The Last Legends of Earth — A.A. Attanasio

Set in the artificial planetary system of Chalco-Doror, which is no more and no less than a vast cosmic machine, The Last Legends of Earth is a love story, a gripping saga of struggle against alien control, and an examination of the machinery of creation and destruction. Above all, it is world-building of the highest and grandest order, on a scale rarely seen in science fiction since the great works of Olaf Stapledon. 

“A grand and glorious visionary epic, which floods the reader with wonders -- The thing that science fiction is supposed to achieve but all too rarely does. I loved it.” -- Robert Silverberg