War Factory

The second book in the trilogy starts off slow, dealing largely with the repercussions of the previous book and following its large cast of diverse viewpoint characters. Things definitely hot up towards the end, though as we head to a major showdown that manages to tie up quite a few of the plotlines - something that makes this more satisfying than the middle book of a trilogy often is. In between, we do get some inventive ideas, some of them to do with the ramifications of how FTL travel works in this universe, others providing further insight into Prador biology (and mating habits).

A downside is that's hard to identify with many of the viewpoint characters, some of whom are really just along for the ride, dragged along by Penny Royal's schemes, witnessing rather than acting. There are enough good points to make this enjoyable, but it lacks the freshness of some Asher's earlier works... which may simply be a product of how far along we are by this point.