Read this review on my blog.

Falling isn’t always the last thing you do. Sometimes it’s the first thing.

Can you believe I’m actually the first one of my friends to actually add a review to this? What is everyone else doing with their lives?

The Lifeline Signal is a perfect sequel to Chameleon Moon. Just like the first book, it is incredibly character-focused: there are beautiful, unique, diverse characters everywhere in every sense of the word. This is almost an entirely new set of characters (while some of them appeared or were mentioned in Chameleon Moon, none of them were in the focus there) and yet everyone is connected, and everything has a place.

In The Lifeline Signal, something interesting is happening every moment - although much of these happenings are actually conversations, messages and pieces of information being revealed. With all these characters and storylines, you need to pay attention to get what’s happening, but it’s all the more satisfying when everything comes together.

This book takes place entirely outside Parole so you might miss or worry about some old friends left behind there, but I can almost guarantee that you will love the new cast - both the three teenage protagonists in the center of it all, and the adults (or at least slightly older people) supporting them. I certainly did. And, hey - some of these old friends do appear, and you might even find out more about them...

That being said, I am incredibly glad I chose to read every available short story before heading into this book*, because there were still occasional moments of “wait, how do these two know each other again?” or “okay, so which of the five messages currently in play is this one?”. Also, this might just be a personal annoyance, but having several characters spend the whole book worrying over something you, the reader already know is solved can get frustrating.

Despite the occasional confusion, I absolutely adored this book, and I really mean it when I say that the lines all coming together is incredibly satisfying once you figure out which goes where. Of course, there are still more than enough open questions for the sequel (whatever’s Regan doing, for example - but also, what on earth was that comment about Ash’s bones?) - and many reunions to look forward to. (Some with less patience than others. *squints at my faves*)

--Hey, look at that, I actually managed to write a semi-coherent review that wasn’t just screaming about how much I adore everyone! Especially the people Regan is dating. That particular polycule is my absolute favourite, and not only because of Regan (he’s just the central point for easy reference).

Representation:
★ nonbinary (xie/xir pronouns!), Tsalagi Native American, Arnold-Chiari Malformation main
★ bisexual, Indian American main
★ aroace, Vietnamese American, autistic main
★ Tons of other POC (including the families of the protagonists), a hijabi woman, other LGBTQAI characters (nonbinary, binary transgender, mlm, wlw, ace...), chronically ill and disabled characters, POLYAMORY, and probably other stuff I missed honestly.
★ The book is also #ownvoices for several aspects.

(Also, not really representation, but: cyborgs! fauns! lizard men! people with wings! I love this world.)

*Four short stories (Runtime, Always Be You, Happy REGARDS and The Library Ghost) are free on the author’s Gumroad. If you read those, you’ll have a pretty good idea of who everyone is. If you also manage to read You’re Not Going That Way (99 cents), you’re pretty much ready for the sequel. But I do recommend the whole Life Within Parole Volume 1 if you can afford it.

My rating: ★★★★★💖 ( )

In Chameleon Moon, RoAnna Sylver introduced the dystopic city of Patrol, who’s citizens lived a precarious life above eternally blazing fire, governed by the nefarious Eye in the Sky. Oh, and most of these citizens also had some form of superpower – the reason they were trapped within Patrol.

In this sequel, Slyver takes us outside the city of Patrol. But as it turns out, the world beyond isn’t all sunshine and happiness. A poisonous wasteland named Tartarus has infected much of America with noxious fumes and eerie ghosts. Three teenagers will have to brave this danger zone to bring hope to Patrol.

The protagonists of The Lifeline Signal are all new characters, but I still suggest reading the books in order. I can’t imagine coming into The Lifeline Signal without the background of having read Chameleon Moon – I think it would be much too confusing.

Going into The Lifeline Signal, I didn’t realize that it would be switching to all new characters. A couple of characters I was familiar with from the first book make brief appearances, but the majority of the cast was either entirely new or was referenced but never seen in the original book (ex. Radio Angel, CyborJ). I’ve got to admit, at first I was sulky about this. I missed Regan and Evelyn! But as the book moved on, I got out of my funk and started connecting with the new characters.

Annie is a survivor of Patrol, sent to find Maureen Cole, a genius and expert on Tartarus, and deliver the some key information Maureen possesses back to Patrol. Along with Mareen, Annie meets two other teenagers, Chance and Shiloh, Maureen’s teenage child. Chance and Shiloh accompany Annie on her mission, which takes them to the Firerunner, a land ship that sails through Tartarus.

Like Chameleon Moon, The Lifeline Signal has a wonderfully diverse cast with plenty of intersectional characters. Annie is Asian-American, autistic, aro ace, and has anxiety issues that manifest as triochotillomania, obsessive hair plucking. Shiloh is nonbinary and Native American, and xie has chronic pain issues. Chance is Indian and bisexual. It would be rare to find any one of these identities or traits in a protagonist, let alone all of them. This series is a really great example of why you should read self published fiction. It’s the sort of inclusive story that main stream publishers often don’t think is “marketable.”

These books are slower, more character focused than I’m used to finding in dystopian novels. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, but I would have appreciated a tad more action. The middle of the novel in particular felt slower paced and really dialog/conversation heavy. A bit more action in this section would have really helped with the pacing.

I always want sequels to expand upon the world of the book, and The Lifeline Signal does a brilliant job in this regard, from the new characters to settings outside of Patrol. However, many questions linger. What is going on with the ghosts? And where is Regan and what’s he up to? What was on Maureen’s flashdrive? I guess I’ll have to wait until book three to find out! I can hardly wait.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for a free and honest review. ( )