Fascinating set-up for the world and story, and parts of the subplots are great too.  But the pacing is off, and events that should be a huge deal are largely left behind each time as we move onto the next thing.

I read it as a slice-of-life style ramble, and it worked well enough, but if you like a plot to come together or for there to be more than a glimpse of the Big Picture (politics, culture, society across different races), this isn't a great choice.