I read this book, then took a few weeks away to finish reading the rest of the Hugo nominees in the shorter fiction categories, then came back to read this again. While I enjoyed the book the first time, I was quite overwhelmed trying to learn the world and who all the players were. On this second reading I was able to concentrate more on the story and a lot of details I missed the first time through. I raised my review to 5 stars after this second read for several reasons, but primarily because I was staring in awe at the massive and vivid world that Palmer has created.