The Dreaming Stars

This review is based on an ARC given to me for free by the publisher, Angry Robot Books. This does not in any way affect my review.This book is slated for release on September 4, 2018.

... The Wrong Stars dealt with a rather weighty set of themes involving history and identity via the alien race called the Liars. The Dreaming Stars, however, is not as weighty, since it focuses less on thematic underpinnings and more on the plot. While it does touch upon questions connected to the neuroscientific nature of morality and ethics, as well as briefly looks into questions of revolution and uprising (???storming the Bastille??? indeed), it does not really get into them very much. They are there for readers to find and think upon, but the story does not really get into them very much.

That does not, however, make the story less entertaining, nor does it mean that other aspects of the story are not explored. For instance, in The Wrong Stars many of the secondary characters like Stephen got a bit shortchanged in the development, with most of the focus put on Callie, Elena, and Lantern. In The Dreaming Stars, though, that changes a bit, with more emphasis placed on growing the characters based on their interactions with each other. Given the events of the previous novel it???s a given that a portion of the story would be devoted to Callie and Elena???s relationship (which is refreshingly healthy, incidentally), there is also a lot of space devoted to the other characters ??? to Stephen, in particular. Sebastien???s character is also explored, though the reader is likely to view him in a more ambivalent light, all things considered.