[_virtu]

Thanks for the clarification on suicide vs assisted suicide. Yes, I do agree that the discussion in the book is about assisted suicide. It's been about a year since I've read it, so those details evaded me.

I do understand where the author was going with the discussion regarding assisted suicide, but the timing of the argument and the amount of time spent on it at the point in the story is the root of my main objection with presenting it.

Throughout most of the book, there's very little regarding ethics at least with the amount of painstaking detail that it's presented in, in comparison to the assisted suicide discussion. The discussion felt bolted on as it was presented around the fever pitch of the story just before a global nuclear war is about to break loose, we get bludgeoned over the head by a priest that's fervently against assisted suicide. The placement of the argument and the timing is just awkward in my opinion.

Again, this book touches on a lot of interesting ideas ahead of its time but the execution feels weak and confused. I would have preferred that each part remain completely separate honestly.

And of course, all of this is based on my taste. I recognize that this is considered a seminal piece of science fiction. In general I find myself fairly forgiving when attempting to read something I normally wouldn't, but this took the cake for me in regards to the amount of pain per page I suffered while trying to make it through.