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All the fun stuff--the anachronisms, the brilliant re-creation of modern technology in an ancient era, changing the course of history--are all here and done extremely well. With this book, Stirling has upped the ante for the entire genre. For example, merely shooting a "thunderstick" does not send the natives fleeing in terror. Stirling demands far more cleverness from his characters.
As for the complaints about the supposed political correctness, come on already! Every author imposes a point of view. I heartily disagreed with Stirling on some points, but he didn't lecture me, and it didn't detract from the story. It was far less clumbsy than say, Turtledove's Guns of the South (a favorite nonetheless), where he inexplicably has a female pretend to be a man so she can enlist in the Confederate army. You know what? There actually are some really ridiculously PC characters in this book, but they are portrayed as utter fools and losers.
I guess if you can't deal with a strong, positive lesbian main character, then stay away. But honestly, she is not used as a device to lecture the reader on how great lesbianism is. I am very quick to roll my eyes at such nonsense and never felt the urge to do so.
If you love this type of story, you have to read this book. A new classic of the genre.