fantasticraccoon's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
laurensalisbury's review against another edition
3.0
I think I'm just going to pretend that this sequel/second in the duology doesn't exist.
tcameron85's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
ickl333's review
liked the first enough that i made myself labor through this uninspired sequel, unduly burdened with games of who knows what and double the needed number of extraterrestrial species.
dommdy's review
3.0
I really like the covers of the books in this series, maybe more than the books themselves. I liked the first book a bit more than this one. Again, not much at all about the multiverse, good characters, dense plot. I didn’t like the ending.
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
To round out Rory Thorne's duology, she has to take on new responsibility, navigate negotiations with three new (to her) species of alien (xenos in the story's parlance), and try to save humanity from these more powerful entities and from itself. A faction of humans have purchased a nanotech bioweapon they could never hope to create on their own, intended for use against one of their two major enemies: A) the xenos planning colonialist Expansion in their territory and B) the human rebels who have broken away to form their own government. Both of these potential targets must now rush to retrieve the weapon before it is used, even as other xeno governments want to gain this new, horrifying bit of technology for their own use. Rory didn't intend to become central to the conflict, but when a seemingly routine salvage mission takes her crew to the ship that was hauling the weapon disguised in a shipment of roses, they must take action before it lands in enemy hands or even in powerful, vaguely untrustworthy ones.
I was having a good time on the front end of this book. It offers more aliens/xenos, more outer space, and more action as compared to the human nonsense in scifi clothes in the first book. Both are completely valid approaches, but I enjoyed that stretching of the mind that science fiction can cause by looking farther than ourselves and our current experiences. The inclusion of a sentient nanotech bioweapon leads to interesting debates around morality and how to proceed when a new catastrophic weapon could change the political landscape as surely as destroying entire worlds. The characters have to think on their feet, argue, and make sacrifices to protect one another and the multiverse.
The latter part of the story devolves into a tense negotiation that slows down the pace. I was shocked to realize that the whole book would encompass this one monumental day by the time it was all stretched out across multiple perspectives and fraught interactions. The frequent interruptions from our historian narrator became more annoying than charming to me towards the end as they expound on the morals of the story and give us two pages about the major consequences of this event rather than letting us see it for ourselves. The narrator is a cute addition to the series with tongue-in-cheek academic asides and wry commentary on characters' actions, so it was a bummer to have it ultimately wear on me. I was also frustrated by the centrality of humanity in the end. It seems odd given our lesser abilities in arithmancy and technology and shorter history navigating xeno politics to find us portrayed as a powerful force to be reckoned with and/or followed by others once Rory comes on the scene. And that bugged me. A final note is that not only did the last part of the book lose urgency, but also shifts in character arcs and relationships in the first part were ignored and then tied up with a bow at the very end. It felt like the characters deserved more, saddled with unrealized potential.
This is science fiction with strengths in diplomacy and politicking and a side helping of action sequences. The characters are loveable if not fully developed by the end, kept at a remove from the reader by an authoritative narrator. I found it an interesting and engaging read even if it lost steam for me at the end.
I was having a good time on the front end of this book. It offers more aliens/xenos, more outer space, and more action as compared to the human nonsense in scifi clothes in the first book. Both are completely valid approaches, but I enjoyed that stretching of the mind that science fiction can cause by looking farther than ourselves and our current experiences. The inclusion of a sentient nanotech bioweapon leads to interesting debates around morality and how to proceed when a new catastrophic weapon could change the political landscape as surely as destroying entire worlds. The characters have to think on their feet, argue, and make sacrifices to protect one another and the multiverse.
The latter part of the story devolves into a tense negotiation that slows down the pace. I was shocked to realize that the whole book would encompass this one monumental day by the time it was all stretched out across multiple perspectives and fraught interactions. The frequent interruptions from our historian narrator became more annoying than charming to me towards the end as they expound on the morals of the story and give us two pages about the major consequences of this event rather than letting us see it for ourselves. The narrator is a cute addition to the series with tongue-in-cheek academic asides and wry commentary on characters' actions, so it was a bummer to have it ultimately wear on me. I was also frustrated by the centrality of humanity in the end. It seems odd given our lesser abilities in arithmancy and technology and shorter history navigating xeno politics to find us portrayed as a powerful force to be reckoned with and/or followed by others once Rory comes on the scene. And that bugged me. A final note is that not only did the last part of the book lose urgency, but also shifts in character arcs and relationships in the first part were ignored and then tied up with a bow at the very end. It felt like the characters deserved more, saddled with unrealized potential.
This is science fiction with strengths in diplomacy and politicking and a side helping of action sequences. The characters are loveable if not fully developed by the end, kept at a remove from the reader by an authoritative narrator. I found it an interesting and engaging read even if it lost steam for me at the end.
dapper's review
3.0
I liked Jade in the first book but this one I hated him. He’s like a dumb pup panting after anything that shows remote affection. Wasn’t a fan of how he thought he was worth shit lol “I wouldn’t have let you” he said hahaha boiiii sit down. You can’t fight, can’t areo, can’t fly. He’s literally just dead weight and annoying.
sorear's review
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
elicia_95's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
fornia's review
2.0
not actively horrible, i just didn't absorb any of the politicking :)
wish i could've gotten more of the characters tbh
wish i could've gotten more of the characters tbh