A review by mdpenguin
Null States by Malka Ann Older

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.