Earth really took a while to get going. It really lays the eco-guilt on thick in the first - oh, half or so? - and spins off casts of minor characters, all of whom wax lyrical on how awful everything is. I almost gave up. It took me a month to get that far.

That second half, though. I read it in an afternoon. I wouldn't say it makes all the woe in the first half worthwhile, per se, but it defintely makes it make sense. The world, the loose thought processes, all of these hints and dribs and drabs which have been littered all over the place through the first half coalesce, and the main plot takes off exponentially and builds to one of the most dramatic conclusions I've ever read.