Sadly clunky, insufficiently distinguishable pairs of characters, insufficient orientation (at least for this reader) as to what was going on when. Eventually that starts to become explained, and I actually did make it that far (about 3/4 of the way through perhaps?), but it was just too much work to read so I sent it back to the library without finishing.

I am vaguely curious about how it will all turn out and what the Norse references were, and there were some interesting & original ideas, so I might go back & finish it someday. ( )

Slow to get into at first but becomes really engaging mid way through ( )

In a far distant future scientists from three time periods separated by hundreds of thousands of years, are confounded by an indestructible canal that spans the American continent. In the most distant of these periods a religious war is brewing. A vast army of zealots have discovered a weapon so powerful that not only could it lead to the extinction of humanity, but could very well unravel the fabric of the universe itself.

In each period, science teams are attempting to uncover the secrets of the canal and its apparently empty structure at its west end. They believe that by learning the secrets of this structure they can confront the evils of political and religious zealotry and save humankind from self-immolation.

As with all Modesitt novels, it is a complicated, deep tale, populated by people so real they could be your next door neighbor. And Modesitt spares no words in the telling of it.

Its perspective is panoramic, yet the scenes are so distinctly personal: flawless in their presentation.

This is not a light read, but it was hard for me to tear myself away nonetheless. ( )

L.E. Modesitt Jr is one of my favourite authors for a relaxing and enjoyable read . I found this the most difficult of his to read due to the constant switching between the 3 different threads. An interesting read, but for me a bit frustrating. ( )

A very good read done in similar style to "Archform: Beauty" (same author), if you enjoyed that, you should enjoy this. Not quite as good as "Flash" by the same author. ( )