Fascinating premise. Richards gets the tech right, and does a terrific job using it to explore some huge, fundamental questions.

I just wish the writing and the story he wraps around the concept were as good. Without ruining any surprises, the main characters never really felt in jeopardy -- and too often the action played out as a series of conversations between characters.

I don't like being told how to interpret what I'm reading any more than I like having characters spell out in detail why they're doing what they're doing. Throughout the story, I felt like the author was worried I wouldn't know why a character was acting a certain way -- wish he could've trusted us more.