“[A] masterful narrative. Highly recommended for fans of Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy or readers who enjoy sf with a focus on social and political themes.”

– Booklist, starred review

“It’s a gorgeous book, treading similar ground to The Three-Body Problem but with a jaunty, almost cheerful outlook… Jingfang melds scientific futurism with age-old mythology in the most satisfying of ways, suggesting that human history is not at all what we think and holding out the trembling hope, that maybe … just maybe … our future is one of peace.”

– Vulture

“Hao’s patient worldbuilding and character-driven approach lends fresh life to the familiar first contact trope. Contact fans will be thrilled." —Publisher's Weekly

“A deeply philosophical and thought-provoking story of humankind’s search for its destiny in the cosmos.” —Kirkus

“Amidst a classic space adventure, there are illuminating elements of the ways history can be corrupted by time, along with well-placed development of our heroes’ relationships.” —Library Journal

"Uniquely taking us millions of kilometers away to experience another way of life."—Cixin Liu, New York Times bestselling author of The Three-Body Problem

“A thoughtful debut with ample scope for reader engagement.” —Kirkus

"It is a novel so busy and brilliant that I can describe it only in the way the proverbial blind men might an elephant, touching one staggering detail and then another without ever quite capturing the whole. In that regard, it is characteristic of Hao’s profound, and sometimes profoundly bizarre, creative mind.”

– Washington Post