This was my first book by Ian McDonald. I had heard a lot of good things and I picked it up the year it came out. For the most part, the author is worthy of the praise. The setting of Brasil is fairly unique in the English-speaking world and the book follows not one but three stories in three separate timelines. Some of the technology and vernacular were a bit hard to understand, but on the whole the book was pretty fascinating. 8.5 out of 10.