AVClub.com said the book is "packed with flowery language, and it features a playful narrator who's concerned with keeping the reader's attention as he bounces from character to character."[1] The Washington Post praised the book but remarked, "Fans of serious science fiction may find the story too metafictional. (Others may object that it’s clogged with too many adjectives.)"[8] The Los Angeles Review of Books said that a passage in the book (during which H. G. Wells criticizes some writing) is similar to problems with Palma's writing, "inevitably produc[ing] boredom in the reader, or if not, then a profound aversion to what he is reading", but also stated, "Palma demonstrates a real skill at storytelling, especially character development and narrative suspense."[9]