A nice continuation of a fascinating concept, well executed.

Two aspects of Reeve's writing continually impress me.

One, he manages to capture the feverish dedication to ideology people have, be it for thievery, traction, or anti-traction. People raised in a specific environment under a particular ideology are absolutely dedicated to it, oblivious to flaws, and all but impervious to critical thought--which is just what you'd expect in a world of isolated populations.

Two, he always has a word for everything. A genuine, fitting word for this imaginary thing he's created. Not a made up word, but a word we would use. Our technical terms fitted to imaginary items.

Reeve occasionally changes point of view without a chapter or a line break, which normally causes titanic Editorial Deities to gaze over the tops of their spectacles in disapproval, but I managed to work through it without much difficulty.

Reeve certainly adds plenty of twists to his tales and builds his story out in ways he could expand further in (and does, apparently). While he pulls these turns off expertly, they became predictable. I could not predict what would happen, I only had a feeling for when it would occur. Something akin to being able to pick out the familiar notes leading into the chorus of a song. There was an undertone of formula to it, as though a pattern for certain types of events had been determined to drive a story forward.

I don't know exactly what's going to happen, but as Finch says in the Wachowski's V for Vendetta, "It's just a feeling."

In all, another solid work. Not a work I'll revisit, but part of a series and an expanded history I will gladly explore to its horizons.