This review comes late, not because I forgot to write it, but because I totally failed to prioritize my novel reading goal and have only just finished my first one of this year. In hindsight it might have been a better idea to read something more lightweight in order to catch up, rather than the ~460 oversized pages of very dense text that comprises this book, but oh well. At least I’m way ahead of the wanikani book club now!

Following up from the cliffhanger at the end of the previous volume, this one wastes no time in raising the stakes regarding Mayne’s terminal illness. While some of the tension is alleviated due to the fact that there are currently 23 more books in the series, it does add a sense of urgency to the entire book. The final act had me reading two extra chapters beyond my daily goal just because it go so exciting.

As with the rest of the series so far, I really enjoyed this installment. With the exception of the epilogue chapters, which are always a bit of a drag, the storytelling and characterization are as good as ever. There’s less of a focus on production of new inventions and more focus on the politicking involved with disrupting the status quo, all of which is handled in an engaging way despite the potentially dry subject matter. I won’t be moving on to vol. 4 immediately since I’d like to get a bit ahead of schedule before reading another huge book, but I’ll definitely be looking forward to it.