. I don't know what Carr was trying to achieve with this novel, but it's a combination of mystery and science fiction that doesn't quite come off, in my humble opinion.It takes place in 2023, and it's mainly about the assassination of the President in 2018. The investigation into it takes the main character, psychiatrist Dr. Gideon Wolfe, through many confusing twists and turns, and I was left confused and wondering what Carr was trying to prove here. It was not easy reading, and it seemed as if the book had been written in haste--there was not the character development nor the detailing one expects from Carr's fiction.

A few pages into this book I stopped and thought "what ...is this!?!"This book seems to be a collection of cardboard characters that have been combined with Mr. Carr's laundry list of complaints about current society and government. I've read Red Chinese propaganda from the Cultural Revolution that was subtler!Gee, so ya think the Internet leads to a dissemination of bad science and half truths? Why don�t you pound it in our heads over and over again throughout the book? No, 25 times isn�t enough! Please repeat it like a mantra!Yeesh.That and it also reads bad makeover of a Doc Savage novel with a dash of clumsy sexuality added.I really don't understand what happened after the two "Alienist" books but this was 99% worse than either of those.I so wanted to like this novel, but it took all my effort to finish it off.All I can say is "WOW�... much as I would when seeing a car wreck.Mr Carr, better luck next time.

I read both the Alienist and Angel of Darkness and found them engaging, authentic, and incredibly enjoyable. So what happened? I think the previous reviewers hit the nail on the head, the plot was laughable, the characters were about as interesting as nails and his version of the future seemed ultra-contrite.As for the prose, did an adverb bomb explode all over his computer? If had read one more line like 'He ran quickly...' I was going to scream.I can't believe I wasted twenty buck on it...

Having enjoyed Carr's earlier books (and because I work in the internet biz), I was eager to see what he'd do with a sci-fi theme. This book was boring and predictable and an all-around disappointment. Get it from the library if you want to read it, but don't buy it.

Did I miss something? In the beginning I was intrigued by this book, wondering where it was going and what it was going to say. Well, I'm still wondering. Mr. Carr must have wanted to shake he reputation for writing stories set in the past really bad! Well he did get the last of that sentence right, really bad. There is no real point to this story. The writing is not bad and he does have a good beginning characterization. But, for the most part, the reader only gets a superficial look at the characters. The ending was dismal. Almost like the author say, "well that is enough pages, I need to end this thing `. I really hope that Mr. Carr doesn't plan on another one of these "future" books. Please Mr. Carr, go back to the 1800's. Those books are wonderful. You are at your best in that time. And please readers don't waste your time on this book. Let alone your money.

This was awful. With all due respect to the reviewer who beleives this was meant in homage to writers like Verne, this was simply a homage to garbage. If you pick this up after having read his previous novels, you will be sorely disappointed. If you don't beleive the large majority of reviewers, and must read it please go to the library and get it. Save your money to buy another copy of the Alienist.