Science Fiction Book Review Podcast · Luke Burrage

SFBRP #558 – Micaiah Johnson – Those Beyond the Wall – Space Between Worlds #2

·44 min·3 clips

Luke says the main character is a gang boss with nothing else going on except violence and attraction.

1. Science Fiction Book Review Podcast covers Micaiah Johnson’s Those Beyond the Wall, the sequel to Space Between Worlds. 2. Luke Burridge hosts with Juliana, and both are talking as readers returning to a 2024 book after earlier coverage of Space Between Worlds. 3. The episode asks whether Those Beyond the Wall works as a follow-up when the first novel was already the stronger and more memorable book. 4. Luke compares his reread of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games to this sequel, using both books to think about what ages well. 5. He says The Hunger Games became culturally foundational for later YA dystopian fiction, including Twilight-style love triangles and Maze Runner-style survival stories. 6. That comparison leads him to argue that some books become so influential that their original mechanics stop feeling fresh on a later reread. 7. Luke then turns to Space Between Worlds and says he gave the earlier novel four and a half stars. 8. He notes that Those Beyond the Wall was published on March 12, 2024, and that he bought the audiobook months before he finally started it. 9. He says the sequel felt like it assumed he had just finished Space Between Worlds, even though he read the first book around 2021. 10. He describes repeated restarts because the book did not immediately clarify which universe, which character, or which point in time he was following. 11. Luke says it took roughly 20% of the book before the setting and viewpoint were made clear. 12. He identifies the viewpoint character as a gang boss with little beyond violence and attraction to two co-workers. 13. He says the story moves him into Ashtown, the city walls, and a criminal world that felt minor in the first novel. 14. He argues that the sequel strips out the fun of the original multiverse setup, where characters like Cara and Adam gave the first book its tension. 15. Luke says the science-fiction machinery of crossing worlds becomes background material instead of the core engine of the story. 16. He also says the audiobook ran 15 hours and 17 minutes, and he quit after about 40% because the book stayed angry without developing beyond that mood. 17. The tone of the discussion is blunt, analytical, and increasingly frustrated as Luke works through why the sequel lost him. 18. The format is a conversational review, with Juliana asking clarifying questions and Luke building a long-form critique from reading history, audiobook attempts, and outside reviews. 19. People who want a detailed critique of Space Between Worlds and sequel drift would get a lot from this episode. 20. People looking for a spoiler-light, enthusiastic endorsement of Those Beyond the Wall should probably skip it.

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