oh my fucking GOD!!!!!! this was. wow. genuinely wow. i savoured the fuck out of this book because i knew i would need more as soon as it finished it (and i do) and the slower-pace really helped with that. it was also a bit tough to read at times, since reading is largely an escape for me and this has many, many parallels to our current political landscape (and all at certain points in history, of course).

there is so much to say about this. while i knew from the start of the "mystery" of the gods and huaxia exactly what the reveal would be, it still felt really triumphant to get to that point when it was revealed. i loved that this book delved so much deeper into the world and lore, and i look forward to seeing the rest of the planet and beyond develop in the next instalment.

i liked the way power and the different dynamics that come from acquiring different levels of power were portrayed. while a lot of this was accelerated progress and required a decent amount of suspending disbelief (it is sci-fi, after all), i thoroughly enjoyed reading this entire book. i'm so excited to see where this goes next!