The detailed, unique universal construct makes this novel shine. Yet, all that luscious background cannot hide the weakness of the story. Or I suppose I should say "stories."This is Sci-fi Canterbury Tales. The entire novel reveals the history of the 7 characters chosen for this specific mission. The individual stories are good enough, but after the fourth, I found myself skimming. It's too unrelated. Too eclectic.And then comes the end ... rushed, abbreviated, truncated, and nonsensical. All this sound and fury leading to nothing. Huge disappointment. And in some ways, a waste of my time.