Holy ⬛ this was good. I adore these new characters, and loved getting to check in with the ones we already met — 

wait shit Ezra is still alive right? We didn't hear from him in the last third or so

. It's consistent with the previous book without being the same, by which I mean that it shares main character archetypes (snarky, badass teenagers), multiple POVs/"sources", converging storylines, and more! Unique to this installment and a personal favorite of mine, the 

space-time ⬛ry

  was a particular highlight.

Funnily enough I had the opposite problem as I had with Illuminae: the beginning sucked me right in, but the climax and resolution were less compelling because 

apparently, this series is a No Main Character Death Zone. We already knew Kady survives and is part of the Illuminae Group, but all the fakeouts for Hanna and Nik and Ella quickly lose effectiveness — of course I wanted them to make it, but I stopped doubting they would

. Some of it works out a little too conveniently for me to totally smother my disbelief, though it makes for exciting reading. And I'll be blunt, it's pretty awkward to have to hold your laptop at an angle, or even upside down, to read some of the pages. It looks really cool and serves a legitimate narrative purpose, but yeah. Not perfect.

By the way, I think my favorite character is still 

AIDAN

, and I feel like maybe I should worry about what that says about me.

I had major Ark AU vibes (The 100, fanon 'verse) throughout, from Hanna & Nik's relationship and positions on Heimdall to certain quotes (

I AM BECOME DEATH, DESTROYER OF WORLDS

) to little coincidences (

minor characters named Sinclair and Morley

). Totally not relevant and probably not interesting to anyone except me, just a sign of how much I love space dramas.

content warnings: 

suicidal ideation, self-sacrifice, graphic depiction of lab animals (breeding parasites), self-mutilation (removing implanted tracker), blood + minor gore, mercy killing of pet, loss of loved one, past off-page suicide

 
rep: 

physically disabled major character (plague survivor)

-----------
CONVERSION: 13.4 / 15 = 4.5 stars

Prose: 9 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 10 / 10
Emotional Impact: 9 / 10
Development / Flow: 9 / 10
Setting: 10 / 10

Intellectual Engagement: 4 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5