" A quirky mixture of biography, secret history, allegory and hard science fiction that doesn't quite rise. At the book's heart -- the uneasy relationship and sometimes war between science and religion. An occasional fictional narrator steps in, but most of the time, Galileo is both our the lens by which we observe this conflict (Galileo the Scientist) as well as the variable in a grand experiment (Galileo the Symbol). There is also an attempt to cast Galileo as patient of psychoanalysis (Galileo the 15th century man) that seems largely out of place. At times Robinson pulls of moments of profound insight, but just as often, Galileo gallivanting about in the distant future comes off a bit like a bloated holodeck episode of TNG. Robinson also attempts to shoehorn in as many biographical details as possible, which results in a herky-jerky pacing, dwelling on moments that feel extraneous while other times glossing over years at a time. Ultimately, this feels like a strong 300 page novel lost in 525 pages. "
— Jake, 11/13/2013