The sequel picks up where the first book left off and you're thrown into a world where there's war, politics, greed, and corruption. The first sister sets off to weed out the corruption within the sisterhood, Hiro and Lito are separated still but they work with the Aster's rebellion to expose what the Icarii are doing at the labs, and a new POV is introduced.

The human race has split off into 2 different humanoid races and have colonized other planets and moons in the solar system. The Asters are peaceful and harmonious while the Icarii seek to use Asters for testing and control to advance their science and technology without risking lives of other Icarii. There are Icarii who have sided with the Asters to help. As always there are good and bad people on all sides of a war. There are sacrifices and losses.

What I find interesting are the Synthetics. They are neutral in the war and mostly observe the 2 human races.

This is a very engaging and thought provoking read. I love the diversity and representation in all aspects. I highly recommend this trilogy. I can't wait for the last book and the conclusion!