Another SF heist novel that follows on the fallout and consequences of the series' first novel, in a more planetbound setting.
Hunt keeps a lot of the chassis from The Immortality Thief in this her second novel. Sean remains our single point of view, and he is snarky, observant, clever, well connected and as crap in physical conflicts as ever. The novel keeps using its flashback format from the first novel, and sometimes it does this explicitly for terms of the heist-like portions the plot sometimes takes us to. And sometimes, it is character building, as we learn even more about the Sean-Brigid relationship through seeing flashbacks scenes before they were ripped apart (and Sean thought Brigid dead). We get a complex and rich story that is built up for Sean and Brigid, far beyond what had been given in the first novel, showing an interesting and very complicated pair of siblings with a relationship that is never, ever easy.
This book is significantly shorter than its predecessor, and feels less of a “pressure cooker” than the first novel, showing that even by keeping the chassis of the first book, Hunt wants to and does experiment with some new things. Sean proves to be well connected, and those connections and his social skills give him some new options and ideas that were not in the first book. Now, given that Sean is dealing with his thought-to-be-dead sister, and some of the fallout from the first book, this gives the book a much more social feel to the conflicts in the narrative than the first. Sure, there are plenty of action sequences like the first novel, although our field of play is generally set in locations within a city, and there are no monsters this time other than the human ones (and yes, some of those are bad enough). So Sean really shines in this book in a way he didn’t in the first book. In the first book, he was a translator guy who was useless in a lot of the combat-oriented situations in the book. Here, he has more to do (translation actually plays a role here with a fun little bit between the siblings) and going in guys blazing as Tamara and Indigo can do, is a less effective strategy.
One other thing that this book does keep up, is the fact that “anyone can die”. Well, perhaps not our three main protagonists, like the first book, but this is a violent and deadly world, perhaps not to the level of the spacecraft in the first book, but with multiple espionage and government factions running around, to say nothing of the Unkillable Princess Brigid herself, there is definitely a shakedown of characters like in the first book, if not quite to the same severe levels. Hunt does a great job, thus, in presenting the opportunity for drama and heartbreak, especially when she expands Tamara’s backstory by introducing her own sister into the mix. There is a real sense of tension that is analogous to the first book, but in this new wider scenery and canvas.
As far as Indigo, he gets significantly less to do in this book than the first one. He is an alien on a strange planet (to him) that he is not supposed to be, and he spends a fair amount of the action offscreen and unable to intervene (until he has to, and dramatically). Given the nature and setup of the book, I am not surprised (Indigo wandering around openly would contradict the worldbuilding and setup) but it does mean that this book focuses far more on Sean-Brigid (and Tamara) and leaves Indigo a little out in the cold, narratively speaking. I enjoyed Indigo's presence for what we got of it, and his somewhat limited pages on the screen as it were are impactful.
This second book is the middle of a trilogy (?) and so does not have an easy endpoint or offramp like the first book does. I am willing to let that slide, because if you are reading a second book in a series, an offramp is less immediately desirable for me as a reader and reviewer, it means I have already committed to a universe and don’t particularly have to have an “out” after the second book. Given the pattern of the books, I predicted about three quarters in the shape of what and where and the why of the third book and I was not disappointed, although it should be said that Hunt surprised me in the denouement. It’s not quite the strange endgame of The Immortality Thief, but I do appreciate and like an author who works in good and clean lines...and is willing to surprise and color outside of them.
I wouldn’t start here, this is a book for people who read The Immortality Thief and want to continue with the series. A lot of the worldbuilding of that first novel is taken for granted here and not really recapitulated. It’s accepted and the consequences and downstream effects of that worldbuilding, including the “what now” from the ending of the first, are what Hunt is concerned about here. I am here to tell you that if you enjoyed the first book, you will likely enjoy this second with its different focus, but with much of the same or allied elements from the first.
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Highlights:
Excellent development and use of Sean as main character, especially in contrast and reflected with his sister Brigid
Excellent continued and elaborated worldbuilding from the first novel.
A shorter, brisker work than the first novel, showing the author’s ability to shift gears
Reference: Hunt, Taran, The Unkillable Princess [Rebellion Publishing, 2025].
POSTED BY: Paul Weimer. Ubiquitous in Shadow, but I’m just this guy, you know? @princejvstin.
