Reviews

It was nice getting back into this series! I loved the characters, especially Lola. I thought she was cool and well developed.

This was really good thought! It was more about Mia and her relationship with Lola and trying to keep the tradition of their family. But Lola did not want to follow tradition, she wanted to do things differently and break boundaries. While she was cautious and kept her family history in mind, she didn't let that rule her life. She wanted to be her own person. This did not end like I expected it would, so I am super excited to see where the story goes next!

crimsoncor's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This loses some of the explosive propulsion of the first book. Both because we lose the singular focus on our main characters (the side exploration of the Trackers isn't boring, but it removes a lot of the tension caused by fear of the unknown that the first book had) and because the historical impetus of the space race peters out a bit. So this book, while still enjoyable, doesn't live up to the precedent of the first book. With how it ends (great action sequence ending), I'm a bit worried about how the final book is going to keep the same overall tone, but I guess we'll see.

There is also an interesting erasure question with this book. It clearly isn't the intent of the author, but there is something a bit odd about honoring the unknown contributions of all these women working in astronomy and space by making their contributions the work of the Kibsu. It is like, women did great things but they weren't real women, just aliens carrying out their imperative. Again, definitely not the intent of the author, who clearly admires these women immensely, but just feels a tiny bit off.

timinbc's review against another edition

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2.0

It's not often I DNF the second book in a series.

I suppose it's because for me #2 didn't seem to be coming any closer to addressing WHY the Kibsu and the Trackers are so intent on fighting it out here, and why a thousand-year push to get us off the planet is so obviously the only answer, and why the Trackers have no plan except to prevent this.

So Neuvel adds a McGuffin, because of COURSE a critical secret is going to be carved into a bow that will be found decades later and decoded.

After I realized I was skimming at max speed, I asked myself why. It was because the book was alternating long stretches of boring introspection and explanation with sudden bursts of graphic-novel superhero violence.

As I gave up, it looked as if Samael might be the first character in the whole long process to actually do something different. But I didn't care. I didn't care about him, or Lola, or the sketchy shadows of humans. I was ready to yeet them all into the sun.

It's quite possible that #3 will bring it all together in a stunning conclusion. But I'll never know.