Stars: 4 out of 5
This is a promising start to what shapes up to be a very interesting series.
The worldbuilding is very detailed, and the hints we see at a larger universe are very enticing. You can really believe there is a galaxy-spanning empire somewhere beyond the little planetary system where the story takes place. And not just the Old Earth empire that Hadrian was born into, but the other political forces as well. We meet representatives of some of them in this book, and I am looking forward to seeing more in the next books.
I liked Hadrian as the protagonist, even though he was a bit annoying in his whininess sometimes. But at least he was self-aware of that particular trait of character and even self-depricating sometimes. And I mean, as far as a coming-of-age story goes, the universe sure threw him a few curveballs, so a little bit of self-pity is justified.
I was surprised at just how bleak this world is. It’s a rigidly stratified society where your status and just how good a life you will lead depend on your genetic code. If you were born into an aristocratic house, you would live a life of luxury that many dream of… But even then, even nobile houses are but pawns to the empire and the Chantry that controls all technological advances. I mean, even the nobile children are conceived in vats, their genes carefully selected and edited by the Chantry.
The Chantry has absolute power in the Empire, because it can simply refuse procreation privileges to a noble house and effectively eliminate that house in a generation or two. Or they can declare them heretics and glass the whole planet from orbit with weapons and technologies only they possess.
And the commoners? Well, they live in abject poverty, at least on the two planets Hadrian visited in this book. No genetic modifications for them, or even advanced medical practices. Just hard work, servitude, and blood sports.
Honestly, by the end of this book, I wasn’t sure if I was rooting for humans or for their alien enemies to eliminate them. And the jury is still out on that one.
But all in all, I am excited about continuing this series in the next book.