Ok, I absolutely loved the first book. So when this one started, from the POV of a tiger shape changer boy who's on his inaugural starship "cruise" as a member of the Thousand Worlds Space Forces, I had all the background on the character who's set up as the bad guy in this yarn, too -- Captain Hwan, because he was the bad guy in the first book.
I knew that Captain Hwan tried to steal the Dragon Pearl and how he tried to take it from fox shape-shifter Min and killed her brother. I knew Hwan was ruthless. And I knew Min's character and motives, as well, because I'd been in her head in the first book. So while I was reading this one, I knew that attempts to characterize/demonize her as evil or conniving were just wrong.
The problem is that the new POV character, Sebin of the Juhwang Clan (and defeated Captain Hwan's clan, too), doesn't have any of that info. He has no knowledge of the events of the first book. And it takes most of these pages for Sebin to get up to speed, learn it all, figure out he's been lied to, manipulated by his family, his preconceptions are totally wrong, etc. A good chunk of the book is spent with Sebin figuring out 1) his uncle's motives -- when as a reader of the first book, it's pretty clear what Hwan's motives are from page one and 2) that Min isn't evil and neither are all fox shifters.
As such, the pacing felt like it took for-ev-er to get to that point when Sebin had "figured it all out." The payoff was great -- Min and Sebin join forces, finally. I won't spoil the ending.
If this is the first time you've read a book set in the Thousand Worlds Space Forces universe, it'll be a great read -- because the author does a fantastic job of making it a standalone tale. You don't need to have read the first book to enjoy this one. In fact, I suspect it's probably a better read if you haven't read the first book. Or if you read them out of order -- read this one first, and the first one second. That's it! That's the way to go on these.
It'll be interesting to see how this space opera continues and I hope to see a sequel. Enjoy!
