I read these two books back to back to finish the series. Usually I’d mix in some other books in between, but something about the second book in the series made me want to just continue on right away.
At first you might assume that the series was so good I couldn’t stop, but that wasn’t the reason why. The second book was really different from the first, and it lost a lot of that space/epic feeling and instead focused on life on one planet (and its space station). This was a big departure from the tone of the first book, and I wasn’t sure I liked it very much. It introduced many new characters and for me it just kind of lost a step.
However upon reading the third and final book, I could understand that the second book was all about putting characters in the right place and development for the end. The conclusion was satisfying, although it did get a little corny sometimes. Some alien characters were just a little too goofy and over the top to break the spell of belief in the story.
In general I liked the series, and I wish we’d get some more from the main characters in the future. Especially the idea of the ancillaries and AI systems, that can see and act in multiple places at the same time makes for slightly mind-bending reading, and I’d like to see more of that in the future.
Next I’m reading Everything Is Fucked: A Book About Hope by Mark Manson.
