This title is the second installment in the Ifscapes series, following the first book Ifscapes: Empires and Androids. From the Ifscapes series description:
Once upon a time, there was a reality. Everywhen and everywhere else, there was a different one.
This is the multiverse of the Ifscapes, where somewhen and somewhere, every apparent unreality unfolds into another universe. Mythological heroes co-exist with futuristic technology. Exchange students travel between planets, not countries. One human being really is the last person on Earth. Ancient tales of Golden and Silver Ages reveal cosmic secrets of interplanetary relations. And cybernetic colonists-for-hire cross the galaxy to fulfill a contract.
Adventure, epic, drama, satire. Androids, ancient artifacts, abandoned planets. Imperial intrigues. Students' final exams. Spy missions. Bureaucratic mix-ups.
Ifscapes are vertical and horizontal flights of the imagination. Behind every reality are countless unrealities. They pull at our imagination, drive our reasoning, and leave us wondering. What if? What would have been? What would be? Sometimes, glimpses of unreality are absurd. Other times, they are plausible.
Always, they are necessary. Without unrealities as a vivid contrast, reality would not be what it is. If not, what would it be, except another Ifscape in a sprawling multiverse of dynamic unrealities?