I'm doing something a bit different today with this book review as I will be reviewing two books. This works because it is the last two books in the series and fall right on the heals of each other. It is very easy to discuss plot points and implications between the two books. I finished the two books in very short order both because they were quickly paced but also because I had lots of driving and project time during which I could listen. My overall impressions of the series is mixed. In the second book we see our first instance where we are led to believe that someone is dead but then it turns out that they aren't. This motif ran through the rest of the series and got to be more than little annoying. There are plenty of people who die in the book - it takes a rather apocalyptic turn in the last two books and we are placed in situations where millions of people die, but when a character who we believed to have died two books ago shows up I was just annoyed. On the flip side, I thought that many of the characters were very good - I was delighted with Eddy the Styx. Motivations made sense (for the most part) and the villains are truly villainous. There was weight to many of the decisions that were made and it showed that weight accordingly. All of those things I enjoyed. The things I didn't include the "coming back from the dead" mentioned above and many of the unresolved issues (dominion, the trio of New Germanians, what happens to the rest of the world, and most of the ending). The reveal at the end was gutsy, but I rolled with it moderately well. The series is certainly a science fiction story, even if it initially felt like an urban fantasy. Here is the Audible link to Spiral and here is the link to Terminal. They were narrated again by Steven Crossley, whose performance was very good. There were some sound edits that were very short (Sometimes it felt like they jumped viewpoints in a conversation), but it didn't happen often. All in all, I enjoyed the series but I know that I may not recommend to some people.
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Plot: With the team reunited on the surface and with a breathing space, thanks to the availability of a vaccine to the dominion virus, things take on an almost normal aspect. Granted, being on the Styx's most wanted list and learning combat techniques at the age of sixteen is hardly normal. Will, Chester, and Elliot fall into a new routine. However, they start to hear alarming reports of terrorist acts not just in England, but all over the world. Acts of terror carried out by British citizens. Attacks by New Germanian troops, suicide bombers targeting world leaders - it is clear that something is happening and the team is trying to find out what. With a little inside help they learn that the Styx are experiencing a period called The Phase where Styx women are able to create what is known as the Warrior Class - Ultimate soldiers who feel no emotion but are ruthless killing machines. Even if stopped, if The Phase is not completely and utterly eradicated it will trigger a second part to The Phase that will bring about the creation of the Armagi. With their name as the root of the word Armageddon, the Armagi can alter their form to adapt instantly to any environment, can reproduce inside human hosts, and are capable of regenerating if even a single finger is preserved. The team suits up under the direction of Perry as he calls in favors from his old days in the British Military. The raid is successful, up to a point. And that point triggers a true Armageddon. Britain is alone, despised by the other countries for acts of terrorism initiated by the Styx. London falls and the team must regroup and be prepared to travel to the center of the world and back again to see it through.
My personal favorites: I already covered these in regards to the whole series, but there were some other gems that I found. I loved Eddy. He is easily one of my favorite characters and I was even able to accept his motivations and designs. Drake continued to be a delight, and I also enjoyed the 2nd Officer. There was plenty of action and the science fiction parts were quite interesting as well. It's been a while since I've read a book that takes the story as far as this one did - and it took it as far as it could possibly go. It was a most interesting read and a great example of modern science fiction.
Considerations: The Phase, to put it bluntly, is disturbing. The Styx do not do anything that can't be found in nature in other species, but that does make it pleasant or any less gross than it is. The books remain free of overly graphic descriptions, but again, it doesn't have to be graphic to be disturbing. A very large number of people die in the book in rather gruesome ways, and while we are only exposed to the aftermath it might still be considered distasteful to some.
Overall, the series was interesting and quite different from anything I've recently read. I would not recommend it to anyone under the age of 16 simply because of the more disturbing elements of the Styxs and their rather disturbing practices. Both Spiral and Terminal were just over 12 hours in length each.
Plot: With the team reunited on the surface and with a breathing space, thanks to the availability of a vaccine to the dominion virus, things take on an almost normal aspect. Granted, being on the Styx's most wanted list and learning combat techniques at the age of sixteen is hardly normal. Will, Chester, and Elliot fall into a new routine. However, they start to hear alarming reports of terrorist acts not just in England, but all over the world. Acts of terror carried out by British citizens. Attacks by New Germanian troops, suicide bombers targeting world leaders - it is clear that something is happening and the team is trying to find out what. With a little inside help they learn that the Styx are experiencing a period called The Phase where Styx women are able to create what is known as the Warrior Class - Ultimate soldiers who feel no emotion but are ruthless killing machines. Even if stopped, if The Phase is not completely and utterly eradicated it will trigger a second part to The Phase that will bring about the creation of the Armagi. With their name as the root of the word Armageddon, the Armagi can alter their form to adapt instantly to any environment, can reproduce inside human hosts, and are capable of regenerating if even a single finger is preserved. The team suits up under the direction of Perry as he calls in favors from his old days in the British Military. The raid is successful, up to a point. And that point triggers a true Armageddon. Britain is alone, despised by the other countries for acts of terrorism initiated by the Styx. London falls and the team must regroup and be prepared to travel to the center of the world and back again to see it through.My personal favorites: I already covered these in regards to the whole series, but there were some other gems that I found. I loved Eddy. He is easily one of my favorite characters and I was even able to accept his motivations and designs. Drake continued to be a delight, and I also enjoyed the 2nd Officer. There was plenty of action and the science fiction parts were quite interesting as well. It's been a while since I've read a book that takes the story as far as this one did - and it took it as far as it could possibly go. It was a most interesting read and a great example of modern science fiction.
Considerations: The Phase, to put it bluntly, is disturbing. The Styx do not do anything that can't be found in nature in other species, but that does make it pleasant or any less gross than it is. The books remain free of overly graphic descriptions, but again, it doesn't have to be graphic to be disturbing. A very large number of people die in the book in rather gruesome ways, and while we are only exposed to the aftermath it might still be considered distasteful to some.
Overall, the series was interesting and quite different from anything I've recently read. I would not recommend it to anyone under the age of 16 simply because of the more disturbing elements of the Styxs and their rather disturbing practices. Both Spiral and Terminal were just over 12 hours in length each.
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