The absolute audacity of governments to just say, "The land mass that would be United States or England or Russia if we were on Datum Earth is ours on all the stepwise earths," boils my piss. I didn't like this book as much as the first even though the writing is just as good if not better. The problem is that the first book evokes a lot of cosy Wonderland/Narnia/Wind in the Door feelings for me whereas this book deals with a lot of the problems that arise when a billion compatible planets become available to anyone that wants one. It's too much like real life.

I'm still looking forward to the next one.