A strong sci fi spy novel, with the main focus shifting between those two genres at different points throughout the plot. Thompson creates a convincing near-future with enough hooks to keep the world interesting for the length of the book and to still feel like there are significant mysteries to uncover in the next two books of the trilogy.

With the caveat that I have not read widely in either genre, Thompson's writing put me in mind of William Gibson and Ian Fleming, particularly the former as the particular form of psychic powers the main character has access to get fleshed out and we are brought into allegorical, metaphorical spaces of information-exchange, a lot like 'Neuromancer''s cyberspace. Equally, the main character, Kaaro, on the grimier end of spy novel protagonists, would fit right into cyberpunk, though his disgust at himself and his difficulty with interpersonal relationships definitely have a ring of Bond to them. Thompson benefits, however, from the decades of nuance and disccussion which have followed these works and presents a cyberspace which is simultaneously fuller and more focused than Gibson's and a significantly more interesting viewpoint character and setting than Fleming.

Thompson also juggles multiple time periods well and successfully interweaves characters and critical plot-points in a way which manages to avoid feeling too artificial, while the multiple viewpoints provided by Kaaro at different ages provide welcome variety throughout. All in all, an impressive entry into multiple genres.