rob

PFH is one of my favorite sci fi authors. I think if I had read this before the commonwealth and void series I would have enjoyed it more. I'll just say I think has improved greatly over his career.

This book is quite long, and some parts were tough to get through. I think overall I was a bit dissatisfied with the antagonists reveal of “it's ghosts”, and I felt the ending was a bit it rushed. Maybe that's just because Hamilton tends to write trilogies that feel more like one big novel. I also felt the abilities and motivations of the possessed were inconsistent.

One of the aspects of his later books I enjoyed most was that I found the characters extremely capable and intelligent. That kind of fell flat in this one and I was consistently frustrated by the decisions of characters. It just felt like so much of the plot was based around the characters not knowing enough because information couldn't travel quickly. One of the main storylines ending in Atlantis ends up having zero bearing on the following events, but again maybe just covered in the next book.

It did not disappoint in world building, and I could see the Kint being a creative precursor to the Raiel. Reading in 2024, I had a good chuckle reading the timeline at the beginning.

Overall I enjoyed it, but won't be continuing the series.