This was an interesting mix.

The book is initially almost impenetrable, diving right into the story without placing it in anything. It actually worked well, for the most part, though I felt some things were difficult to follow because of the late reveal.

The premise is some good, classic scifi and is approached well, though Bear's writing can be a bit precious. She smooths that out in her later books, but I can definitely see the improvement down the line.

It certainly engaged me. Sadly, the audio direction and reading weren't really up to the story.