More like: ★★★⅔

SHORT VERSION: a scifi redux of the Canterbury Tales; six densely packed, interlocked, interwoven tales that create a whole that is epic in scope. Gripping and creative with all the right literary nods. And yet oddly anti-climactic and maybe even a little unsatisfying.

NOTES IN PLACE OF A REAL REVIEW:
* A strong, engaging (if somewhat vague) opening chapter; but the vague elements seem to be in line w/ some scifi conventions so...
* the pace creatively waxes and wanes; of particular interest are the multiple layers of narration (i.e., excerpts from a priest's journal as read aloud and re-contextualized by another priest as heard by the Counsel...)
** for most of the sections this is very effective (if a bit affected and tedious at times)
* about halfway through: oscillated between whether the multiple voices are effective and authentic or if they're just gimmicky
** ultimate conclusion: we'll grade this effort a B- (that we question whether/not they're distinct is enough to cast that shadow -BUT- that is not a distraction, so they're at least effective)
* "Scholar's Tale" = favorite (DENSE and gut-wrenching)
* NOTE: the lead-in paragraph in "Poet's Tale" is a MASTER STROKE
* SIDE NOTE: OK -- why is it that we fail to call an "AI" anything but "AI"? (disappointed here b/c we have "Hawking drive" and "farcaster" etc. and revert to just plain ol' "AI")
* SIDE NOTE: too much "of ... this" in the dialogue

UPDATED: (8/15/2012) After a second reading, I stick by these original notes (though still no "fully baked" review). There are some real 4- and 5-star moments in the book, but some others that just don't come together. Which isn't a knock against Simmons; what he does here is ambitious, and to try to interleave all these stories, told in all these distinct voices and styles, into one cohesive writ-large-whole... well, that would be a challenge for anyone. Some of these work well (e.g., Priest's Tale, Scholar's Tale), and others do not (e.g., Detective's Tale, Consul's Tale).