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got it on audiobook, really enjoyed it. some very interesting topics discussed, fascinating facts. and all told in the light-hearted way the Map Men are known for on youtube.

on audiobook it's narrated by them, each chapter feels kind of like a long youtube piece, with all their humour and style coming through.

very well done, and if you enjoy their youtube channel you'll probably enjoy this too.

audiobook does come with a pdf of the maps if you want, though i found aside from a brief look at the map for each chapter, it wasn't really necessary to keep it open.

This book takes the reader from the Mongolian steppes of the 12th century right up to the middle of the 19th. I thought I was just getting an account of Kublai Khan's attempt at building a navy to conquer southern China. I got all that and lots more, including tales not only of the founding of the Yuan and Ming dynasties but also of the Tsing, explanations of the differences between seafaring traditions of the far east and Europe, and an account of how and why China saw fit to trade with and support the fledgling American republic. All of this because the author, while offering plenty of amusing details, maintained a view of the sea and the dominance over sea routes as a lens through which to view power. Highly recommend.

This is the second book in the first Foreigner trilogy, and one where Bren gets a little bit more agency than the first, where he is mostly kept in the dark.

It's a classic Foreigner book where the bulk of the book is careful, slowly building politics--internal Atevi ones, external mainland ones with Deana Hanks the temporary paidhi, and ones from the ship with its people imminently landing--all of which come together in a satisfying action sequence. I think this book is where the first trilogy really starts going, and sets up the third book which is probably my favorite of the three. It's the book where Bren starts to realize that his loyalty is truly more towards keeping the treaty and its peace than with the institute of his own state department that technically gives him the authority to do what he is doing.

I like the tension here with Bren's fiance Barb and the increasing romantic tension between Bren and Jago. Barb is absolutely incredibly emotionally immature, both pushing Bren away because the relationship is (understandably) not working for her but also asking for him back (because her new relationship isn't working either); I think it is a little over the top but it works because it's such a contrast with Atevi mindsets.

I said this in the first book, but I feel like this entire first trilogy is one where Illisidi is an independent wild card, where she has her own agenda and politics and Bren (and the reader) can never fully depend on her support and where her loyalties will lie.

Also extremely minor, but as touchpoints for future books, we also get our first pizza party, our first trip to the Taiben hunting lodge, and our first meeting with Tabini's fiancee Damiri.

I also really enjoyed volume 2. However, I should point out to others that, unlike the first volume, it contains a horror element. But I enjoyed the ride and the new alliances. Oh, and unlike in the last book, I was more attached to the human characters.

The epilogue is somewhat strange but optimistic. That's why I read sci-fi!

... sind schwarze Löcher deshalb, weil alle sie interessant finden, meint die Autorin. Ich kann ihr da nicht widersprechen. Das Buch ist unterhaltsam und verständlich geschrieben. Die von der Autorin angefertigten Illustrationen passen wunderbar dazu und auch die farbig gedruckten Photos sind toll. Ich kann jedem an Astronomie/ Astrophysik interessierten Menschen dieses Buch nur wärmstens empfehlen.