It's a very interesting world that Asher brings us into. The centrality of the slugs at the heart of the world's eco-system is more asserted than really demonstrated, but that's a quibble compared to the very interesting lifeforms that exist together in this novel.The action scenes are well-imagined and the author has clearly spent a little time on a fishing vessel (or a good deal of time in secondary research) as his "fishing" (not really fish) scenes are exciting and detailed.Ultimately, this book is really about the life-forms that populate it. Asher seems to have loads of fun describing the life-forms and the way they interact with each other. Ultimately, however, the payoff to the premise is surprisingly "humanistic."A very good read.