Another of Egan's philosophical fictions in the guise of science fiction. By setting the book in cyberspace where humans have uploaded themselves, he is able to discuss the possibilities when we are free of bodies and able to change ourselves.
Although I like his short stories better, because he is able to explore many different ideas in one book, he does manage to fit in quite a lot of thought-provoking notions as well as enough of a plot to prevent things getting too heavy.

Because people are able to change more readily, he is able to explore ranges of gender and culture fairly widely, though in this futuristic context I suspect that people who are LGBTQ+ in today's world may not feel adequately represented, though I can't be more sure than that.