I have to admit that I'm much more of a William Gibson fan than a Bruce Sterling fan. For me, the book was very uneven-- parts of it were fascinating in their speculative detail, while other parts were straighforward and flat out dull. The setting was far more interesting than the plot. Still, I thought the interesting parts made the boring parts worth wading through, and the author's unique vision remains in my imagination years after having read it. If done right, it would make a good movie.