I read a review in which the writer found it unbelievable that there were so many willing to turn against the human race. Such a reviewer should disqualify himself.

This book, however, is an example of what is great about us humans. It is continually surprising in the directions it takes. To think that I almost abandoned it early on when it seemed to be all about China's cultural revolution, but I had forgotten that is was a sci fi novel! You might turn against the human race too had you lived in the China of that time and your intelligence was taken as a sign of being against the masses. But how far is it to the politics of the United States where it is argued that we don't want to be ruled by "elites" but by people just like ourselves (and by 'ourselves' is meant those unqualified to rule.)

It's hard to say more and remain spoiler-free so you may want to leave now because I fully expect to fail at that goal.

This is also, clearly the start of a series which ends on an ambiguous note of hopefulness for humans, which comes as a surprise since it is clearly established in an unalterable way that we, if I may momentarily align myself with humanity, are doomed.

The thing is, the alien race which will replace us is in so many not so good ways as human as we are so even if I feel we deserve to be wiped out, so do these aliens. It can be argued that their superior science proves something of their right to win, an attitude a veteran of the cultural revolution might espouse, but while I didn't anticipate so many of the ways the plot would develop, I wonder why a race about to be wiped out wouldn't consider the suicide bomber's approach and blow up the entire planet the way a retreating army burns their crops rather than have them fall into enemy hands, but maybe this is taken up in a later novel.

And as humans and aliens have so much in common, so do the Chinese and the West, and yet some kind of chauvinism bounds them to be opposed in the geopolitical struggle for dominance. Or maybe it's fear of the Other that makes us circle the wagons and fight them off, or, worse, plan to destroy them first assuming they would do the same to us were they capable because--see, we're all alike.

This is also the only sci fi I've read that brings string theory into it and has Einstein become homeless because God played dice and he lost.