I really like Egan&#x27;s work, particularly earlier books like <i>Diaspora</i> and <i>Permutation City</i>, but find his later works unsatisfying due to poor characterisation and pace. <i>Incandescence</i> is a good example - I plodded through it and finished only by a real effort of will.<p>Does the <i>Orthoganal</i> trilogy work for you on that level? I&#x27;m looking for some good fiction to balance by non-fiction reading now that the nights are getting darker.