This is much better than the second book but not quite as good ...
591987
A decent detective story set against the backdrop of the end of the world. This is much better than the second book but not quite as good as the first. However, these is no great mystery that the book solves, and everything is a letdown without any introspection.
4928085
Not everyone agrees, but I like #2 better than the first.
3128275
This book was better than the first and a tie with the second in my opinion. I rate this a 4 instead of a 5 because the ending seemed a bit rushed. Each character seemed to get an even amount of time this time around. There were more characters added, which at first was a bit confusing because of all of the different names but I eventually started to remember who was who. Good book overall- the book is thick but it was a nice quick read. I look forward to whatever Westerfeld's next book series will be.
3382627
The second book in the series has a faster pace than the first one and the end comes as a surprise.
3944869
Having just finished the first book in this series, Justified Means, I decided to pick up the 2nd one and continue on reading.  Over all it was a good, enjoyable read but to me it wasn't quite as good as the first one.  The author has a way of crafting her characters that I really like as it makes their personalities come alive with my favorite in this book being Leo.  He was a biker that became a Christian and then turned himself into the police.  After his testimony against the biker gang, he was hid in a small town.  With his appearance which included piercings, tattoos, ear gauges, the occupants of the town were very nervous and scared around him.  The author did a great job using this to show how we judge others too quickly and harshly based on appearance alone.

About the time I was getting halfway in the book, I was starting to wonder where The Agency fit into the storyline as they hadn't appeared yet but the last half of the book includes them.

The book had a good conclusion but it seemed a little unfinished to me as there was one particular character that I didn't feel it explained enough about him and made me feel something was missing.

Overall I would recommend this book.
2252625
Personally, I think I like this book better than the first. I was pleased that Maddie found herself, and the way she did was pretty kickass, if I do say so myself. Of course, I was still screaming at her through half of the book because of her wildly insane schemes, but they made me laugh. And the whole thing with Rykerian at the end... what in the world (or rather, their worlds) is gonna happen with that?

So yes, I do believe I liked this book better than the first, and that is a good thing considering how many series I have started that just end up going completely downhill after the first book. There was more going on and I really liked the detail that was used. I must say, I would not want to run into a heptamorg any day.
2655778
This book started out strong for me, but faded a bit in the second half.  As sequel I guess I started getting the feeling that it was just more of the same by the end.

Our hero is also older in this book than the first, so there is less of the angst of young that plagued the first book.  The writing is also a bit more polished, making this a more of a pleasant read.

Socrates is the character that really made the first book work for me.  He is absent in this book, except as a memory, and I suspect that this might be why this book was not as appealing to me as the first.

Entertainment: 3 stars

Enlightenment: 4 stars

Overall: 3.5 stars
1859737
Not as good as volume 1, but much better than volume 2.
3806571
I liked this book but didn't think it was as good as the first book.  While I like the story itself at times I found Fallon selfish and immature.  It was hard to be in her corner since she didn't want to let Lucas know about his son.  But it all worked out and I still enjoyed the book. Looking forward to more in this series.
833559
Enjoyable reading but a little long winded in parts. This one was better than the second book.
209548
Although this book is following one of the masters of Fantasy, it is not as well done as the first one.
349468
The book was enjoyable but didn't measure up to the first ones.
2627982
Decent read, but not as engaging as the first book. The first book highlighted all the surprises I suppose, and this book continues the character story arcs with less flash than the first volume. Still an excellent book. Sawyer's writing is really fantastic.

Check out&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Yggdrasil-Codex/dp/B0085DYAV4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Yggdrasil Codex</a>
1322807
The first book of THE STARCHILD TRILOGY (The Reefs Of Space) I gave four stars. This book (STARCHILD) is not quite as good as the first one. I can't give it 3-1/2 stars so I'll round up and settle with giving it four stars also.

In THE REEFS OF SPACE you're shown how The Plan Of Man super-computer affects and controls every aspect of daily life for the citizens of Earth and it's colonies. You also get to experience what it's like to wear The Collar and a really good tour of The Body Bank. In STARCHILD The Collar is still a big part of the story, but only brief mention is made of The Body Bank. This second book of the trilogy also gives an up close and personal view of The Plan Of Man super-computer. You get to see how it needs human extensions of itself, humans who can be completely trusted. You're shown what it takes to become a companion of the computer; the education and training involved, the surgical modifications needed, and the sacrafice of "self" and the leaving behind of all that had been a part of your previous life, including loved ones. You also get to see what it's like to live out on the reefs as free men, out of the reach of The Plan Of Man. The climactic ending is great.

If you intend reading the entire trilogy I suggest you stop after this book, I could hardly finish ROGUE STAR(the third book). You DO need to read the first book(The Reefs Of Space), but I'd say the conclusion of STARCHILD is adequate enough to wrap up the series.
3552448
The flow and pace of this book isn't quite as good as the first in this series, but it's an entertaining read.
2976247
I really enjoyed book 1 but this one wasn't quite as good as the first book.  I loved the texts back and forth between the two but it fell a little flat once they actually met up.  Teddy just didn't hook me as a character.  I didn't dislike him but I didn't love him either he was just okay for me.  I liked Jamie more but again he didn't stand out as much as I thought he would.  Both had anxiety issues when it came to relationship issues and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why they thought a wild animal consultant and a wild animal photographer had careers that they couldn't make work?  However, I will definitely read the next book because I've been intrigued by Jude since book 1!
3504324
Not as good as the first book of the trilogy but I am glad that I read it.