I just remembered something about the first book that I completely forgot about until I read part two. There's a character named Vangelis (and the author's note mentions the band Vangelis) and one with the last name Sagan (after Carl Sagan) and a character with the nickname Tusk. The beginning chapter quotes are sometimes too on-the-nose and specific giving what is going to happen in the chapter you're about to read. They quoted a lyric from "Tusk" by Fleetwood Mac. That's a bit too...obvious. I mean, I'm all for putting in references to things you like in a science fiction book and given that the book was published in the early 1990s (putting the writing at least mid to late '80's) maybe it could stand to disguise some a little. I don't know. I think its kind of dorky.