The strengths of this book were ideas, character development, and atmosphere. The biggest weakness was pacing. I don't quite know if it was a weakness, really, but this is not a book that sucked me in, which is something I've come to expect from contemporary novels. I had to choose to keep reading rather than getting pulled along. Maybe then the fault was mine for expecting light reading, and getting something a bit closer to literary fiction.

It's hard to write a review without giving too much away. I'm normally not shy about spoilers but this is the kind of book where uncovering the ideas is a big part of the pleasure. Anyway I do recommend it, if for no other reason than that it's quite different from the kind of sci fi you'll find out there normally.