
Sorry, completely forgot to come back to this comment!
I really enjoyed it, on the whole. The plot was tight and well paced, with a slightly languorous main plot intertwined and illuminated by a series of flashbacks. It does well with its central concepts (especially its core concept, the nature of individual identity and self for someone who exists as part of a larger entity), and has an interesting take on use of language (particularly the way it handles gender).
The only real criticism is that in places the prose itself can be a little clunky, occasionally getting itself tangled up in messes of commas and subclauses for no good reason. But mostly the editing seems tight enough to avoid this becoming a major problem.
I’d give it a 4/5 on my recommend-o-metre; enjoyable and worth the time (which, incidentally, isn’t very long as its a relatively short read), but not without qualifications.
I’ve just started reading the sequel, after a few weeks break, so I’m hoping that’ll manage to keep to the same standards.
Finished Perdido Street Station by China Miéville last night. I enjoyed it a lot, but it was one of the most relentlessly miserable books I’ve read in a long time. Bad things happen, continue to happen, segue into more bad things, and then the book ends. Looking forward to the sequel…after a sufficiently long break to recover.
Just started Ancillary Sword by Anne Leckie. I enjoyed the first in the series (Ancillary Justice) and am hoping this one will manage to meet the same standards.
Also picked up False Value by Ben Aaronovitch, to start when I finish Ancillary Sword. The Peter Grant series is something that I’d hesitate to say is good, as such, but they’re enjoyable and a much needed palate cleanser before tackling something punchier again.