The change of scenery to Victorian India was a cool choice. We also get two new perspectives- one even from the clock spirit Colton, which I enjoyed reading. The story starts off with a bang, but then begins to meander as characters visit different cities in India and discuss the Indian philosophy. Some parallels were drawn between that and the lore of this story, but they didn't make sense and felt contrived.

Airfaring seems to be commonplace, perhaps having been invented 50 years too soon. However, we don't see how this revolutionary technology impacted imperialism. The historical events of the late 1800s seem to have panned out exactly as they did except for the clock towers and airplanes. I wish these two aspects were interwoven better with the rest of the world and the story to make it more immersive and engaging.

Overall, this book felt deflated compared to the first. It's more of a bridge to the third installment than a self-reliant sequel with its own beginning, middle, and end. And for what it's worth, it could've been a lot shorter.