The novel was a study of how humans can be self-serving while appearing self-sacrificing, while concurrently serving as a foil for the same theme for in an alien race. It was slow but it had great ideas. The big idea was strong enough to maintain tension throughout. Fairly strong characters, too. While I did enjoy the novel, I cannot really rate the novel very high because it simply didn't grab my heart. I have loved this author's work in the past, and I will continue to enjoy more, I'm certain. :)