poorphipps

Very cool concept and universe. Despite that, I could not get into any of the individual character arcs. Conversations tended to be awkward and political commentary is done in a very ham-fisted way (reminded me of a less eloquent Ayn Rand).

I actually started the second book because the universe was decent but realized it would be more of the same and abandoned it.

Extremely well written Sci Fi compared to some other author's I'm coming off of (I'm looking at you Peter Hamilton and later years Neal Asher). Loved how the characters interact with each other and overall how they are written.

Lots of setup for the political machinations that are to come in later books but nothing felt like filler or overly descriptive.

Two minor quibbles that aren't worth taking a star off for. Lots of stuff happens between different ships in the beginning and is a bit hard to follow. They are also just starting to reveal what's going on with the core conflict so that piece felt a bit meh but it's a long series.

Not a book so much as a collection of cliches and quotes - likely more writing from others than the author themselves. W.e. the author attempts to extrapolate beyond the quote or connect two quotes/themes they either just rephrase what was originally said or descend into something into something nonsensical.