I read The Power because the concept sounded intriguing and it had received a fair amount of praise. Unfortunately, the book really didn't work for me. I never felt very engaged, found the characters flat and the writing choppy. I read through it quickly not because I was enjoying it, but because I wanted it to be over and in the hope that whatever helped it garner so much praise was just around the corner; it wasn't.

A major problem was the unbelievable rate and cruelty with which the world degenerated. I think this could been balanced by a character that attempted to use the power for good, or at least more subtly. I understand, based on the emails at the end, that this was a man's view of what might've happened in the past and that he probably chose to emphasis the brutality of those events whilst ignoring any more positive behaviour, but this framing device was the choice of the book's author and I think it unfortunately resulted in a poor book.