It's the 22nd century, and the technology on Earth has progressed far past what any of us could imagine. People are now hybrids with computers, and the land you inhabit isn't nearly as important as the zone your mind is on. Which makes it a great target for hacking by terrorists. The Autumn Rain, in this case. They're out to destroy both the two superpower zones, along with the leaders who control them. Claire Haskell, the world's best razor, now sets out to warn the President of the United States, Andrew Harrison, of this treachery, before it's too late. But it's not long before she gets apprehended by the President's right hand man (known as the Hand) and joins forces with his men to save the President and the world as they know it. But is everything really as it seems?

Burning Skies, by David J. Williams, is the second book in the Autumn Rain trilogy. It was promised to be a book you could read alone, though, without having read its prequel, Mirrored Heavens. While it certainly was a thrilling book on its own, I feel like I missed out on so much back story by not reading the first book, especially towards the end. It seems that so much is left unsaid because it's already been said in another place. Since I haven't read the first book, though, I'm not sure whether this is a case of the author being so familiar with the world he created that he assumes everyone knows as much as he does, or if the world was really thoroughly created in the first book.

The characters aren't defined well enough in this book to really differentiate them. Many of the names are similar, and first names, last names, and nicknames are all interchanges throughout the book. The Operative is also Carson, Claire is Haskell and the Manlishi. The book is also written in such a way that it's sometimes very difficult to determine exactly who is speaking at any given time.

There's also the matter of the summary being very misleading. It seems as though everything that's mentioned on the back cover is done by the end of the first part, then completely turned around again after 20 pages. It's also not about Claire Haskell, though she does have a prominent role. So little attention is given to her in comparison to the other plot lines running through the novel that I'm left feeling unsatisfied at the end.

As far as the conspiracy goes, it's a convoluted mix of different loyalties sprung throughout the novel, which is the way Williams intended for it to be. It's enough to grab your attention for sure, but you may have to put the book down a few times to catch your breath at times as well.

I'm torn as to whether I want to read the first book or not; I feel as if I'll understand Skies better if I do, but it may be just as difficult to understand even with that background knowledge. Maybe after I get through a few lighter reads I'll chance Mirrored Heavens.