Maybe not quite as beautiful and lyrical as Semiosis, this sequel is nonetheless a triumph. It’s just as filled with hardship, struggle and conflict, and just as packed with interesting alien ideas and details.

The ending did conclude, but there was plenty left for future sequels.

Mild spoilers follow —

The only thing that bugged me about this book was why steveland chose to hide himself from the earth humans. It felt like it caused more strife than anything, and led directly to one of the more dramatic events depicted. I also thought the humans were awfully xenophobic, some of them, for scientists sent to study an alien planet. The conclusion seemed to be that everyone on Pax thought they ran the place, with the possible exception of the pax humans. It was interesting to me that the idea that the rainbow bamboo came to pax with the glass makers was brought up, but never confirmed or denied.