#16: L.X. Beckett, Dealbreaker (Bounceback #2)

[kareila]

Twenty years have passed since the events of Gamechanger. Most of the human characters from that book are missing from the sequel: Drow, Anselmo, and Gimlet are gone, either effectively or completely, while Rubi and Luce show up strictly as cameos. Instead, this is entirely the story of adult Frankie and her found family, putting their lives on the line to once again save the amalgamation of humanity and AI now known as Solakinder from becoming enslaved by more advanced alien races, assisted once again by some familiar villains.

I enjoyed this story slightly more than the first one because it was much more straightforward, with fewer characters and subplots to keep track of; I was able to finish it in a single day. Almost all of the action is from one of three POVs: Frankie, her primary partner Maud, and good old Crane, still nurturing and protecting Rubi's stepdaughter and her spouses, one of whom is his daughter. The spawning, splintering, and recombining of various versions of AIs is one of the more fascinating aspects of this story, whereas the radical economic concepts introduced previously have entirely faded to the background here. There's hardly even any VR immersion compared to the first book - why bother, when so much of the actual action is in outer space?

#17: Django Wexler, Siege of Rage and Ruin (Wells of Sorcery #3)

[kareila]

Previously.

Isoka has returned to the city of her birth to rescue her sister Tori from the ruthless clutches of the city's tyrant, Kuon Naga, who rules in the name of the Emperor. But Tori doesn't want to escape; she is leading a rebellion in the city's lower wards, and she is determined to see it through. It doesn't seem possible for them to prevail against Naga's forces, until a surprising turn of events leads Tori to discover that the Emperor is just as much a pawn of Naga as she is. Could their unlikely friendship provide a path to peace? A satisfying ending to a fascinating trilogy.