3 maybe 3.5 stars.

If you can push through to Act Four, you'll find that you enjoy this book.

However, Act Four, is three quarters into the story. Now, this book is beautifully written, do not get me wrong. My fear is that I am not of a high enough intellectual calibre with which to appreciate it's depth. The first three quarters of the book are written in a confusing manner, this is done so deliberately, and anyone who has fought with their own mind can relate to the turbulent abyss of one's own refusal to accept facts. Especially when facing grief.

But you do need to be able to push through the confusion and constant back and forth to get to the good bit, the parts that made Gideon the Ninth, great. There was a loss of soul to the first four acts, which if you push through, makes a lot more sense in Act Four. I flew through that last Act, I felt it, it hurt me a little. Do not go into this thinking it will have the same humour, banter or heart that the first book had, prepare yourself to fall down the rabbit hole. We're all a little mad here.