I always enjoy culture novels and this one is no exception. The shellworld concept is new and interesting as are the relations between a medieval civilization and several space faring civs. The way this is done feels quite different to other Sci Fi books along a similar theme. The plot itself is solid, it's not my favorite culture novel but it's a fun read. Personally I would prefer a little more of the stones and minds in the story, a touch more culture maybe. Every culture novel is different though, not just in plot but in which lens it uses to display the culture,and this is a good one.