While this book was sometimes difficult to read, it was a fascinating look at identity and society – what makes you “you” – if one’s in a different body, is one a different person? Robin/Reeve and friends discover the truth about the “Glasshouse” in very interesting ways.

It takes Stross a while to set up all the pieces, and suddenly it all clicks. And runs you for a couple of loops, some breaknext turns and a heart-stopping end.

The now-familiar stomping grounds of Charles featuring a post-humanity species that has spread out among the stars using wormhole gates to travel from one place to the other is hit hard by a technological worm that attacks the very gates themselves and installs and runs illegal code on human hosts passing through it, redacting memories and altering behavior. The book is set in the aftermath of “The Censorship Wars” caused by this worm which is called “Curious Yellow” in a nod to Jeff Noon’s Vurt.

While the “hero with amnesia” bit must be one of the most played-out in the world of literary tricks, Stross manages to make an asset out of it. No mean feat by itself.