A big book, which, as usual, took me for ever to get through. It was a challenging read, though one that I enjoyed. It is really a number of shorter books, each of which is a separate story at a different point in time, stretching from the 19th Century through to the distant future. There are a number of themes which thread through all the story lines.
In a way, I feel each "book" could have stood alone and I enjoyed each one in a different way. The very first one is, IMHO, the weakest, which is a shame, as I can imagine it putting a reader off from continuing. The quality of writing is excellent and the style changes noticeably from one "book" to another. The use of [English] language varies over time, as one would expect - from archaic to a logical extrapolation of modern English. I was slightly daunted when I started the book set in the distant future, as the language was very unfamiliar. To my surprise, I picked up the rhythm of it quite quick and began to be able to read it with ease.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I am not 100% certain that I understood all the subtleties of the threads that ran between the stories.
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