Reviews

I'm sad to be done this trilogy D: And sad that Older left so much morality open to a readers choice when I wanted to be shown the good and true way of privacy/surveillance/transparency. But I guuuuuesss I can try to form my own opinions.

I'm happy with this as a conclusion to the series, but I do still very much enjoy the first installment, but I think I'm partial to it because it just felt so inspiring and unique in both it's depictions of technology as well as democracy.

There were a few lose pieces character-wise that I feel could have been explored more, especially since they were hinted at as early as the first book. Feels like there is more to tell for lots of the side characters, which is what makes me sad about the trilogy being over. But the central story gets told, and I'm still grappling with the conclusion. It's one that I think will linger with me, since I'm a touch disappointed with the way things ended politically. But it did seem like the natural path of the story.

anywiebs's review against another edition

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3.0

I did enjoy this a bit more than the second book in the series again. Just like in the other books there is political intrigue and a budding relationship in the center of the story. I liked that we got a lot more of other favorite characters again and quite an unexpected development (at least for me).
I listened to this on audio again and really enjoyed it. Despite the many different point of views I never got confused as to where we were and whose store we were following.

literaturesciencealliance's review against another edition

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adventurous informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Video Review of Series: https://youtu.be/NfM5PUVtpmw

This is probably my least favorite of the trilogy but that said this is a very consistent trilogy where if you like or dislike the first book you can expect a similar experience for every entry. I liked that the focus on this one was the question of "how often should we update our method of democracy" I feel like that's a question we rarely ask and look at and even if I didn't always agree with the way things went in this work I still really love the project of this series and getting to see such a unique representation of a potential future Earth.

thereadingrambler's review

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

4.25

kaa's review against another edition

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5.0

Brilliant ending to a fantastic trilogy. I deeply appreciate the balance of optimism and cynicism maintained through the series, and especially in this book. Malka Older is both highly skilled as a writer and extremely knowledgeable about international politics, which provides the foundation for a complex and gripping story with a fast-paced plot, wonderful characters, and thorny political questions.

The characters were absolutely one of the highlights of this trilogy for me. I love how each book adds a new central narrator while keeping the previous narrators involved. This approach let the reader get a more in-depth perspective from a range of viewpoints, while still allowing character development across the three books. I was thrilled that

Spoiler

main character for this book was Maryam, who I have been getting more interested in since the first book. It was great to see a queer Muslim woman as the lead, and I thought the techie perspective was a perfect addition to Mishima and Roz's viewpoints. I was really happy that Amran got some more time as well, since she was the other character from Null States I wanted to know more about.

There are so many incredible women at the center of this series and I love it.

fluffdragon's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5 rounded up. Not quite as engaging as the previous volumes, but still a solid end to the cycle

Spoiler

or not, depending on how you want to define "solid "

mermahoney's review

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4.0

Not quite a strong as the first two books, but 4 stars for continuing to explore ideas about what we know about culture and politics and how we learn it plus developing these in new directions, AND filling the book with smart, distinct, diverse, and kickass women characters.

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