Overall good. I read reviews for the sequel and some of them said that reading this is a necessary slog and the sequel is the big payoff. One of the best sci-fi books of all time I guess. I do plan to read it.
This itself is still a good book though. I found it hard to keep track of the characters, I think because they all have Chinese names. Maybe I don't have anything to visualize for names that I am unfamiliar with, or maybe my brain just isn't wired to track those "words" as characters. Otherwise the Chinese setting and cultural influences are interesting.
I actually should reread the book as I read a lot of it while falling asleep. Might help rewire my brain for the names too!