Oh. My. Freaking. GOD. I love this series so much.
I LOVED The First Sister. To call my review of it “glowing” is a dramatic understatement. To say I was looking forward to The Second Rebel is also a dramatic understatement. I was not disappointed.
That being said, last night I was feeling a little let down. I was about 90% of the way through the book, and while it was certainly a good book, possibly even a great one, it wasn’t hitting me quite as hard as The First Sister. I was prepared to chalk it up to some combination of a sophomore slump and middle book syndrome, but regardless I felt like it was more than a solid book.
Then I finished the book. All of my mild disappointment was gone. My reasonable criticisms are not valid. This was amazing.
Linden Lewis is, in the words of my fellow /r/Fantasy mod /u/cubansombrero, the “Master of twists that actually make so much sense.” Those who have read either of Lewis’ books will know exactly what I’m talking about. Lewis has a talent for the kind of surprise twist that makes you (once you’ve picked your jaw back up off the floor) go “How could I not have seen that coming?!” and you then reevaluate everything you knew and thought about the book and suddenly it’s all different and you see just how carefully Lewis wrote the entire thing. It’s an experience.
To give some non-spoiler details for those who have read book 1: The protagonists have increased from two to four. Lito and Astrid are still there, obviously, but they are joined by both REDACTED and by Lito’s sister Luce. (If I had to pick a main character for this book, I’d probably go with Luce.) The Synthetics, occasionally referred to out beyond the asteroid belt, are a major factor in this book. For the most part, expect more of the awesome queer space opera you got in The First Sister.
I seriously cannot say enough good things about these books.
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