As with the first book, I have mixed feelings. I think Robert Jackson Bennett does really well with lore, setting, things like that, but the characters are fairly weak and the writing style isn’t my favorite. The story in this one felt a lot less urgent, like the characters are just waiting for things to happen, despite how serious the threat actually was.

I don’t really feel much of a connection to the characters, and I don’t really understand their motivations — like, was Orso always this radical? Where did these political beliefs come from??? Not that I’m complaining, I agree with what he says, but I don’t remember him being like this in the first book at all.