I must confess, this was the book in the trilogy that I least enjoyed… It felt like a political manifesto as much as (rather than?) than the conclusion to the series. The parts that focused on the continuation of the existing relationships (between Terrans and Ekt, between Eva and Vincent, between Rose and Vincent), and on the establishment of new characters/relationships and bits of fill-in backstory that fleshed out what has been happening to Rose et al. since the end of Book Two were very well done and very engaging. But there was A LOT of “this is what’s wrong with the world” played out in the interstices – and those interstices often resembled canyons or trenches (ala Marianas) more than anything actually interstitial…

I understand and appreciate what Neuvel was doing with this book, and how the terrapolitical and geopolitical expositions played into the overarching story. I just felt at times like I was reading an indictment of contemporary political thought and global activity – a philosophical treatise, almost – rather than a scifi novel. That’s fine, but it made the pacing uneven for me and slowed things down a lot. I found myself skimming at times in the middle – and honestly, don’t feel like I missed anything by doing so. Still, the trilogy as a whole was a vastly entertaining enterprise and very original and well plotted and well characterized. I’m just glad it started with the first book – which was five stars all the way for me – because if it had opened with a focus akin to this final book, I probably wouldn’t have made it all the way through…

My review copy was provided by NetGalley.