The Second Rebel

CW: talk of past sexual abuse, past parental abuse and transphobia, talk of biological weapon use, torture and medical experimentation

Definitely a 4.5 and I'm rounding up.

When I read The First Sister a couple weeks ago, I didn't have much expectations but I was glad that it turned out to be a very good space opera. So this time I definitely was expecting a lot from the sequel but the author managed to completely blow my mind.

This is what a sequel should feel like, especially the second book of a trilogy. While the first book gave us an introduction to this world which had Handmaid's Tale vibes on one side and an extremely technologically advanced but morally corrupt society on the other side, this book expands on all the aspects we've come to know and also introduces us to more players. We get to see the community based societal aspects of the Asters who have been oppressed and experimented on for centuries, the extent to which Val Akira labs controls the political system as well as every single body in Icarii society, and the depths of corruption in the Sisterhood which doesn't care a bit about the innocents despite professing the tenets of their religion. And along with all this, we also get introduced to the Synthetics, who are much much more advanced and might just be the tipping point in the already existing triangular war. I was amazed at how much the author manages to develop the world without ever feeling like it was an infodump. Despite some of the quieter moments, the pacing in this book is brutal, with so many tension filled moments that I was probably anxious all through the book. And god the emotions this story evokes - it was scary and thrilling and happy and hopeful and then suddenly we are in lots of pain with overflowing tears - this book put me through a wringer and I would've have had it any other way.

I fell in love with these characters even more. Astrid, who has now reclaimed her name, is ready to challenge the Sisterhood from the inside by vying for its leadership. She is horrified when she digs deeper and gets to know more truths about their corruption, but ultimately she is a small and new player in this field who doesn't know her opponents well, and her ambition isn't easy to achieve. She goes through phases of rage, fearlessness, hope, revenge and despair and her whole character arc was brilliant to read. She is well supported by two sisters Eden and Lily and it was nice to see her finally trust someone and share each other's burdens.

Lito is a changed man now who is ready to go to any lengths to right the wrongs committed by his people and prevent anymore suffering of the Asters. He displays lot of bravery and selflessness and I can only admire him more. We also get Hiro's POV this time and it was awesome to get to know them better. They have many demons in their past and quite a few regrets, but they are determined on their path and you can only hope the best for them. Theirs is probably the one plotline which personally made me feel very sad and I just kept wishing that their path would intersect with that of Lito. To complete their trio, we get the new POV of Luce, Lito's sister. From an artist working for the Val Akira corporation, she becomes an idealist who decides to follow her brother's footsteps and do her part to help the Asters and expose the Val Akira's unethical practices. She is initially a bit scared but soon we get to see that she is every bit brave as her brother and extremely selfless, ready to go to any lengths and sacrifice anything to save not just the Asters, but also all the innocent Icarii citizens.

We also get to meet many interesting side characters who play important roles in moving the story forward. I thought Sorrel was quite a unique one and I'm eager to see how his plans and ideas will impact the course of this story. We only get to see Mara for a little bit but the confusing last chapter has given me lots of ideas and I can only hope that what I'm thinking is what's gonna happen due to her actions. And the final revelations about one of the side characters just left me gasping and I am just stunned at the twist.

In the end, the author blew all my expectations out of the water with this sequel and I'm left reeling from its aftermath. This book is expansive, thrilling, full of anxiety inducing twists and turns, with the final quarter of the story just breaking my heart over and over again but giving an extremely tiny ray of hope towards the end. I'm already so so excited for the finale that I have no idea how I will be able to wait for almost an year. And if you are someone who loves sprawling space operas with amazing ensemble casts, you need to have this captivating queer SFF trilogy in your life.