Having the background of The Drafter helped with understanding the technology and other things that confused me in the first book. I was still a touch frustrated with how selfish and power-hungry people were and how they kept fixating on Peri, but I realized she's as much a prisoner of herself as anything else. Theoretically she could have walked away at any point, but she kept fighting because she's an adrenaline junkie. The connections to the prequel novella are also clearer in this book and things regarding the plan to take down Opti are much better explained.