This is an epically long novel and deeply involved with lots of details. I am a little disappointed in how much of the book has the feel of Galland, and not as much as Stephenson. Overall it was good, but could have been a bit shorter.

This beginning was a drag. It was trying to catch me up with what happened in the last book but as this epistolary book is told through reports this makes the many recaps clunky. Once the action happens, the pace picks up. And how long this book is, the middle is a quick read. Then the ending happens and it felt very unresolved. Considering how long this book is, having an abrupt ending was surprising. There were so many pages to give me a proper conclusion. It was if this was a season finale.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

Time travel is always a tricky thing to write. This book, a continuation of The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O, is the story of two factions fighting it out along the strands of time. One side is working for the government, the other has gone rogue. Each is trying to undo the others work in the past. The narrative is told through communications, letters, after action reports and other means through the voices of multiple characters. That combined with the nature of time travel writing can be a bit hard to follow until you get used to it but overall it was an interesting read that leaves the reader what could possibly happen next.

Sadly, this book hit the DNF pile fairly quickly. I wanted to love it, but it was missing some of the magic that made the first book so fantastic. I'm not sure what it was, but it simply did not speak to me.