This just never solidified into something that made me want to continue the pages, even after giving it over 100 pages. Part of the problem might be that this is the sequel to a book I haven't read, The Cybernetic Samurai. It's not that I felt lost though, despite the political complexities of this future earth that weeks before had waged World War IV. But I never connected with the characters, the prose is no more than decent, and I felt I've read this all before. It probably didn't help I read this coming from excellent novels by Connie Willis that had strong style, characters and ideas. In The Cybernetic Shogun we're introduced to two warring Artificial Intelligences, HIDETADA and MUSASHI. They're the "children" of TOKUGAWA, a self-aware and sentient computer who committed suicide rather than rule over a resurgent Japanese Empire. HIDETADA wants to take over and bring order to a world in chaos while MUSASHI renounces that sort of power. From the beginning they've initiated a war of their own against each other.

I couldn't help but compare this book to Orson Scott Card's Xenocide and Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Both books created worlds and characters as a backdrop to their sentient computers that were fascinating, and their artificial intelligences were endearing--and from the beginning. I just didn't feel that same kind of pull with Milan's book. ( )