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Obviously this is not a deep book, but there are a lot of fun fights and character moments.

The beginning instantly hooked me in. Based on it and the back cover text, I expected a(n even) more gruesome variant of "Der Steppenwolf". However, the secrets in the basement turned out a bit too tame for my taste. There is an incredibly gripping sequence at around 2/3s of the book, but that, too, went too smoothly in the end. The ending is just a bit weird/edgy/cringe. Maybe I'm just not made for horror?

The first ~50% of this book are rather trite: A typical oppressive empire and a clever, ambitious colonial subject that wants to change it. The second half, the organization of a revolution in a feudal state and the political maneuvering involved, is a lot more fun, but would've only been a 3/5. The ending, however, changes how you view much of the preceding story and expressions and elevates the whole book. No 5/5 because the reading experience of much of this book is still only mediocre.

This might be the best SciFi I read this year. It does so many different things and does them all well. Big recommendation!