First, let me just say that when I was 16 and read this I never even registered that Archie Goodwin is ageist. At 29, his comments about no women over 30 being worth a look gave me a strong desire to give him a good "talking to." Anyway, on to the book. Honestly, [book:And Be a Villian: A Nero Wolfe Novel|1991252] disappointed me. I will re-read at least one more of [author:Rex Stout|41112]'s books, but I have a terrible suspicion that the Nero Wolfe series will go on the list of things that didn't hold up for me over time. Sad, really.

I like science fiction. I like some extremely silly science fiction. I like some books with an obvious philosophical agenda. What I do not like is books which have no warnings or indications of their ideological stance or books that butcher science to their own ends. Unfortunately, falls into the latter category of books I do not like. I would have been willing to give this two stars, initially, because the writing was terrible in a way that amused me. Then we got to the scientist-bashing and victim mentality. Even the terrible science I could have forgiven, were it not for the "all science is based on disproving the existence of God" theme.

This book was boring and an affront to scientists everywhere. It pretty much clinched my decision that First Reads is largely a waste of my time.

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy of this book for free through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program.

Somehow I forgot these were as cheesy as this. I knew they were cheesy, but good grief. Still, amusing. I wonder how I would feel if this were one I had read before.

Good god, this was awful. It's hard to realize it's the same author as the others I enjoy.