It took me until halfway through book 3 to clue into what this series was an allegory for and then it hit like a hammer. I will note that I read the first two books from a different perspective, while reading book 3 I was thinking about what to blog about rather than just consuming the content. I could have missed the point even though Scalzi wasn’t subtle, though I probably would have enjoyed the book more if I had missed it. I get annoyed when I feel like a book is lecturing at me. In this case, it only annoyed me briefly before I was able to dive back into the story and enjoy the remaining chapters. Considering what’s going on in Western Canada right now, it was an especially poignant point. Sorry for the deliberate obfuscation, I’m trying to get my thoughts across without giving anything away.
Anyways, it’s a really complex, well-built world. The logistics of space travel are very well thought out, though all of the futuristic technical detail was pretty dense reading and I don’t think it did a lot of heavy lifting for the plot.
Marce, Cardenia and Kiva were immensely enjoyable, very distinct characters. I really enjoyed Kiva’s audacity, proclivities and her ability to scheme. I found the contrast between Cardenia and Greyland II brought a lot of depth to the character, giving more insight into the tools at her disposal. Nadashe, on the other hand, was written two-dimensionally and felt flat. I get that she was supposed to be terrifically self absorbed, but she just seemed like a straight psychopath and I had a hard time believing that she could have convinced anyone to conspire with her.
The twist at the end was entirely unexpected and not at all the direction I thought the book would go. I was anticipating a bleak harsh ending and was quite surprised. I suppose it goes back to the point the book is trying to make, allowing for hope that it is possible to move forward and make a difference.
The whole series was pretty dense reading, with chapters that were tense and action packed, contrasted with plodding and barely moving chapters. While I enjoyed the books, I wasn’t highly engaged in all aspects of the story and had to fight through to finish.
Highlights:
– epic world building, great logistics
– really likeable characters
– left with hope for the end of the world as we know it
Lowlights:
– it really did feel a bit heavy handed once I clued in
– were so many assassinations necessary!?
– Nadashe was underwhelming
