I have lost all objectivity in regards to this series. I knew I would like this better on re-read, but I didn’t anticipate just how differently I’d feel. I’m bumping this up a full star from 3.5 to 4.5, and rounding up past that to five stars, because as previously mentioned: objectivity, gone. Haha look at my first review below. I have very different things to say now!
The weird thing is, I can remember being the person who wrote that review below, but I no longer resonate with those feelings. I love Holden, the authors’ Holy Fool. I love Amos and Naomi and Alex. I love the Roci. I am absolutely unable to come at this story without those feelings now, so of course my opinions of this book have changed. I no longer think all the characters except Holden and Miller are underwritten. I no longer have empty feelings about the overarching plot. The vomit zombies are still gross, but don’t hold as much terror for me now that I know what the ultimate objective of the Protomolecule is, and how it evolves along with the series.
I even have different feelings about Miller now. I’m still not full into the whole noir, sad-sack detective thing, and the obsessive love for the missing girl thing (which I didn’t know the first time around was an homage to the noir film Laura). But this time around I was able to focus more on the way that Miller works as a foil for Holden, and how tragic his character arc is. As much as his character type isn’t my favorite, it’s very well done.
As anticipated, I did catch a whole on of things that were just sitting there out in the open, wanting to be noticed. Like, look at me! I’m a little piece of Foreshadowing! But without knowing what happens later in the series, you just don’t notice the first time through. So that was fun. I’m glad to know my suspicion that these books are eminently re-readable was correct.
[Original review HERE if you want to see my original, kind of hilarious in retrospect, thoughts.]