So again, Stan doesn't get over the 3.5 hurdle. This is his China book and while a westerner trying to do China is always a risky proposition, he does manage a convincing take here. This presents a more hopeful view of the near future wrt climate change and geopolitics. The main narrative thrust about how China would change given current technological trends and with the Moon to expand into is interesting and well done. However, again, the characters hold him back. I feel he hasn't done decent characters since the Mars trilogy and the ones here are again a little two dimensional. This is still a worthwhile read though.