I haven't read a lot by A.E. van Vogt; what I have read has been pretty hit or miss. This one was sort of both, in some ways better than I expected, offering moments of humor and effectively building towards a climax (that unfortunately ended up being disappointingly hokey). Having the all-seeing AI as the book’s protagonist felt original and ambitious and all in all was pretty well done.

For a book published in 1983 Van Vogt’s ideas on how technology-dependent and networked we would soon find ourselves seem insightful. And the basic premise of the book probably feels more relevant in a post Snowden-NSA-revelations world than it did when first written. This is certainly a world in which power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Having said all that the human characters are frustratingly superficial and the ending disintegrates into quasi-religious silliness. Still, original enough to be worth your time. ( )