Necessity, Jo Walton

3.25

the most expansive of the three books, introducing alien cultures, extratemporal quests, and xenotheology while retaining a few of our favorite characters, yet progress being split across the story of first contact,ll familial and class and gender conflict on Plato, errant Gods, Apollo's development, his children's theosophy, a key backstory element for Mathias and philosophical reflections for Crochus, meant that none of the stories had room to stretch and explore and interact and often felt rushed. the aliens felt not so much mysterious as cramped, their culture more exposition then exploration, the mysteries resolved too quickly, or even before they'd been introduced.

if the series was going to expand onto so many fronts, it might have been better to put more of the groundwork into place in book 2, which has a much narrower scope. a book 2.5 which explored the initial setteling of Plato, and 3.5 to address the cultural ramifications of the three First Contacts, might have better framed the many moving pieces and given them the space to chart their courses.

there were many parts i liked, including the last lines, Apollo's song outside time, and the Workers' philosophy. i wish we had the space to go deeper into them. if we ever get a Thessely Book 4, perhaps we will.