Woeful storytelling, glacial pacing, and absent characterization plague a novel otherwise full of intriguing, fresh science fiction ideas.
There were a number of out-of-the-blue character developments that left me scratching my head to the point of wondering if I'd actually skipped a chapter. Sylveste somehow falls in love with and marries his captor, yet we never hear a single smitten thought in his head or see a sole romantic action expressed. It just sort of... Happens. Similarly, Khouri is coerced into a course of action with the potential reward of being reunited with her long lost husband, and throughout the entire rest of the book she thinks about their history, her feelings for him, and how rewarding it will be to be reunited precisely zero times.
These characters almost wholly lack depth, and thus they lack any agency with which to impact the story. They are shuttled along from event to event by Reynolds as if they're cardboard cutouts being placed on stage by his hands. Because of this I found the book dreadfully bland despite some legitimately interesting worldbuilding such as the melding plague, strong transhumanist themes (of which I've been a fan for as long as I can remember), and the simple, satisfying, enticing solution Reynolds provides for the Fermi Paradox.
Suitable for hard science fiction fans, but passable for those interested in even a basic standard of storytelling or mildly interesting characters.
⭐⭐
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