The pacing of the story improves with this collection, which was written decades after the original story, by a different author. I think both changes had an impact on how well the story works, especially with the character development and pacing. While the first one felt rushed and heavy-handed, this one takes a bit more time establishing the main characters and their struggles. It's still bleak, and is suggestive of future stories set in this world (which, I should add, I am very much in favor of seeing), but overall, it resonates more. I was pretty impressed.
