I didn't realize that three stars means I liked a story. I've been giving out so many 4 and 5 stars over the past year that when I finish a book and I just *liked it* I'm a bit disappointed. 
 Look, here's my issue: I didn't know what the hell everyone was talking about most of the time. I enjoy a challenging novel, I really do. I've read plenty of Charles Stross, Greg Egan, Rudy Rucker, and recently even got through - and enjoyed - Count to a Trillion, by John Wright recently. All really tough to understand what's going on at times. 
 But this thing, it was page after page of things that I had a tough time following. I think I more or less figured out the larger story, and had my finger of the the various political factions and such, but damn, it kept me on my toes, I really had to stay focused on what was happening. 
 And it was worth it in the end. It wasn't quite a home run for me, as I was still a bit confused when I finished the final page, it was still good enough that I think I'm going to read the second installment that just came out.