A very uneven book, and something of a disappointment after the excellent Semiosis. At times I was thrilled, especially when the narrator was one of the smart plants or the characters were exploring the unknown. At other times, the narrators were humans fighting for the Idiot Ball with such gusto that I'd like them all to have died in a fire. Yes, there was a plot point explaining why the human characters were so stupid, and it was brought up right away but still: when you have wondrous things to write about, and obviously the skill to do so, why would you waste your time with characters who are just so petty and annoying? Gaah.<br/><br/>Still, I did love parts of it. So, a compromise between two and four stars.