Ok, let's start with the good. I love me a hard scifi book and I thoroughly appreciated the effort the author took to factor in relativistic travel and communication. The humor is fantastic and definitely had me chuckling. The concept is also incredibly good and very unique, I really like the subtle differences in every Bob and enjoyed jumping around to the different story threads.

Now the bad. Why the fuck aren't there any important women? Aside from Bob's relatives the only other woman that plays any significant role is the scientist who stands in for Dr. Landis and all she's there for is for Bob to appreciate that he can still feel attraction. I mean come on! Literally none of the other replicant probes are women either! Oh, and the most annoying part for me was when Bob met a sentient stone age race and found a female of that species wielding a modified tool. I was so excited, finally a smart pioneering woman who'll help advance her species...nope! It was her son that modified it and she's only ever mentioned in passing again. In fact all of the women of the Deltans are only mentioned when they're cowering with the children when the tribe is being attacked. What the fuck is going on with this author? Maybe there'll be some interesting, strong, or smart women in one of the other books in the series but with the way this one went I fucking doubt it.