Much more plot and explanation of interesting story twists than the first book and a good hook into any further books Liu might think to continue the series with. I enjoyed getting more about the characters but still feel there are some inconsistencies in how they act which isn't reflected in their personalities; more just in a few scenes or slipped phrases that feel like "oops in editing" moments.

Took me a while to get into this and it's definitely a novel that takes some ideas from the past and moves things on but also adds things that will resolve later. Interesting.