This was actually the first Kress book I read (I went out and grabbed 4 more almost immediately afterward, including Beggars in Spain)...so, the book definately stands on its own two feet and I still enjoyed the series tremendously despite not reading them in their intended order. Maybe it's because I read this one first, but it stands out as my favorite - a well-crafted future (usually missing from a lot of sci fi), a compelling plot (again, often absent from a lot of sci fi...no alien invasion/war/global cataclysm/blah/blah here, just a very interesting look at what the advances in our own existing technology may one day bring us), really great lead characters, particularly Diana Covington who I felt I sort of followed through this story in progress, and hey, some actual science! I'm no genetic engineer, but it seems that the material has been very well thought out and is a running theme in the Kress books I've read so far - being central to this book and the others in the series, I like the fact that the concept is used so thoughtfully...genetic engineering didn't destroy the world, but it certainly did change it. I suppose it would...perhaps it will, depending on how far we take it. This book has a ring of realism and science fact mixed in with fiction, as well as the central question 'what will the technological and social advances of the future really mean to us and how will they affect us?' - I just don't seem to find much science fiction like that these days. I was looking for some new material to read, and after picking up four or five complete duds by other authors, I picked this one up initially because the cover intregued me...boy am I glad I did. I have a feeling Kress will keep me in good sci fi for a while.