Brent Maxwell

A spectacular end to the series. Everything gets wrapped up in a nice bow.

This ends one of the best sci-fi series I've ever read. The scope goes from the individual, to their relationships, to their ship, to their world, to their surrounding worlds, to their solar system. Then across solar systems... over 1300. Then through time to billions of years earlier. Then it assimilates all 1300 galaxies that host humans via the creation of a hive mind. And then it crosses universes. And then for its closing act takes us a million years into the future.

The scale of the storytelling is beyond imagining, but it's done so well that it all comes together coherently into a masterfully told epic space opera that explores the barrier of humanity and consciousness. The adventures in physics are super fun too, along with sociology, biology, psychology, philosophy and little chemistry mixed in for good measure.

This is a series I'll totally read again one day, and if recommend it to anyone who enjoys sci-fi.

This was one of my favourite books in the series. The come back of the resistance, the toppling of an autocratic regime, the family of characters who'd fallen away from each other reconnecting. Bobby as a valkerie. Holden as a prisoner. Perhaps the best character arc was Naomi's return from her pilgrimage to run the resistance. And then becoming the saviour of the inner planets and belt, as well as her partner Holden. She finally fulfils her place as the wisest and cleverest badass of them all.

The way the whole story played out is superb. A master class in space opera.

Another great instalment in the series. This is dark though: the autocratic empire dominates humanity, and it feels like an unstoppable force. Great progress on the plot.

Epic space battles!

This book takes us through the battle between the Free Navy and everyone else. Chaos. Some good character development and great plot advancement.

The plot heads a whole new direction, and it's dark, and awesome. This story follows a cataclysmic terrorist attack on earth, and is the best character development in the series so far. Literally all the characters have a whole bunch of their back story filled in. So good.

Wow. Humans populate their first me world in another galaxy. Chaos ensues. As in, more chaos than I've ever read in a single book.

So intense. Great plot, interesting science. A little light on themes and character development, but it's more than made up for with action.

This is such amazing sci-fi. A bit more combat in this one but still an amazing story about a portal across the universe, communication from alien tech to humans via simulation and the value of forgiveness and redemption. Fantastic.

A fantastic sci-fi story for the ages. Alien-human hybrids, nukes, romance, science, politics, villain lair moon bases, crowd funding campaigns, social media information warfare and a daddy going to other worlds to find his abducted daughter.

Insanely great plot and action.

A completely addictive space adventure. Wild in the breadth of it. 3 parties: Earth, Mars and The Belt, and the dynamics and the whole worldbuilding is just unbelievable. It's a very special world that's been created here. Believable, harsh, gritty and full of adventure. The characters are fantastic too. So well crafted, and they evolve over time too. And the science is excellent.

It leaves you craving more.

Why not 5 stars? It's a little light on the emotional side. No larger moral arcs or deeply moving aspects. It's more like a spectacle than something to tug the heart strings, and that is awesome, but I'm not sure it's something I'd take lessons from that would change my view of the world, and 5 stars is reserved for that class of novel.

This book is great! An interesting story that gives you a rich feel for the world the characters live in. Multiple characters have excellent development arcs, and the plot is fantastic. What starts as a seemingly accidental group of misfits forced into crime have a much richer, more nuanced and complex backstory that intersects with the the events during this story, and leads into a fascinating future.

Lots of great sci-fi, and even philosophy. Surprisingly awesome book.

It's a very depressing book, and a dark take on humanity and the future. I think it's good that it explores the dangers of authoritarianism, as we do need to beware, but it leaves very little plot development.

The story is set "in the future" but reads like a historical fiction, as it shows a time when society takes a step backwards. It's very dismissive of HOW we got into that mess, just that it happened, and that it's horrible. The protagonist is a slave that lives in constant fear, with every action needing to be weighed and with no agency whatsoever. It kind of means there's little room for character development, as she can't actually take any action.

The writing is beautiful though. Very American, in that the language is simple and the sentences short, but it's very poetic, and the book is worth a read for that alone.

A rescue mission! Pretty good. Nothing too interesting though.