The third book was nothing at all like what I expected, which I should have expected after the second book was nothing like the first book. Liu continues to play out his ideas to conclusions that are simultaneously logically inevitable and completely incomprehensible.
This book worked better than the previous one - I'm not sure why - perhaps it was that the shift was less startling once it had happened once or maybe the way that Liu focused the narrative through the eyes of the characters worked better for me. (I will also consider that I prefer Ken Liu to Joel Martinsen, but I'm not sure there's any way for me to tell).
Anyway, I'm glad I finished the series and I think it will stick in my mind for a long time. It definitely scratches the "thoughtful sf" itch.