I was immensely disappointed by this novel, which I found pretentious and barely comprehensible. The novel consists of three sections that seem to be unrelated — except for some rather tenuous thematic links — until the last forty pages, where the threads come together in a very loose weave. If there was a message to this novel, it went over my head. I much prefer Arc d'X. I'll give Erickson another try, but only one unless it blows me away.