It is hard on me to say bad things about one of Mr. Stross's books, however, this is a wide miss. I have enjoyed a lot of his writing and this one just when to broad to keep the attention. The characters are are too watered down to create any kind of connection with, and the plot is is too loose to get caught up in. If there is to be a follow up, which it seems there is, I hope it finds a track and a voice.