The book is not only creative but follows Frank Herbert's saying of plots within plots. Vinge carries off the book well with only a few holes. My favorite part is that if someone reads the "last page first," they will be traped by the ending.I thgought that this was a interesting trick, and he worked it in flawlessly. The whole "net" bit was a little old, but the rest of the book made up for it. A good read, and a good time.