I read this book years ago, but just finished reading it again. I really loved almost all of this book. The exposition about ancient Sumer really should have been left out. That would leave the technical premise of the book (the Macguffin, I won't spoil the story) looking a little weak. But I don't think the rest of the story would have suffered much. One of the real joys of the book comes from the characters, Hiro and YT. Even Raven and Uncle Enzo and Ng all add their own color to the story. The other fun part is the hyperbolic extrapolation of America's future, that part is immense fun to read. The premise itself (the virus) was actually fine, it's just the big chapters of exposition that should have been replaced with a three paragraph summary.

The book is great fun, I highly recommend it! When someone starts talking about the Sumerians and stuff like that, just skip forward to the next section, you're not missing anything important for understanding or enjoying the book.