This book is great. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a bit of a different flavor to their Mage game, or for Storytellers looking for more of a slant to their Technocracy than "Find reality deviants, kill reality deviants."
You see, that's not all the Technocracy is about. They're about ever so much more. And they have a point. The Technocracy probably has the most noble goal of any of the WoD groups: to protect and save humanity. Their big point: would you really want to live in a world with no technology and with monsters, magic and all sorts of other baddies running rampant across the face of the planet? I didn't think so.
This book takes the Technocracy and gives it a new dimension. A third dimension that hasn't really existed up until now. The Techies truly believe in their mission, and they are willing to protect humanity, no matter what the sacrifice or cost.
But the book explains more than that. It explains how, and most importantly, why the Technocracy does the things it does. Why it doesn't release Hypertech to the Masses, and why it hates the other supernaturals. Most of all, it explains how the Technocracy justifies doing magic, but not doing magic. I know that doesn't make too much sense, but...it will.
The "red star" is also discussed (if you don't know what the red star is yet, WHERE HAVE YE BEEN!?!), as well as the "problems with a master vampire," which is mentioned more or less in passing. This is about the only tie the book seems to have with the Year of the Reckoning, though, and that's the only "bad" part I've found in the book.
As far as the rules, there are a slew of them. New Archetypes (18 new ones if I remember correctly, a ton of new Abilities, revised Backgrounds, information on each of the Conventions, cybernetics rules, genetic enhancements, Technocracy-specific Paradox Flaws (called Genetic Flaws) and, God forbid, rules on playing a HIT Mark.
All in all, definitely get this book! It rules!
Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)
