A more popular version of A.C.Clarke's RAMA series. The premise is that several interstellar races are fighting to see who becomes dominant when the 'big crunch' occurs and all 'people' are reincarnated forever in the new universe. Adventure & excitement when teleportation becomes a matter of copying & transmitting 'people' and things several times over until you have a crowd. A fun story but it's hard to believe that anyone could believe that everyone who has ever lived, and died, will be reborn automatically after the universe collapses and somehow is instantly recreated...somewhere; and that the one species that is dominant when this all happens will be in charge afterwards. At no point is God ever mentioned or taken into account.

As for the rating, with the proper suspension-of-disbelief, it's an entertaining story.
And it looks like Pohl's last novel ( )