[2] Aurora Rising, Elysium Fire, and Machine Vendetta comprise the Prefect Dreyfus Emergencies series.

Random, unconnected citizens in the Glitter Band are "melting"—the neural implants in their heads rapidly overheating and frying their brains.

Leading the movement to secede is the mysterious Julius Devon Garlin Voi, who seems to have inside knowledge of what has been happening.

[3] Eric Brown of The Guardian praises Reynolds's world building for the novel, and his ability to populate the far-future technological societies with well rounded characters.

[4] Publishers Weekly says "the big concepts and complex story effectively pull readers into intriguing speculation about human identity and potential.