This book was a decent murder-mystery novel but it fell pretty flat as far as the sci-fi elements. They mostly existed as a way to come up with a convoluted explanation for the existence of a parallel earth. Reynolds could have used the star trek holodeck to the same effect. 
 Having said that, the murder mystery was well crafted. The central character of Floyd was real enough that I was able to invest some concern in his welfare. 
 I think my mistake of course was expecting another baroque space opera like Revelation Space or a 'straight' sci-fi novel like Pushing Ice. Judged against those books, Century Rain falls short. However, on it's own this is a fun read and I would recommend it.