There's a solid amount of imagination in The Circle, but it never manages to offer more than a well-developed premise. That's not bad in itself- - it's something I enjoy in comics and films - - but it seems like such a wasted opportunity given the medium and the relative ease with which this novel could have escaped its sophomoric quality . Right now it's just not literature, despite its clever plot and decent but dry style (I refer to the many other negative reviews on this site for a discussion about that).

This is the kind of work that could get people into reading, though, so I'd heartily recommend it as such. If you're looking for something with depth, food for thought or impressive style, you'd better go elsewhere.

Edit: I find myself in perfect agreement with Brad's review, so I will be lazy and just link you there:

Here is the review by Brad: www.goodreads.com/review/show/752010315