A review by tsunni
The Second Rebel by Linden A. Lewis

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

More of the same from book 1. Dark and tense, the story stays focused on the corruption of the religious order and the oppression and resistance of the subhuman Asters. It had some of the same downsides I felt from the first book; most of the viewpoint characters from book 1 have the advantage of an entire book behind them for me to get invested, but the pacing and characterization didn't work for me at some parts, like for Luce's chapters.

They really put Luce through the wringer in this one, but

I didn't feel like I got to know her well enough for her big moments to be earned, especially for how fast her story changed over the course of the book. Some of that weakness in the writing still applies to Hiro, Lito, and Astrid; big moments happen, but the emotional weight isn't necessarily there even if I'm still enjoying the story. It might just be the nature of how heavy the plot is, so much is happening at a grander scope that not enough of their personal stories get a chance to breathe to really make their moments impactful.

Speaking of the world the author has built up, I am endlessly fascinated by the creativity and the big ideas the story keeps revealing. She has such a knack for really interesting world building between the Synthetics, the Asters, all the identify focused gene modding, all the different ways people are communicating -- Sister sign language, Aster nonvocal communication, neural implant connections between the bonded duelist pairs,

synthetics directly interfacing with neural implants

-- there's constantly more to dig into and think about. I adore how queer the story is and how much identity is core to some of the characterizations. When the story hits right, it hits really hard for me, in spite of the flaws.