Intrigued but confused, it kinda took too long to get to /that/ being the big ending that.... seemed like the premise of the whole series?

4.5 stars

When I first read [b:A History of What Comes Next|44552037|A History of What Comes Next (Take Them to the Stars, #1)|Sylvain Neuvel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588701701l/44552037._SY75_.jpg|69142684], I was drawn in by the concept: an alternate history of the space race shaped by the Kibsu — an alien lineage of mother-daughter duos quietly guiding humanity to the stars in order to save themselves. Neuvel's meticulous historical research and the fascinating premise kept me engaged, but the book itself was a mixed experience. The middle dragged under some slower character development, the dialogue punctuated by hyphens instead of quotation marks, and the constant pressure of present-tense narration, which almost never clicks for me. Still, the strong opening and closing moments managed to win me over, and when the story itself finally opened up, I was glad I stuck with it. At the time, I hoped the sequel would pick up where this one left off — more confident, more expansive, and free of the heavy setup. It really delivered.

In Until the Last of Me, Neuvel continues the Kibsu's mission as they face their greatest challenge yet. It's 1968, and Mia — now in the role of mother — is still on the run with her daughter, Lola, pursued by their unwavering enemies, the Trackers, who have hunted them for generations. Neuvel's writing in this sequel felt like he was expressing the same relief I felt in moving beyond the weight of the first book's setup. The story remains open and far more suspenseful, allowing the characters room to breathe, expand, and develop properly. The quiet current of tension just below the surface was so well done that I had trouble stepping away, and I cannot wait to see how it all concludes in the third book.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this series after the twist at the end of this book, to some degree, because it recontextualizes these two books as what would've been a flashback scene in a YA romance novel, especially in the early 00s. I'm still a sucker for the playlist formed by the chapter titles, and I'm still incredibly interested in where it'll choose to go for the next book.

I am such a dork for Sylvain Neuvel’s Take Them to the Stars series. Until the Last of Me, book 2, is fantastic.

Until the Last of Me follows up with Mia and her daughter Lola from A History of What Comes Next. Mia and Lola are alien clones, descendants of women who for 100 generates have been working on helping humanity reach space. At the same time, they’re being hunted by Trackers — other aliens, possibly from their own species.

This sounds like a sci-fi action thriller, but what I love about these books is that they have action, but they’re not about action. They’re about characters, and a love of science, and a debate about what someone owes their family, their ancestors, and their descendants. The main action is set from the 1960s to 1980s, and there are scenes in between the acts that flash back to women astronomers over thousands of years. I loved these inter-act scenes.

Neuvel’s writing style is dialogue-heavy, written like a combination of diary entry and screenplay in a way that’s oddly immersive and distancing at the same time.

I found the end of this one completely unpredictable, and I have absolutely no idea where Book 3 will go next.

I also adore the way Neuvel includes so many geeky, awesome science history stories at the end of his books.

If you enjoy unpredictable space history with strong female characters and thoughtful philosophy, check out this series — but read the first book (A History of What Comes Next) first. This is not a series to jump into out of order.

Thank you to Tordotcom and NetGalley for my review copy of this book.

I barely remember what happened in the first book. I remember not really liking it with the space race being front and center, and less of the "fictional" characters' and their history being revealed - with the Kibsu vs the Tracker. Having an ample knowledge of the space race and being interested in it would probably helped a lot.

I was watching For All Mankind, an alternate history about the space race, so I was a bit sad that I rated the first book 2 stars, currently at least since didn't have time to re-read. This book is less about the space race, compared to the first one, so I think I kinda liked it more (browsed the Further Reading portion of the book - and I kinda agree with the author about not focusing on it.

This book also have two interesting characters - Samael and Mia, a Tracker and a Kibsu, that made the last chapter really great and really glad that this is a trilogy and not a duology. Looking into the past of the Kibsu (through notes and flashbacks) is also nice to read.

Interesting continuation, not what I was expecting. Don’t know how it continues from here, but would be interested in seeing where it would go.

3.5 stars.
We are with a different mother-daughter pair with the younger chafing at the restrictions and secrecy of their lives, and what the younger sometimes feels as pointless work to upgrade human technology. We also spend time with a father and two sons group of trackers, and the youngest son is dissatisfied with the violence endemic to their lives. The youngest takes steps to distinguish himself as different, even while using violence to do so.

Of course the two groups have to evade (while searching for their origins and affecting human tech) and track, and eventually come into violent conflict, with the ending sending the female aliens’ lives in a slightly different direction.

Vivid as the character voices are, the book takes 75% or so to really come into focus. Mother and daughter bumble around, looking for a clue to their purpose/origins. The book treads water till very close to the end when the book gains its focus leading into book three.