John

Smart and important but also long and boring. The “novel with bits of educational content throughout“ format doesn't really work. Mostly because the novel part isn't very interesting. On the other hand, it does pack ten times more interesting ideas than the average novel.

What if James Bond was a bored, fat, semi-retired spy who doesn't trust anyone. Begrudgingly leading a small team of ex-spies who, like him, are punished for having fucked up, they turn out to be smarter and more resourceful than their career-obsessed former colleagues. There's a kidnapping to be solved, but it's mostly the characters, their interconnected backstories and the complex web of office politics that makes it a page-turner

Not for me
I'm all for fast-food books : fun page-turners, not memorable but enjoyable
This is junk food : bloated and badly written, peppered with the author's toxic politics (violence is bad but non-violence is equally bad, that's why true Americans need to carry guns) and pretending to be smart (the main character's head hurts when trying to understand time travel paradoxes)

Agatha Christie murder mystery meets rashomon, with a touch of time-skipping and body-hopping. What's not to like ? Yet it did not do it for me. Nice concept but the pace felt slow and the plot twists over-engineered

This should probably work better as a comic book. Kick-ass hero, lots of action and violence, fighting an all-powerful evil organization. She has a quite original if a bit unrealistic super-power and, when that's not enough, she gets rescued by an even more unbeatable super-friend. Add a bunch of civilian sidekicks such as the computer nerd and the wise detective and you've got your page-turner ready to go.