If you have not read Cyteen you will be confused and lost. It is not the type of book you can start midway into. I would highly recommend you start with the first book. I thought the book started out a little slow. The book has a lot of details and sometimes I felt that I got a little lost. You really have to pay attention when reading this book. I would suggest this book only for advanced readers. Overall, the book was interesting to read. I was disappointed in the ending though. At the end of the book not everything was concluded. I hope there is another book to help tie up the loose ends.