My appreciation for this book was strongly crafted by Margaret Atwood's excellent introduction/essay. It gives away major plot points and is best read after the book but it definitely provides much needed context and reflection.

The book itself was fine but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't think going down a deep historical sci-fi rabbit hole sounds fun. This is science fiction before that term existed and lays the foundation for future explorations of interesting questions. A lot of the writing and imagery is dated and, unfortunately, really carries strong colonialist overtones that are impossible to overlook. All in all - 3 stars, since it's an interesting read if you're into literary history/origins of genre fiction.