This would have made a very interesting and thoughtful short story. Unfortunately, it's a novel. There are some interesting ideas about language. It is a very good attempt to render something truly alien, but I can't see how one cares about any of these characters. Most damningly of all, the main character. She's so two dimensional that more a of a camera than a character. China writes a marriage as if it is some kind of roomate/timeshare arrangement. None of the characters touch emotionally - or have emotions.

He's brilliant with aliens, and creating another world. But the thing is, the only reason anybody cares about any of that is that it has something to teach us about what it means to be human. China has technical prowess, but there isn't any humanity in this book. I literally stopped reading it halfway through, saw it was nominated for a Hugo and and finished it just to make sure I hadn't missed anything. I have regrets in my life, and finishing this book is one of them.

I think you can think yourself into getting excited about this work, but I don't think anyone can love this book. I appreciate his audacity-- If you're going to miss, miss swinging for the fences-- But I'm pretty sure this is a book no one can love, or will read more than once.