The book struggles with structural mismatches. Reynolds folds a hard-boiled noir detective story into a large-scale space-opera setting, but the elements clash. The noir props—paper files, land-line phones, cars, firearms, physical beatings, arson, low-tech murders—sit awkwardly beside robots, interstellar ark ships, and higher technologies. The mystery reveals its clues too late, which blunts the investigation. The pacing drags in places and the finale feels overloaded.
The book's strengths keep it afloat. The resurrected Yuri Gagarin as a hard-boiled detective is bizarre but effective. The characters are well drawn. The high-tech background holds together. The setting has scale and ambition.
Entertaining but unsatisfying. 3/5 stars.
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