“The oldest fears were the most powerful. If there were gods, he thought for sure that the first and greatest—and evilest—would be the god of darkness. Light required effort. Light was a struggle. But the dark was easy, and it had existed before all else and would be there to envelop the universe in its smothering cloak when the last dim stars guttered out at the end of time.”

“Sometimes the universe decided to rip apart your life and stomp on the pieces, and there wasn’t a damn thing you could do about it except say, “Now what?”

To Sleep In a Sea of Stars was one of my favorite 2023 reads. It was complicated, but the characters were very engaging and the world building was on point. This one - was not the same. It's the same world (prequel) but not the same surroundings or characters. And I guess if I'd read this first, I don't think I'd have made it to the next one.

I enjoyed slipping back into this world; I didn't like the characters who inhabited this one anywhere near as much. That's it. That's the review.