Much like the previous one this feels a little bit forced regarding the different permutations and relationships with family and friends. If you're open and tolerant though the rest of the plot remains interesting and insightful. Again a little bit rushed, and perhaps lacking in some of the details that made Hail so much fun. There is a lot going on and we only follow a few characters so many events don't seem to quite get the depth they deserve. Fortunately it looks like the Games won't be making a further appearance, but sadly they're replaced by Jenk's Doge which is gaining capabilities every page. It even has arms now. There's a also an increase in the "Interstitials" which I mostly don't like as they're cutaways to characters we don't engage with in timelines that aren't clear.

The essence is that Ships have been going missing from the Trappist system. It's unclear if humanity has managed to colonize other worlds, but the implication is that they have, and hence unclear again, why we're back on this one. Or why it's the NeoG's job to investigate and then solve the problem. They do have some Navy assistance when they ask for it. The action then skips back and forth between various character's personal problems, the ever-present (but diminishing importance) Games and a couple of different angles around the main quest. I think it's a lack of balance between the characters and the action that I didn't quite get on with. Whether you'll enjoy this depends what you like in your science fiction.

And a fundamental technology plot hole is that a space ships' 'rail gun' fired on the ground will do a lot more than just knock over a few space suits. The principle of magnetic acceleration usually applied to the term doesn't scale down to land war. Wagers has up until now avoided errors like this.

Although I enjoyed a lot of it I'm not sure I'm that interested in reading more of the NeoG, and will wait until Wagers writes in another world. ( )

I am a big KB Wagers fan yet I can't manage this book. Stilted writing. Uninteresting characters. This is not something you will likely want to read.

I received a review copy of this book through NetGalley.com. ( )