I spent a lot of time mentally comparing this book to "The Unbroken," by C.L. Clark, which I read this year and is also an epic fantasy about colonialism, slavery, privilege, power, and complicity. Both are difficult reads with complex, flawed protagonists, but I will give Callender an extra point for making Sigourney a bit more sympathetic than Clark's protags, at least for me.

Overall, I liked that the book made me think about difficult concepts, and it had some fun ideas, but the execution and characters fell a bit flat. Maybe I just don't like unlikable main characters!