A fairly solid conclusion that continues the same tone and pacing, subject matter, and battle of ideologues as the last one. The first book is still absolutely my favourite, but the transition from that to a more methodically slow examination of the human condition is well done. If readers have made it this far I think they will enjoy it, but I can see “normal” sci-fi readership bouncing off of this series, as it is not remotely interested in delivering contemporary scifi payoff, imo. I liked that a lot about it, though. It poses big questions and isn’t afraid to follow them, despite them leading down some pretty intense scenes and revealing character flaws in everyone. There are a few darlings, but it still feels quite savage, relevant, and singular.

The last speech drove home a thematic nail that was pretty interesting to me; mostly because it acknowledges how humanity is wired and how it could be gamed into thriving, since both peace time and war time are fail states for the species. Spectacular fail states, actually. The conclusion about humanity and first contact also traces a through line that prompts and engages with very interesting questions.

In reviews, people call this a future history, which I think works well, since it’s in dialogue with history; especially it’s repetition. Patterning we can’t move past and habituate ourselves, making future generations susceptible to the same problems we face today. The casual cruelty in which our society functions regularly, and what is discernible to the average individual when society functions in that way, is one of the most vile things humanity replicates reliably in every civilization.

In a more classic vein of sci-fi, this series mines speculative questions and presents a plot to interrogate them. It won’t be for everyone, as I said, but it’s certainly for me. Very successful.