Plot: 6/9. The plot was so simple that I somewhat anticipated the appearance of the Mechanist to spice things up during my reading of the work which could be recapitulated in three sentences:

In order to create a powerful military force with endless manpower resources against the other faction of human called the Mechanist, the hero of the Shaper carried out an on-the-spot experiment on species of the swarm with the artificial pheromones, only to find that the swarm detected this abnormality and subsequently gave birth to a highly intelligent being, aka the mind, to deal with the imminent challenge. The mind informed the hero that all the previous malevolent species attempting to exploit the swarm now only remained in the swarm in the form of low intelligence, insomuch as their own species outside had become completely extinct owing to the consequences of their high intelligence.

Eventually, for fear of the involuntary reproduction after his death and with the (over)confidence of the ability of humanity, he capitulated to the swarm on the condition that he could retain his full consciousness so as to teach human knowledge to his progeny in this swarm.

Core: 6/9. Despite not being fully convinced that intelligence would be the critical impediment to the immortality of the species, I’m exactly impressed with the great biological diversity of this swarm.

Character: 4/9. The hero here was an unqualified spy who told all his plans and dreams out upon being asked, which would be more plausible after he struck up closer acquaintance with the heroine. The heroine here was a guide and researcher whose personal experience would be more interesting, had it not been for the intentional abbreviation of their adventure within the swarm.

World and Others: 7/9. Again, the world building of a prosperous swarm requires a more detailed plot with enough emotions to emphasize the sense of wonder.

Overall: 6/9. It’s said to be Sterling’s first published work which indeed manifested the indispensable capability of a fabulous world building for a science-fiction writer and his great potential for improvement in the aspect of plots.