I started on this a couple of days ago, and I'm gratified reading back through the comments here, that so many others found it hard going. I enjoyed the first section, a postmodern mystery set-up that worked nicely in its ease of reading. Obviously recalls House of Leaves in the generous attention paid to an invented, magical text/piece of media, and I suppose Borges is the common reference point for that?
I kinda hoped the theory heavy part would have subsided by now, and that we'd have a slight return to the original story. I'm less and less hopeful that that's going to happen, but I'll plough on for a bit. I think the oil/war machine/Tellurian Omega conceit is quite good as a background, but as the main piece...?
What I really want to see is the author 'in conversation with' Conor MacGregor, as part of a five-part youtube series where he interviews/screams in the faces of postmodern fictionalists.
On the comprehensibility point, before beginning the book I read a few people saying that a basic knowledge of Deleuze and Guattari would be beneficial to read it. So I read a couple of quick primers, and thought the following quote encapsulated the central issue quite well:
"Here’s the trick: do not bother trying to comprehend or understand the text. A desire for that level of control will only hinder your ability to experience it, use it, think it, and become it. To apply an analogy, I do not need to understand or comprehend my car in order for me to experience driving, to use the car to get to the grocery store, to think about the fact that I am sitting motionless while simultaneously moving rapidly through time and space, to become an extension of the car or vice versa. (In this way, Deleuze has really helped me formulate my general approach to all works of literature: I do not care to comprehend them or understand them in any way. I wish instead to experience them and use them and become them.)"
I'm not sure if I agree entirely, but certainly a suspension of the insistent drive to understand immediately 'what it's about' can help with appreciating lots of artforms.