The best “second novel in a trilogy” that I’ve read in a while. To no one’s surprise, Adrian Tchaikovsky is responsible.

Eyes of the Void clicked for me when I realized that Adrian Tchaikovsky is an avid tabletop roleplayer and this novel comes alive because he’s basically role-playing (to perfection) all of his characters.

He’s thought about (and nailed) the way each character thinks and speaks based on where they’re from, who they are, their culture, etc. He’s great at this and you can see this in all of his work but The Final Architecture series feels built for him to flex his ability to write great characters.

Another strength of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s work is his ability to interweave his world building into the plot as well as the characters in such a way that it all feels meaningful.

He excels at showing instead of telling. When Haever, our favorite spy/neo-noir detective, is having a stressful conversation with his boss, we’re told that he has an implant that detected an increase in stress in him and automatically injected him with his heart medication.

This detail serves to set the scene but it also gives us an idea of the level of technology that humans have access to in this universe. This is but one example but the novel is filled with details like this that are pulling their weight by simultaneously fleshing the characters as well as the world they live in.