Whereas the first book in the series earned a comparatively high score in large part due to its execution of the frame narrative, this story earns its own stay for development of that story via conventional rhetorical methods.

I enjoyed how Simmons developed all of the characters, blending classical mythos with his own science-fiction universe which became less tacky as the characters fleshed it out.

Without spoiling anything, the story is very clever. There's violence, love, pyrrhic victory, and tragic loss.

Continuing Sol Weintraub's arc, Simmons lays out a very interesting interpretation of the sacrifice of Abraham and Isaac:

With a sudden clarity which went beyond the immediacy of his pain or sorrow, Sol Weintraub suddenly understood perfectly why Abraham had agreed to Sacrifice Isaac, his son, when the Lord commanded him to do so.

It was not obedience.

It was not even to put the love of God above the love of his son.

Abraham was testing God.

By denying the sacrifice at the last moment, by stopping the knife, God had earned the right–in Abraham's eyes and the hearts of his offspring–to become the God of Abraham.

I love the philosophical and theological direction the series takes in this book. Additionally, it's hard to pin down what exactly it is about Simmons' writing, but I think he exists in a narrow genre of, like, "grimlight" (as opposed to grimdark), where –despite the grotesque backdrop– the otherwise cliche of the power of love finds a mature realization on his pages.

Also holy shit, the cover of the book is so good. I totally thought that we witness the Abrahamic scene it was depicting about halfway through the story, but no!.

related