This is a departure for McKillip; while she typically writes fantasy, this is a science fiction novel. Some of her strengths carry over well from her fantasy writing: many of the characters are well drawn--she appears to like them quite a bit, and so do I--and she does very well with the "sensawunda" theme that dominates the second half of the novel. The book's greatest strength is the intertwining connections among the characters, some obvious, others unexpected but crucial (I'd say that's actually a major theme of the novel). An excellent read, and one that I've re-read a couple of times. I'd be delighted to see her tackle something like this again. ( )