And once again, I pick up the second book in a series without reading the first! I am very good at this. This time, however, Tash McAdams themselves recommended starting here because I am obnoxious and asked for where they wanted me to start. So any problems I might have had was all their fault.
However, there were no problems! This is the least second book-is of any second book I’ve read. And I meant hat in a good-yet-confused sort of way. There is a lot of rich world building done in this, inclusding a storyline that absolutely feels like it’s a sweeping epic, but the story is framed very much like the first in the series. The alternating perspectives include one character that is new to the world and we see through his eyes how the universe works, which is very much a first book pattern, and a more wizened character who is more familiar with the universe and explains her parts of the universe with familiarity.
What I’m saying is that it’s written in such a way that I have no idea what came before it. And I’m intrigued.
As for the book itself, it was a lot of fun! In that way I describe fun. On the one side, we follow Toby, who leaves his comfy life as a rich kid in the city only to be immediately mugged as soon as he leaves, have his finger cut off, and develop incredible super powers. On the other we follow Epsilon 17, who is a child soldier with incredible powers that has to track him down while at the same time really not wanting to find him at all.
The story follows the two of them as they both struggle with the Institute, who want to catch Toby and do… something with him. The question mark is less interesting than the chase and how the story comes together. It’s well paced, not forgetting about the human element of the post-apocalyptic world, and it ends in a wonderful showdown between just who it should be between. In my opinion, anyway.
I have a couple small issues with the book, but nothing that detracts from the experience of reading it. The prose is very dense, and there were a couple reveals at the end that felt like they wasn’t led up to enough, but overall it was a lot of fun and I would highly recommend checking it out.