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evan_prus's review against another edition
4.0
Much slower than the first novel in The Centenal Cycle, Infomocracy. Otherwise, is a solid book in the series, and one that I found to be extremely entertaining.
irobarte's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
mdpenguin's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
It's been several years since I read the first book in this series. It wasn't hard to get back into the world, but it did take me a while to remember some of the names. The story ramps up gradually, with a few jumps along the way to kick it up a few notches, until it becomes a pretty exciting political thriller. Like the first book, it could get a bit busy, with a lot of different perspectives spread over different geographies and dealing with different issues, but Older did a good job of bringing it all together into a coherent whole. There's a romance, though, that doesn't feel like it fits that well – it gave me Chekhov's gun vibes, but it was only used in a kind of odd way to move one character from responding to one major issue to dealing with another. I'm wondering if it will play a larger part in the third book. It stands pretty well on its own, but still sets the stage for the third book.
dryden's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
rsoccer70's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I like the universe in which these stories reside. The idea of microdemocracy is pretty intesteresting to me. The problem I have with this series-having read two of the three titles is that the novels are mainly concept with little plot to drive the story forward. I was forgiving of this in the first title. Here, in the 2nd one, I am less so. While the concept of "null states," which are countries around the microdemocracies who did not adopt this form of governnance has potential, I found little about the plot or the charaters that made me want to keep reading. I finished the novel, but I don't think I can subject myself to the third and final book-regardless of how much I think the setting is engaging.
gnomeguy1138's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol
whatabetty's review against another edition
5.0
a great sequel. i love this series. can't wait for the third.
quietdomino's review against another edition
this series about electoral politics in a future world of microdemocracies and an omniously omnipresent "Information" is really growing on me, even if the central mystery kind of got lost by the end