This trilogy is an impressive achievement. More so in the detail than in the broad sweep, I think: the individual episodes, characters, technologies, species, and other elements are all wonderfully creative and varied, deeply envisioned and carefully described. So at a micro level, the plot is a success. But at the macro level, it’s less satisfying. (Spoiler now coming.) A large number of plot twists and difficult pathways are set up, ready for a clever resolution. What happens instead is that a character encounters an alien god-like entity who … well, allows anything to happen, which means that any possible twist can be straightened out. It’s only slightly improved on the stereotyped “and then she awoke from a dream” ending, and really isn’t respectful of all the efforts the author went to in the rest of the books.

3/5. Finished Saturday 17 November, 2018.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)