This book is the first of a six-part series written by paul preuss that is loosely based off of the work of arthur c. clarke. The main character, Sparta, is an unusually intelligent and gifted woman with severe memory problems. Her attempts to find out what happened to her family and what has been done to her make up the main plot of the book. I found it to be very action-packed and exciting, with likeable protagonists and just enough suspense. Paul Preuss, also a noted science author, writes intelligent prose but manages to keep everything interesting. As a way to further flesh out the novel, he even includes some technical diagrams of the book's machinery in the back. I highly recommend this science fiction and adventure novel, and I hope the rest of the series is also republished in this mass market paperback format (book two is currently, but none of the others yet)