This book starts off very slowly. The characters are unfortunately a little flat and rather grumpy :) There is a whole lot of exposition. But, I think that's sort of the point. It's a journey where the characters themselves don't matter much. It's a bout the imagination and science to back it up. Basically what I'm getting at is that you have to suspend disbelief a little when it comes to plot, and moving things along but not necessarily with the science or at least the physics. I really enjoyed the concepts in the book.I enjoyed the explanations. it pulls you along and I ended up enjoying it. The grand scale of the book and the digging into time and novel concepts of space travel are very interesting. It tackles some grand questions like will we ever be remembered, can we last forever. What happens at the end of the universe. It's worth a read and the price is good. It certainly sparked my imagination and that is rare for me.