Her flair for distinctive characters set in a rich tapestry of a world whose weaves we know mean that she can run wild in building out the already complicated and intriguing cast that we fell in love with from the first book. Her worldbuilding continues to excel in ways both enthralling and contemplative, even traipsing into some aspects of the Weird, especially in moments where we are given some small insight into the thought process of the alien beings these interludes are some of the richest, most experimental parts of this book, and some of my favorites. Amid these huge questions of identity and empire, Martine continues to shine like a star, her prose as gorgeous and cutting as the edge-shine of a knife. These character beats create some of the best moments of the book: the sheer friction that comes of language and meaning, of want and desire, of basic agreed upon reality between beings before a word is even said, and what can happen when those realities are different. Martine ups the ante by allowing every character, in their own way, to confront and define their own boundaries-the things that make them who they are, and not just cogs in a machine. Martine keeps the reader in efficient, dazzling motion alongside an incredible cast of characters. Martine is a practiced hand at precision storytelling no taut thread ever loses tension, no one character outweighs another, dramatic moments never sap energy from the events before or after it.
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