Resolute

Sometimes I hear people complain about "second book syndrome" for trilogies specifically, where it feels like an author is just padding a wordcount to turn out a book before resolving the larger story they actually want to tell in the third entry. At least in my eyes, that definitely wasn't the case here.

We're still working towards making progress on the bigger, overall mission these characters are setting out to accomplish, but damned if there aren't complications out the wazoo. Imagine you're trying to hash out a deal with a client over the phone who just barely speaks your language, but you keep having to put them on hold because your coworkers are actively trying to kill you. That's basically what Admiral Geary is going through in this installment.

And as if trying to suss out who is and who isn't going to stage a mutiny against you wasn't enough, they also make first contact again with a different alien race that the first bunch of aliens react to with a collective sigh, as if to say, "Oh great, they're here..." What initially feels like a diversion just for its own sake eventually becomes relevant and pushes to main narrative along in an interesting way, culminating in another (but unique) capital ship space battle). Our protagonist is continuously coming out of increasingly difficult challenges on top though, and I wonder if that luck will eventually run out.

Consider me invested; too late to not see series this through now.