SuitabookDefy the Worlds
Claudia Gray
- Reading
- Read it after the first book, since this is a direct sequel and assumes earlier developments. Pause after major revelations to discuss identity and consent, and decide beforehand whether you would prefer to finish a story that ends on a cliffhanger.
- Themes
- Belonging and exclusion: Noemi returns to Genesis after travelling with Abel and is shunned, while the story asks where and with whom people belong. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Personhood and artificial bodies: Abel is a sentient cybernetic being, while other technological applications and contrasting forms of artificial personhood shape the conflict. The book presents competing or mixed signals about this.
- Power, fear and control: The book addresses power, fear and control; the detail of how it is developed remains unclear. The antagonist’s actions are presented as harmful and manipulative, while his fear of death supplies motivation rather than excusing the conduct.
- Worth knowing
- Be aware of a pandemic, ostracism, capture, threats to individuals and whole worlds, technological manipulation and possible death-related material. The romance is described as significant but not overwhelming; the ending is a major cliffhanger.