Let me preface this by saying that I have only dabbled with scifi. I read a ton of Heinlein in high school and some Philip K. Dick, but my literary leanings have always been more toward fantasy than scifi. So, I have some questions that I wanted to work through as well as a few comments.

• How possible is it that there are really "slow zones" in the universe? Is there any precedent to make us think that tech might work differently in the ways described in the book? I always imagined that parts of space might be influenced by the fields surrounding certain bodies, but not just, "oh this chunk of space is bad for tech."

• I love the Arthur C. Clarke concept of "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" and how it is used here. I'm specifically intrigued by the concept of thralls. I remember discussing with a friend the idea of a "power" being able to "game" you into following them and doing as they asked, but I can't really envision how that would work. Yes, they would have all of the right answers to manipulate you, but instantly? How would that work? More specifically

• Should I read the next one? I didn't really love the book. I needed to know what happened, but I didn't feel satisfied afterward. I found the Tines really interesting, but they distracted me from what I really wanted to know more about: the Blight. The Tines were worthy of a whole other book themselves! Spoiler Is it worth it to go on?