Duly impressed that someone could invent such a world, but duly disappointed by several irritating aspects of this novel that overshadow its potential. The characters are cutesy in a way that straddled the line between amusing and grating (what's with the constant eyebrow lifting?). There were a few enchanted moments in which I thought "this is unlike anything I've ever read!" and other moments in which the idea of having to pick this book back up was so insupportable that I opted to read two other books in the meantime and finally finished this one on audiobook. 
 It's worth a read, but I think you have to set your expectations correctly. First of all, you have to be willing to suspend disbelief to a level that is far beyond that of most novels. The book is science fiction, yes, but based upon a scientific premise that is not elucidated well enough for me to believe it (the plot almost reads like a bad joke: a jesuit priest, a grad student, a texan, and two retirees are traveling on an asteroid to a foreign planet. They don't have a single astronaut on aboard, but they do have a deck of cards for playing poker...). It is a morally-challenging work, yet tolerable (i.e. not too religion heavy) for someone who knows (or cares) little about religion. There are sections that drone on tediously (i.e. those about life among the Runa in which nothing happens) and other sections that are glossed over in one paragraph (i.e. how any of this would be possible in the first place). 
 Glad I read it, but I don't think I'll have the patience to ever pick it up again.