War of the Soulites 3: Extinction by Natasha Bennett
Series: War of the Soulites
Publisher: Lyrical Press, 2012
Genre: Science fiction
Sub-genre: Military
Rating: 3 pint of blood
I actually like the cover art here quite a lot. It's simple, it's eye-catching, and the tone-on-tone look is very well done. Is the earth made out of glowy yellow smoke or flames? I'm not sure, but either way it speaks of doom in the most stylish way possible.
As you may have guessed given the title, this is the third book in the War of the Soulites trilogy. It's really not intended to be a stand-alone book, and this review will contain spoilers for the previous two volumes. If it catches your fancy and you haven't had a chance to look at the other two books, you may want to check out my review for book one or book two.
Extinction picks up right where Ouroboros left off, with the fallout of the Vigilant's destruction. Ajalan, the Bocca captain, discovers a human reading on one of the Soulite ships while the Vigilant's survivors start trying to put themselves back together. Daily survival is a struggle until hope arrives in the form of a couple of crew members previously presumed dead.
Meanwhile, the Soulites have begun their assault on Earth, and millions of people are now dead or dying. The people of the Vigilant may be the human race's last chance... although they might want to see if they can procure themselves a new ship first, before they take on their final suicidal mission.
I feel like I'm being coy with such a vague plot summary, but the fact of the matter is at this point in the story (and all three books really are one continuing story, not just a series of episodes in the lives of continuing characters), and it's difficult to discuss without giving away spoilers, especially considering how many characters we're now invested in. Some of the surprises happen early on, as the reader discovers who's lived and who hasn't.
As may be noted from my previous reviews, I really enjoyed the ideas presented in this series. The first novel gave us two protagonists with opposing worldviews, and the book didn't jump to declare one was right and the other wrong. Book two gave us a deeper look into the characters' backstories, showing us some of the reasons they felt the way they did, and allowed them to not only respect each other but sympathize and understand where the other is coming from. Since this has all been done before getting to book 3, we're mostly left with wrapping things up. There aren't really any new discoveries to make or new friendships to forge. We have our cast of characters, we know them pretty well, and now all we have to do is watch them play things out.
There's a lot going on in War of the Soulites: Extinction, and while the pace moves along at a good clip, at times it feels like there's a lot of filler going on. There's always something going on, some new conflict breaking out, and often several at the same time... but I started to feel like things were being stretched out more than they needed to be in order to make the wordcount. Unfortunately, some of the stilted language I noted in book 1 was back, too, and I'm just the kind of reader to find that distracting.
The biggest question, though, is whether or not we're provided a satisfying conclusion to the story that's been building over the course of several books. There's nothing easy about it, but it's not exactly a downer, either. The stakes are high, the risks are high, and not all the characters walk away, giving the potential of a bittersweet ending, and I have to give kudos to Bennett for not trying to tie everything up with a neat bow. We don't so much get an ending as a chance for a new beginning, and I think we close off with the only way the story could have ended.
War of the Soulites: Extinction is available as an e-book
. My copy was generously provided by the author.
Publisher: Lyrical Press, 2012
Genre: Science fiction
Sub-genre: Military
Rating: 3 pint of blood
I actually like the cover art here quite a lot. It's simple, it's eye-catching, and the tone-on-tone look is very well done. Is the earth made out of glowy yellow smoke or flames? I'm not sure, but either way it speaks of doom in the most stylish way possible.
As you may have guessed given the title, this is the third book in the War of the Soulites trilogy. It's really not intended to be a stand-alone book, and this review will contain spoilers for the previous two volumes. If it catches your fancy and you haven't had a chance to look at the other two books, you may want to check out my review for book one or book two.
Extinction picks up right where Ouroboros left off, with the fallout of the Vigilant's destruction. Ajalan, the Bocca captain, discovers a human reading on one of the Soulite ships while the Vigilant's survivors start trying to put themselves back together. Daily survival is a struggle until hope arrives in the form of a couple of crew members previously presumed dead.
Meanwhile, the Soulites have begun their assault on Earth, and millions of people are now dead or dying. The people of the Vigilant may be the human race's last chance... although they might want to see if they can procure themselves a new ship first, before they take on their final suicidal mission.
I feel like I'm being coy with such a vague plot summary, but the fact of the matter is at this point in the story (and all three books really are one continuing story, not just a series of episodes in the lives of continuing characters), and it's difficult to discuss without giving away spoilers, especially considering how many characters we're now invested in. Some of the surprises happen early on, as the reader discovers who's lived and who hasn't.
As may be noted from my previous reviews, I really enjoyed the ideas presented in this series. The first novel gave us two protagonists with opposing worldviews, and the book didn't jump to declare one was right and the other wrong. Book two gave us a deeper look into the characters' backstories, showing us some of the reasons they felt the way they did, and allowed them to not only respect each other but sympathize and understand where the other is coming from. Since this has all been done before getting to book 3, we're mostly left with wrapping things up. There aren't really any new discoveries to make or new friendships to forge. We have our cast of characters, we know them pretty well, and now all we have to do is watch them play things out.
There's a lot going on in War of the Soulites: Extinction, and while the pace moves along at a good clip, at times it feels like there's a lot of filler going on. There's always something going on, some new conflict breaking out, and often several at the same time... but I started to feel like things were being stretched out more than they needed to be in order to make the wordcount. Unfortunately, some of the stilted language I noted in book 1 was back, too, and I'm just the kind of reader to find that distracting.
The biggest question, though, is whether or not we're provided a satisfying conclusion to the story that's been building over the course of several books. There's nothing easy about it, but it's not exactly a downer, either. The stakes are high, the risks are high, and not all the characters walk away, giving the potential of a bittersweet ending, and I have to give kudos to Bennett for not trying to tie everything up with a neat bow. We don't so much get an ending as a chance for a new beginning, and I think we close off with the only way the story could have ended.
War of the Soulites: Extinction is available as an e-book
. My copy was generously provided by the author.