If you don't have both people that love and hate your work, then you're not doing anything interesting. Haven't read it yet, since I've got a few other books in my queue, including Sytem of the World, which is next on my list and will probably take me at least 6 months anyway. But I am LOVING the fact that there is a significant group here complaining it's overlong, wordy, etc., because while those books can be challenging and tedious at times, they often pay off. So far the Baroque Cycle has done that for me, and I'm hoping for more of the same with SOTW and Anathem.