I actually prefer The Dragon Republic to the first book in this series. This installation grapples with political ideology, military alliance strategy, and the complicated motivations of waging war itself. The pacing of this book (while long and detailed) was more appropriate than the first installation, and it didn’t feel as though it dragged as much. The beginning was slow and frustrating, but the middle and end was satisfying and kept me turning page after page. The plot twists were predictable, but that didn’t make them any less disheartening or effective as plot devices. Great ending to this book, and the third and final installation is set up perfectly. This book is a masterpiece of cerebral, political, military fantasy-fiction.