Frustrating! I really am enjoying this series, but this book was maddening! The first two stood reasonably well alone, and had satisfying stories that each had a beginning, middle, and end. But this one starts in the middle of things without providing lot of background for new readers, and ends with the cliffiest cliffhanger to ever cliff! Which was particularly annoying since I thought it the series was a _trilogy_, and hence was expecting a big finish :-(. So, to avoid my mistake, don't read this until the next one is ready at hand. ( )

Miriam has to fight against everything: the family pressured by the secret services, her grief over Roland, the looming marriage … and nothing happens. Miriam spends most of the book locked in the second world, unable to do anything, and events unfold painfully slow (save for the last pages). Didn't really know what to do with this book. ( )

huh. well, that's a precipitous decline in quality from the first two in the series. also the book goes a long way to destroying the series' lead character. with at least three books to go, that's a bold move. ( )

I have mixed feelings about this book. I continue to be satisfied with the world-building; this actually puts some thought into the economic and political consequences of parallel universes with restricted travel between them. Characterization is acceptable. The plot didn't grab, somehow, and there is no wrap-up or closure at the end, just a "and in the next chapter ... you'll have to buy the next book to find out!".

I probably will buy the next book, but not a new hardcover. ( )

I am starting to think Mr. Stross is playing a game with his readers in this series. I'm imagining him saying to himself, "let's see how far I have to go to lose every single reader's suspension of disbelief." My other rationale is maybe someone else wrote parts of this series. Or it was an exercise for National Novel Writing Month.

He mires his wonderful protagonist character down in so much muck that she doesn't have room to breathe as a character. He goes further and begins to betray the confident woman he created. She is now continuously weak, lacks foresight, and has a child's sense of consequences.

The ending of this book is a three ring circus, an Irwin Allen-sized disaster movie. The coincidences pile on far too high for me to suspend my disbelief. Mike's first assignment in the middle world happens to be with Mirriam (who he dated in the past) and the wedding announcement party is crashed by the prince at exactly the same time Mike is there to see her. Stop! Just... no. There are other similar issues but the ending was most egregious. This is the sort of plotting a teenage boy writes, not one of my favorite authors.

Going back, there was the whole episode with Matthias trying to escape. That sequence was so stupid it hurt. A smart security-conscious type does WHAT? The nuclear threat alone would have been enough to get closer to the front door than he got.

I'm invested enough in the story to continue but I'm hoping this is the lowest point in the crafting of this series. ( )