I finished Too Like the Lighting on July 5th, and then the next day started reading it again from the beginning. It's now July 12th. The second read was slower and I'm glad I did it. It also made me raise the star rating from 4 to 5 stars. I've never done that before - finished a book and then read it again immediately.

Many reviewers have commented that the book is slow going or difficult to follow. I can't agree. Then again, maybe you shouldn't trust me. I'm one of these awful literary types and I've read continental philosophy. I've read Gravity's Rainbow and The Book of the New Sun is my favorite science fiction book series of all time. Although, once the sequel to Too Like the Lightning Comes out, maybe Terra Ignota will take its place. It's that good.

On the first read of this book, I focused on the world building. What a world! I was so busy that enjoying it that I missed a lot of subtle hints about the plot. On the re-read, a lot of off-hand comments took on deeper, and frankly deeply sinister meanings. I can't tell you more without spoiling this book. Other reviewers have done a good job talking about both the world-building and philosophy. All I can add is to tell you that there are a lot more layers here than you might think at first, even beyond the richness you can see right away.