Railroad and Maritime Security Hearing before the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and... Book

A 'damp squib' is something that fails ignominiously to satisfy expectations; an anti-climax, a disappointment.

This book started out as a solid five. The first proper chapter (aside from the introductory piece and the premise piece) took me beyond what I'm imagining would be the future from now, and so to say it was written almost 20 years ago is nothing short of prescient.

But then it went on. And on and on, and as it did so, I dropped the score to a four. It kind of got repetitive and a trifle dull. Sure, there were some good ideas, but not really on subjects that interested me.

Towards the end, I realised that the author is, despite being able to think up some wonderful applications to future tech, a bit of a pessimist. The last few chapters were, to be honest, a drone. I lost interest in this future. I didn't rush through to the end, but I also didn't pay as much attention to what I was reading.

I think the problem is that the past looks to the future with a little more trepidation than it deserves. After all, this is the past's future, and it's actually not too bad.

Read this book if you're family to the author. Give it a pass if the latest Lee Child is out.