Ryan North is a clever and inventive writer which a knack for pushing a fictional situation to the extremes of logical absurdity. In this book he mixes science fiction and Greek myths, specifically the myth of King Midas's foolish wish that everything he touch turns to gold. In this story, the touch was so powerful that every single part of planet Earth has been converted, killing the whole planet in the time of the ancient Greeks. Meanwhile, multiple other planets with intelligent life have developed enough technology to enable space travel. One of these societies, The Federation, is on a mission to dominate the rest. Three rebels from suffering planets band together to seek a rumored super weapon, the thing that killed Earth. They are surprised to find that the weapon is a perfectly preserved body, but they cut off one finger, intending to use its deadly force against the Federation home world. However, the Federation is hot on their heels and soon it becomes a dangerous race to see who can control more of Midas' body. The book is beautifully drawn and full of action, but not emotion. The characters debate the murdering of entire worlds extremely causally, and when whole worlds are indeed killed, seem barely to mourn them. As reader who worries daily about the potential death of all life on our planet, this aspect of the story didn't sit very well with me. But the book is fast-paced, and a younger (less environmentally stressed) reader would probably really enjoy it.