There are essentially 3 stories going on throughout this book. Prins journey through hell is very well done and deserves a 5 star rating by itself. The main plotline of Ledeje is strong, as its always the case with the culture series, and I'd give a solid 4. The story set in the virtual war however I found a little dull and would probably only rate 3 stars. Overall its a great sci-fi book and probably in the top half of the culture series.