Well written and excellent end to the trilogy that ties all three books together. Explores the concepts of Godhood, religious freedom, and the conflict of individual, tribal rights vs those of the collective whole.

Trilogy finished, and another 5 star book to add <3
I just wish she could write the endings a bit better... 480 pages of which the last 15 only describe the ending like... All this build-up for it to 'just' get solved in the end.
Ah, but the world building is so amazing and the book feels like a little quest. Throughout the book terms and places and beings get named, but only explained like 100 pages later. But there is just enough given away that the first time it's mentioned, it works and it speaks to the reader's imagination of what the being could be. And then only later it is described what it IS but then you as a reader already have developed your own imagery which cannot be replaced by the later description. This space Tepper creates, the freedom of imagination she allows and encourages of the reader is what I loveeeeee

Really solid. I liked this as a cap to the quasi Arbai series, and the series in general as fun sci-fi-philosophy. I think the end revelation came a bit quick (the thing that let Fringe figure out what she needed)...and then it turned out she didn't need to do anything because the one sane professor did the thing? That bit was a bit confusing as to what her intent was for what actually happened. It seemed like the the thing Fringe did wound up being ultimately pointless with respect to the "big bads", very confusing.

Endings seem to be a weakness for Tepper - not enough to detract from the story as a whole, but I've found that I usually come across a section or two that I would have appreciated being revised in each of her books' endings.

No memory of this whatsoever, yet I can vaguely recall the one I read the year before. That must mean that I didn't enjoy this as much, or at least that it didn't make such an impact.

While "Raising the Stones" was the best of the trilogy, I still enjoyed this quite a bit. Tepper reuses some of her plot points and can at times be a bit hand-wavy, but the societies she creates are just compelling. Unlike the first two, which were largely independent, you do need some knowledge of the events of those stories before jumping into this, even though it is set centuries later.

An odd, dense book filled with striking images and characters. This time through my reading was enhanced by a sudden realization that the planet of Elsewhere (strictly partitioned micro-states ruled over by a Core of academics who become monsters because they can't adapt with the times) could well stand in for the United States and its Founding Fathers, with the Core a metaphor for the Constitution.

Tepper makes me think. I love hert fascinating future worlds that investigate the real issues of survival that face humanity today. This book, in particular, looks at how good ideas can mutate over time into trouble and chaos. Tolerance and diversity are good values, but sometimes holding on to what makes us different than others can drive us apart rather than bring us together. Sometimes it is important to decide what parts of our past are worth hanging on to and what is worth letting go of.

If you enjoy mythopoetic speculative fiction, you will find a lot to think about in Sideshow.

This book is an excellent example of how science fiction can examine diversity, (non)intervention, and transcendence. Asking questions about when to intervene and when to respect cultural differences on imaginary worlds offers the reader more perspectives than asking these questions in a realistic setting--the mind is not limited to known worlds, but is free to explore new paths. Also, having a female main character (one of a strong ensemble) who is not interested in marriage and love is important for female readers; women are far more than their romantic relationships, and literature should reflect this. That being said, Tepper does have a couple passages that beautifully describe an experience of love. And there were wonderful connections to her previous novel, Grass.