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beastreader's review
3.0
I was attracted to the cool book cover of this book. It was not until I received it and really looked at it that I realized that this is book two. Not to worry as I am not one of those types that has to read books in order. It just depends on the type of series the book is in as to whether it can be read by jumping right in or not. Luckily for me I was able to jump right into this book. Although it did take me a few chapters to warm up to every one and fully understand all of their roles in the story. For me however it was not really the characters that made the story for me but the actual world that the story took place in. It felt very futuristic and what I actually could envision the world looking like in the future. In addition, I liked how the name of each character was at the beginning of each chapter so that it helped lead the way as to who's main voice was taking the lead at that moment. There was so many characters and so this helped to keep everything clear and concise. The ending for each character was good. I do look forward to checking out more books by this author.
usbsticky's review
2.0
I give this book 2 stars, which by Good Read's rating means it was ok. This is a neutral rating.
This is book 2 in the series and it's pretty much impossible to read without reading book 1. I'm of the school that feels each book should be complete in itself, even serials. Each book should have at least some sort of explanation; this one doesn't.
I can even live with a book that doesn't but this book wasn't well written enough that I could overlook it. I thought the writing was awkward to read and it was a struggle to get through. What I read wasn't entertaining enough for me to like it or even want to try book 1. In the end, I decided to give it an "it was ok" rating.
I got this book free as a review copy.
This is book 2 in the series and it's pretty much impossible to read without reading book 1. I'm of the school that feels each book should be complete in itself, even serials. Each book should have at least some sort of explanation; this one doesn't.
I can even live with a book that doesn't but this book wasn't well written enough that I could overlook it. I thought the writing was awkward to read and it was a struggle to get through. What I read wasn't entertaining enough for me to like it or even want to try book 1. In the end, I decided to give it an "it was ok" rating.
I got this book free as a review copy.
healnotslay's review
3.0
this would have been like 2/5 if it wasn't for the ending which just threw me into another existential crisis
i hated reading from the 2 main char's povs they were so boring??? if you have to state in so many words that they're in love maybe they aren't truly
i hated reading from the 2 main char's povs they were so boring??? if you have to state in so many words that they're in love maybe they aren't truly
colossal's review
4.0
An excellent conclusion to this far-future transhumanist duology.
The Next are on Lym and the humans who live there and whose lives are devoted to restoring the planet don't want them to be. The original devastation of the planet came as part of the last conflict between the Next and humans, and everyone is worried that it's all going to happen again. And it might. Extremist forces in the Glittering that oppose the Next would sooner destroy Lym than share it with the uploaded intelligences.
Charlie and Nona continue as POV characters here, and we also pick up Yi, one of Chrystal's husbands from the first book, and Satyana and Nayli from the Glittering give additional POVs of the conflict. Charlie faces a backlash from the more hysterical parts of the Lym society because of his negotiations with the Next in this book and his plot feels very real although it feels like the Lym humans have just gone collectively mad. Nona is caught in the middle as always. Yi, like Chrystal in the first book, is an absolutely fascinating character. Of the family from the High Sweet Home, he's the one that has adapted to their new situation the most completely and his hopeful, but sad, perspective adds even more to that of Chrystal's from the first.
While I loved both these books, I find myself a little frustrated by the way secrets are used by both sides. As it turns out, there's absolutely no good reason for the Next to keep why they're on Lym secret from anyone in my opinion. Similarly the secret actions of Satyana's lover also bear no reasons for secrecy either, particularly not to his allies. It all feels a bit too much like mystery and drama for the sake of mystery and drama.
I also found myself hungry for any contact with the Next in this book or story from Yi's perspective. That's great, and it kept me moving through a reasonably long book, but it does say something about the relative level of interest in the rest of the story. I also think the new Katharine character was absolutely fascinating and I would have loved to see much more of her in this.
The Next are on Lym and the humans who live there and whose lives are devoted to restoring the planet don't want them to be. The original devastation of the planet came as part of the last conflict between the Next and humans, and everyone is worried that it's all going to happen again. And it might. Extremist forces in the Glittering that oppose the Next would sooner destroy Lym than share it with the uploaded intelligences.
Charlie and Nona continue as POV characters here, and we also pick up Yi, one of Chrystal's husbands from the first book, and Satyana and Nayli from the Glittering give additional POVs of the conflict. Charlie faces a backlash from the more hysterical parts of the Lym society because of his negotiations with the Next in this book and his plot feels very real although it feels like the Lym humans have just gone collectively mad. Nona is caught in the middle as always. Yi, like Chrystal in the first book, is an absolutely fascinating character. Of the family from the High Sweet Home, he's the one that has adapted to their new situation the most completely and his hopeful, but sad, perspective adds even more to that of Chrystal's from the first.
While I loved both these books, I find myself a little frustrated by the way secrets are used by both sides. As it turns out, there's absolutely no good reason for the Next to keep why they're on Lym secret from anyone in my opinion. Similarly the secret actions of Satyana's lover also bear no reasons for secrecy either, particularly not to his allies. It all feels a bit too much like mystery and drama for the sake of mystery and drama.
I also found myself hungry for any contact with the Next in this book or story from Yi's perspective. That's great, and it kept me moving through a reasonably long book, but it does say something about the relative level of interest in the rest of the story. I also think the new Katharine character was absolutely fascinating and I would have loved to see much more of her in this.
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