The Fantasy Review’s Spoiler-Free Review of Descendant Machine by Gareth L. Powell.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a review copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Descendant Machine is a great sequel to Stars and Stones, with a slight shift in tone towards the more light-hearted, despite higher stakes. I think it worked. Powell has a great command of language, giving us a sometimes warm tone within a tense atmosphere.
I found the narrative style interesting, if a little tricky to get into to start with, but once I got used to it, the story flowed nicely and I could get immersed in the plot.
And wow, what a plot! It feels like the book must have been intricately planned out before being written; there is never a dull moment, with plenty of politics, sex and violence, and characters who would eat the Lanninsters.
There is a lot going on here, on the page and well beyond. We have barely scratched the surface of what the Continuance series and world has to show us, so I hope we will see more from this world!
