If you have read any of Tepper's other books, you will find that much of the flavor is familiar. The setting is a blend of absolute realism and the fantastic. Tepper really knows how to bring the worlds of Fantasy into our own. This book is also much less preachy than almost any of her other books (being preachy is her worst flaw, and what has ruined a few of her otherwise wonderful novels for me).

I'm also going to agree with TadAD that the True Game series is far better in almost every regard. ( )

This trilogy just didn't grab me the way her True Game books did. It wasn't bad, there are just other Tepper works I'd recommend before it. ( )