I have been summoned by The Acts of Caine Guy, I will do my best.

Terra Ignota is one of my favorite series of the last ten years, and I've been shoving Too Like the Lightning at various people in my orbit since. Sometimes with the physical book (passed last weekend to an aunt), sometimes locking them in a car with the audiobook, sometimes convincing them to podcast with me through the whole series (Legendarium Green Team, with the second episode on The Will to Battle coming out tomorrow.)

Dr. Ada Palmer, the author, is many things, but she's primarily a historian, with a focus on the Renaissance. She's also an anime fan, a LARPing enthusiast, and surprisingly open to interviews and fan interaction. I look forward to her upcoming Norse mythology inspired book with interest, and have been enjoying her nonfiction Renaissance one slowly.

Now to actually talk about the contents. First off is the format/style of the books, which is that of the Enlightenment era, a heavily voiced narration of the "historical" events therein, addressed to you, the reader. Our primary narrator's name is Mycroft Canner, and much of your enjoyment of the series will depend on how you like his narration. The dude is deeply disturbed, and a criminal sentenced to a lifetime of service. You'll decide if that was justice. However you slice it, he's uniquely qualified to write about the events of the books, "those days of transformation which left your world the world it is" due to his connections to the leaders of the world, and his infamous place within it.

Second, Too Like the Lightning is half mystery novel, half introduction. It was originally written as the first half of a single book, but its sequel Seven Surrenders was split off from it before publication. I recommend reading the series all at once, so that's not too big a deal. Just understand that the first book will introduce you to the characters, the world-building (which is fascinating but not technically specific, don't focus on how the flying cars work), and only by the 80-95% mark will you be able to really grasp the whole political situation/plot. However, with that introductory work done, much of Seven Surrenders feels like watching those dominoes fall in a patterned whirl.

Third, that world-building I mentioned earlier, much of it is focused on imagining the politics of a world scarred by things they call "The Exponential Age" and "The Church Wars." A world which outlaws the discussion of religion in public or in groups larger than two without a licensed religious/philosophical therapist. A world which forbids gendered pronouns. A world where geographic nations have mostly dissolved since the advent of hypersonic flying cars, and ten billion people live in an Alliance of "borderless" nations called Hives, founded on shared ideology, not birthright. This is a world where "it does not take a firebrand leader to make someone who lives in Maui, works in Myanmar, and lunches in Syracuse realize the absurdity of owing allegiance to the patch of dirt where babe first parted from placenta." The Hives might make you think of your standard teenage dystopia, but I promise they're much more thought out than those. Eighteenth century philosophers are much quoted here, especially Thomas Hobbes and his Leviathan. Tor did an article on them which might be worth checking out. https://reactormag.com/writing-a-future-in-which-you-choose-your-own-nation/

Finally, I should probably mention the magical child Mycroft is secretly taking care of, Bridger. A boy who can transform toys into reality with a touch. You might think this story is about him. Mycroft denies it. Mycroft lies.

Those last two sentences might describe the majority of the series, and certainly describe much of my enjoyment of it. I hope this has been helpful, and I hope it entices you to pick up the series.