[3.5 stars] This book is not boring, but I understand why it's not for everyone. It's mundaneness is its most redeeming quality. It's a mystery that happens to be set in a world full of interesting sci-fi bits, a vast history of space travel, and a future beyond the one we live in.

One of the most unbearable qualities in sci-fi/fantasy is when the author is so in love with the universe they've created that the story and characters are underwritten and inconsequential. This is the opposite. The characters and story highlight the lived-in feeling of the universe.

The fictional history lessons go on for longer than necessary. It's in service of understanding the mystery, but it's the primary reason why I wouldn't recommend it to most people. They do start to wear out their welcome, but this book (and others I've read in the series) are the kind of readable, curl-up-with-a-book kinds of stories that I love in a series with as many books as this one.