It's a good book, but I'm not sure whether it's worth a Hugo award. A problem for me was the Tines. Pack minds are a nice idea, but 600 pages of them? The novelty wore off a long time before the end, and overall, I just don't think it's a very realistic concept. Thinking with the speed of sound? Probably plain impossible, I'd say. But it's a minor flaw, and the book was a fun read.