This is probably my favorite Sci-fi novel of all time. The complexity of the characters and the worlds that Ms. Vinge creates are comparable to Dune and other great lits. The novel begins on a slow note,you might think it was a sappy beginning. It begins with a deep love. Only to be interrupted with fabulous worlds,love lost,and an introduction into one of the greatest,religious,political and astronomical stories that an author could create. Ms. Vinge creates a world that all sci-fi buffs can truly relate to, and does so with the excitement of all the legendary writers. I highly recommend this novel. I have read it at least 5 times. And I will read it again.

I sort of "borrowed" this book from a stingy friend who said I couldn't, because she hadn't read it. I have to tell you, this was a severe oversight on her part. I think I just liked the cover, but the story was so cool! Tiamat was such an unusual place, with unheard of rules of existence, people who were willing to self-destruct for utterly lame reasons, and the dichotomy of Arienrhod and Moon Summer, in love with the same man but different aspects of him, wow! There were good cops, bad cops, lofty aspirations, the old destiny-fate thing, should we try to change it, but the detail in the tale, and the symbolism of the masks-. The descriptions of the various aspects of this world and the few other worlds that were visited were rich and evocative, and beautifully named The best line came at the end, which will tell you about this book better than I can-- and a good thing to wish one another with a life enriched by this author-- "May you live in interesting times!"