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This is exactly what I was looking for when I was in the mood for some good 80's sci fi. Bear is a "hard" sci-fi writer - a lot of science, not so much in the way of character development. Actually, Bear's characters are developed fairly decently, but his best efforts come in his mind-expanding scientific/philosophical speculation. I honestly don't know enough math or physics to follow some of what he was talking about, but the basic ideas are pretty mind blowing, which is what good sci-fi should do. My main criticisms are that sometimes I got lost in the scientific or political details and, while I liked the weirdness, sometimes the book got a little too weird to tell what was going on, especially in the last 200 pages. Also, Bear was strangely obsessed with the sexuality of one of the secondary male characters. There were two points when women threw themselves at him at awkward times (once I actually blurted out, "oh, for fuck's sake"). Overall though, if you can overlook a few bad moments, deal with a book set in the future that's now the past (2005) in which the Soviet Union still exists and add a heavy dose of weird math and physics, you're in for a crazy ride.