The first book had a very linear sense of progress, and was an interesting introduction to a capitalist apocalypse that felt quite real to me. In my head it’s like The Road but a bet less depressing. The characters are rewarded for being shrewd and kind.
This book was closer to The Handmaids Tale. The central crisis was a community’s struggle to free themselves from religious slavery. It focused less on the capitalistic apocalypse from the first book (in fact, it seemed like it was getting mysteriously resolved for no clear reason), and more on a new threat: a population motivated by an intolerant religion, stoked by a fear-mongering-yet-charismatic president who wants to “make America great again” through hate, oppression, and religious fundamentalism. Also felt quite relevant….
Where the first book very much felt like an adventure (albeit not a fun one), this one felt much more like a character study / biography. I wasn’t sure if I liked the dual-perspectives, epistolary thing; it seemed like the author was using it as a band-aid to solve some pacing problems.
I eventually started skipping over the Earthseed quotes. They were too similar. I wish the religion was a little more flushed out.