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This was my first Baxter and really enjoyed it, despite being slightly dated. I really liked the format- multiple POVs ; some interstitial media POVs. The squid stuff was right for me and I would have liked more of that and from the cephalopod POV. I would recommend Children of Ruin and vice versa to fans of either, although Tchiavoksky's books are equally as dense, but quicker, fresher reads. To be clear: this is hard sf and the science dumps are sensibly plotted. Exciting space stuff: rockets, astronomy, ect. There was some heavy time theory stuff I did not exactly understand, but didn't get in the way of the plot. Would I have given it 5 stars had I read it 20 years ago when it came out? Maybe, if I wanted this and wasn't so fascinated with Mieville and Stross. There is something very one-sided and dated to this. I can't put my finger on it...From someone who keeps up with contemporary 21st century SF from around the globe these days, you can still smell the white guy, Western-voice of Manifold Time. But I knew what I was getting into. The inclusion of world-wide cultures' voices in the narrative was a plus. This was well written for what it is. For me who was in the mood for: Earth-centered, “far-out weird� but also science-based, space exploration hard SF stuff, this hit the mark. (Recommendations always accepted.)