Commentary/review

A very nice beginning to a series. The first part feels like a space opera, with enough gripping action to keep you going and enough well-meaning jokes to keep you light-hearted. The universe is full of aliens and most of them are more “civilized” than the human kind. There is a lot going on communication-wise. There are sentient AI systems whose part in society is marked by human attachment.

The second part (“A Closed And Common Orbit”) is one the best stories about sentient AI I have read so far, with more depth than most. It was constructed on the basis of a relatable survival story (or, in fact, a few of them in close succession). The second book is something else, an accomplished feat built upon a system only just described in the first part of the series. Although I usually get tired of such sagas rather quickly, I cannot wait to see what comes next.

A cozy weekend read for most of the time. Much to recommend. The narrator did an excellent job and the audiobooks feel like movies.

The covers are not overly complicated but miss nothing. The books are esentially about humans and the endless skies.

Cover Photo by Geoff Brooks on Unsplash