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Quite a disjointed climax to the original Xeelee sequence. The different sections of the book break up the pace of the story and make the novel feel bloated. The problem with weak characterisation persists. Baxter is enamoured with terse, sarcastic heroes who irritate each other in unbelievable and uninteresting ways. The stoicism is occasionally ruptured by revealing asides (like the love affair that develops between two 'virtual' humans), but these are few and far between. The main draw of the book is Baxter's talent for describing truly mind-boggling astrophysics, particularly towards the end, which has a similar uplifting sense of possibility and discovery as his debut Raft. There is quite a bit to trudge through until you get there.