After the fall of the Galactic Immortal Emperor, the rebels in power (re) discover a forgotten solar system whose civilization - obviously devastated by an ancient nuclear holocaust - stopped at the pre-industrial stage and organized into castes in unique and obviously sacred to provide each year for thousands of years, hair mats cargo at the Palace of the Emperor. Now the palace contains no hair carpet ... Many comments have described very well the complexity narative the book: no central hero, an elastic timeline and an apparent stylistic simplicity that allows the author to unwind "casually" a story to make the hair on the head! On the merits, the deceptively anecdotal initial rumor (why, who and where are these hair woven carpets?) And its nightmarish final - both of frightful excess, an abysmal emptiness and unwavering consistency - allow to fly over some major existential questions on absolutism, vengeful vanity pushed to the limit, beliefs and faith when confronted with the destruction of their founding myths. A marvel of intelligent literature to advise beyond the circle of SF fans.
