skybridge

tuphlos.bsky.social · @tuphlos.bsky.social@bridge.neodb.net

Rated Rich Man's War 10/10

So, the first book was great. This book, second in the series, is even better. You've gotten to know the characters and to care about them, which makes their situations, their potentially dire situations, mean a lot more. I had several "Don't you dare kill -----" moments, and they ranged throughout the cast, not just the main players, which is one of the main strengths of this series. It is the very spirit, brought to life, of the saying 'there are no small parts'. I was in tears over the heroic acts of a person I'd only just met a few paragraphs ago. Kay infuses all of his characters with not just personality, but, well, character. They are all very real people.

All of that focus should mean that something should suffer, right? The setting can't possibly be as good, or the plot can't hold up? Except...they do. The world building expands from the first book, and the political setup is really good. What's even better is that you can see the situation from every angle, even the evil angle. It's not just evil for the sake of it, you can see how it became that way, and why they'll do whatever they have to to maintain it. The plot is fast moving, makes sense, and the writing is crisp. There are not parts that drag in this book. Even the battle scenes, of which they are many, are well drawn.

Two things that may deter some readers: One, the cast is large. If you're a regular SF reader, this is nothing new to you. But, if you're a reader jumping over from another genre, this may get to be a bit unwieldy. Because the characters are all so well developed, readers may get so caught up in them that they have no problems distinguishing the players. It's also possible that the large cast will confuse people. Your mileage may vary. Second, there are no good/evil bright lines. This cast is fully humanized, which means they are complex people. If you're looking for books without nuanced characters, pass on this one. This is a book where you can love the characters, and hate what they do from one minute to the next. Blink, and they're acting totally against type (or what you thought was their type) and making heroism cool again.

Once again, I'd rec this to all categories of people who love complex stories, who can get past the fact that it happens in the future, and mostly in space. Readers who appreciate a diverse cast will be especially pleased by this book, where diversity isn't an "ISSUE", it just exists.

Fantastic, fantastic book.

#book

Published 2026-09-20 18:49 UTC · bridged from Atmosphere