Rowland Rowlands

Once again Thrawn thinks outside the box and one step ahead of his opponent.
I can understand how his personality can grate on people and grate enemies within. Still, he would always be a valuable asset to the Empire or the Chiss Ascendancy.

A commentary on AI and our throw-away society

Though this book was an interesting read I found that it fell into the resolution trap with the ending seeming to be rushed. The big win for me was how it showed and tried to explain modern Japan's expectations, culture, and ideas.
One thing that was used to show expectations was for someone to conform like getting married and trying to achieve status in the community this was where the ending was ruined for me with the main protagonist bowing to social and peer pressure to conform though they seemed relatively happy with a lower class of employment. It starts out with the character being seemingly comfortable with their like working in a convenience store which in modern society I would class as essential work but is looked down upon by others.
Overall an interesting read apart from the ending of social compliance.

This was another that didn't go how I expected it to, adults stumbling with their interactions with each other, a bit like teenagers fumbling with their first relationship. I think it may be the formality of Japanese society though that at times seems less formal than other country's formalities

Though part of the ending was expected I feel there was not a complete rersolution for two of the characters but the author got his point across in this being an existential discussion.