The future is at war for the soul of humankind ...

It is a time when civilization has extended itself far into the outer reaches of the solar system, and in doing so has developed into something remarkable. But humanity's progeny -- the nanotechnological artificial intelligences called "free converts" -- face extermination at the hands of the tyrant AmÉs and his invincible armies, and once the Napoleonesque Director develops superluminal flight, his "Final Solution" will be all but assured.

But hope remains alive in the outer system. From the fleeing refugees of a dozen moons and asteroids, General Roger Sherman has amassed an effective and adaptable military force, already forged into a formidable weapon in the fires of battle.

However, time is a commodity the courageous Federal Army lacks, as total war erupts between the vast cloudships of the outer system and the deadly armada of the Met, a glorious and terrible conflict that will rage among the stars ... and within the hearts and minds of every human being.

From Publishers Weekly

Daniel's much praised Metaplanetary (2001) presented an awesome vision of the future in which the Met (a system of super-strong cables like spider webs) connects the inner planets and people can communicate instantly across impossible distances due to the presence of "grist" (a form of quantum nanotechnology that permeates the solar system). In this ambitious sequel, war breaks out between the inner planets, ruled over by the increasingly despotic Chairman Amés, and the outer planets, led by the maverick Federal Army commander Roger Sherman. Meanwhile, a large cast of characters, some of them human, some complex computer-programs, but most some combination of the two, live out their lives. This is large-scale space opera with an enormous cast, spectacular battle scenes and 11 appendices to help readers keep things straight. The novel doesn't work quite as well as Metaplanetary, in part because the space warfare becomes a bit repetitious and in part because, as the middle book in what will be at least a trilogy, the tale comes to no real conclusion. Nor is Daniel's work as intellectually challenging as that of such writers as Ken MacLeod, Alastair Reynolds and Stephen Baxter. Still, there's much to like here, particularly for fans of Golden Age great E.E. "Doc" Smith.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Daniel's critically acclaimed Metaplanetary (2001) left readers dangling on the brink of an explosive civil war between the inner and the outer planets of the solar system. In the long-awaited sequel, Daniel returns to his brilliantly realized vision of evolving humanity in the thirty-first century, when planets are strung together by super-strong, kilometer-wide cables, and a ubiquitous nanotech-based substance called grist makes possible both sentient machinery and instantaneous interplanetary communication from Mercury to Pluto. As the action continues, Ames, the despotic leader of the inner planet collective known as the Met, renews his assault on all manner of semihuman and quasi-human life forms, while his chief rival, General Sherman, plots a counterattack with the added muscle of intelligent spacecraft. Daniel's inventiveness occasionally stretches credulity, as when showcasing the exploits of a sentient jeep or the matter-bending powers of Jill, an enigmatic being who is--literally--part grist, part ferret. Yet the story remains gripping throughout, and it is packed with enough ideas to leave readers hungering for another volume. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved