Book 2 of the Quantum Evolution series is an even bigger brain burner than the first one so don't pick this up unless your mind is in the right place. In The Quantum Magician, Belisarius pulled off the biggest con of his career and also walked away with the Time Gates, which could be the most valuable asset in the universe. He is back with Cassandra, the love of his life, and he has also possibly reached a new state of evolution for his sub-species, the Homo Quantus. He has managed to find a way to see the quantum possibilities of the universe without having to enter a fugue state, so things are looking pretty good for him. However, as he approaches the Garret, the home world of his people that he left long ago, he watches it get destroyed before his very eyes.
To make matters worse, he also knows that the destruction of the Garret is pretty much his fault. By using the unique capabilities of the Homo Quantus to pull off a caper that changed the military balance of the human universe, he made it clear that his people are no longer just a scientific oddity worthy of investment in by the banks. He proved that the Homo Quantus can be weaponized so the Congregate, who were on the wrong end of his caper in the first book, decided it is best to just eliminate them all. But Belisarius owns the Time Gates so he is not just going to accept the destruction of his people without a fight. He immediately decides to head back in time to prevent the devastation; however, he lacks the ability to go it alone, so he reaches out to a few of the characters from the first book to help make it happen. He doesn't get the whole band back together, but St. Matthew, Stills, and Iekanjika all play major roles and it makes for an entertaining time travel story full of quantum possibilities. This book can be heavy on the science at times and just as I was starting to get bored with the chase through 22-dimensional hyperspace Kunsken found a way to make it all come together and end in an entertaining way.
So if you enjoyed the first book then I highly recommend you pick this one up, but if all the quantum science is a turn off for you then don't even bother. I found it quite compelling and now that the characters are more well rounded I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series. T. Ryder Smith does another excellent job on the narration for the audiobook version.