Michael Barnes
The first novel The Blighted Stars is a fast paced thriller of a space opera with a war between cunning fungus, AI spinning into madness, ecological critique, explosions, banter, and challenging romance. The Fracked Dark is the bridge book in the trilogy and in many this is where the story can struggle but I found this sequel as enthralling as the first.
The tale continues the Canus as metaphor … Capitalism. So I like Alex Tas at Quil to live "dove into The Fractured Dark, commie senses tingling" and the realisation that you can even know about the infection, know it is influencing you decisions and you still fall for it.. Alex again "Extraction, environmental degradation, personal relations, the structure of society and the relations of the people within it are all tainted by this unseen force".
Other reviewers mentioned they found the story mor confusing than the first. I think the parts that could have been the most confusing though, were deftly handled by O’Keefe’s writing ability.
I also like how the author 'reset' the relationship between Naira and Tarquin partly feels like retreading old ground, with similar difficulties in the matter of power, ethics, and responsibility to negotiate but this time its is Tarquin knows more about Naira than she does about him, which reverses the dynamic from the first novel. This relationship is the emotional heart of the story so far.
Looking forward to reading book 3 The Bound Worlds.
The first novel The Blighted Stars is a fast paced thriller of a space opera with a war between cunning fungus, AI spinning into madness, ecological critique, explosions, banter, and challenging romance. The Fracked Dark is the bridge book in the trilogy and in many this is where the story can struggle but I found this sequel as enthralling as the first.
The tale continues the Canus as metaphor … Capitalism. So I like Alex Tas at Quil to live "dove into The Fractured Dark, commie senses tingling" and the realisation that you can even know about the infection, know it is influencing you decisions and you still fall for it.. Alex again "Extraction, environmental degradation, personal relations, the structure of society and the relations of the people within it are all tainted by this unseen force".
Other reviewers mentioned they found the story mor confusing than the first. I think the parts that could have been the most confusing though, were deftly handled by O’Keefe’s writing ability.
I also like how the author 'reset' the relationship between Naira and Tarquin partly feels like retreading old ground, with similar difficulties in the matter of power, ethics, and responsibility to negotiate but this time its is Tarquin knows more about Naira than she does about him, which reverses the dynamic from the first novel. This relationship is the emotional heart of the story so far.
Looking forward to reading book 3 The Bound Worlds.