Sweeping imagination for Setting, but ...

Sweeping imagination for the universe backdrop. Mysterious and vividly imagined. There is nobody like the author for these sort of imaginative flights in the contemporary scene really. But characterization a little weak and the main character tedious and a little pathetic (not in a good way). Politics are very woke and sometimes get in the way of the scene building. I think some of this will date very quickly. Narration is very game with lots of voices and characters and I am sure this took lots of work but the voicing for Idris is dull (fitting the character) but this makes it very hard to listen to these segments. I can't quite work out if the narration is making this worse or if it is just problems of characterization. I struggle on for the ideas but these central problems get in the way of really enjoying all of this.

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Brilliant follow up

Really enjoyed the second instalment to this story. Great story brought to life amazingly well by the narrator.

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The "Empire Strikes Back" of Tchaikovsky's series

Again, Adrian brings us back to the hell of the Architects ever looming destruction and shows to that distrust, extremism, and a refusal to compromise, are as dangerous at the moon sized biomechanical alien death machines.
Again, Sophie Aldred effortlessly brings the books characters to life making each distinct from another. She's fast becoming my favourite Adrian's audiobooks narrators.
All in all another banger from the heir apperant to the throne left vacent by Arthur C. Clarke as the UK's greatest living science fiction writer. Roll on the fast approaching end of the trilogy.

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Story is OK and keep you engaged.

The voices of characters, so annoying. Some voices are good but some are so bad that few times I almost quit listening. Storyteller has talent but dont know who choose character voices and why ...Enjoyed storyline but characters are very very stereotyped

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Great sequel!

I've yet to read an Adrian Tchaikovsky book I didn't love. The same great characters frim Shards of Earth continue their story. Thoroughly enjoyed. The narration is fantastic and really breathes life into the book.

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Another great one from Adrian

I love sci-fi universes that work at a massive scale and have rich in-depth lore, this series isn't as hard sci-fi as as the children of time series it feels more like Adrian doing his take on a more mass effect or Star wars type narrative.

with lots of alien factions and and semi Newtonian physics and and a big ever present Eldridge force that the more relatable aliens and humanity have to band together and fight against.

what makes mess more engaging is is Adrian's scientific knowledge informing the designs in his is books creating some of the most unique aliens I've ever imagined.

the characters are great and well written the plot is engaging the whole way through and the narrator does a great job whether it be human characters of any gender or the screeching voice of an aliens translator

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Expanding and setting up

definitely feels like a "2nd book" in a series
while i enjoyed it greatly and loved that much more of this universe is shown to us, i would say it feels incomplete on its own, I'll be heading straight into the 3rd book from here, but if you're short on time, it's gonna be a lot to invest after book 1, if you want to see its story to an end

an aside, i pray for the poor Narrator Sophie's throat after voicing Ahab! :b great work all around

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Sophie Aldred is my new favourite audio book reader.

Brilliant book, and incredibly well read, another stunning entry in the saga b n n n j h j j j h

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Adrian writes like you're watching a blockbuster

Sophie Aldred is a brilliant narrator. I cannot stop listening and I'm so excited to hear what will happen in the next part of the series!

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Great Continuation!

Loved it, start to finish. Great story, great voice-acting. Didn't drag at all in the middle, where a middle book in a trilogy might sometimes. Excited to move on to the next one!

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