Epic ending to what has been an exceptional series

This is the final book in the series and follows on from the events of book 2, in which Syl revealed the full extent of powers to the Nairene Sisterhood, not only killing Grandmage Oriel, but showing her power to the Others. As her Father and Syrene are about to wed, Syrene’s ‘Gifted’, those few students of the Sisterhood with unique psychic abilities, move through the guests and systematically murder every guest that is opposed to the Diplomatic Corp or the Sisterhood, in incredibly brutal fashion. Syl comes across this, and stops them, unleashing raw power that no one has ever seen before, taking out all of the Gifted, with the exception of Ani, who of course wasn’t a part of it.
Paul Kerr had come to the wedding to rescue her, and together, with a small band, they escape, but they are pursued, and with no hope of escape from the pursuing ships, they take the only route available to them, jumping into the Derith Wormhole from which no one has ever been seen again. At the end of book 2, Paul, Syl, Steven, as well as the two Mechs, Alis and Meia, and Paul’s Brigade crew, Thula and Rizzo have disappeared through the wormhole, and Ani is now alone with the Sisterhood.
At the start of Book 3, multiple events have taken place, and the galaxy is now a different place. Earth has been given to the Others, with all but a few of the Illyri (those deemed unworthy), having been taken from the planet, and the spores of the Others unleashed on the population for them to feed on. A small group of rebels on Earth has been lucky enough to find an Illyri bunker, thanks to some help from Meia, and are hidden away, but otherwise, Earth is lost.
We also learn that the crew of the Nomad, Paul, Steven, Syl, Thula, Rizzo, Alis and Meia, are not dead, but in fact in the presence of a massive alien ship, and without giving too much away, they come across a new species, the Cayth, who have been hiding in this wormhole for a long time from the Others, destroying any ship that comes through that has an Other on board. Whilst they do get some assistance from the Cayth, they also learn that the wormhole has a time distortion affect due to the presence of a blackhole, meaning time passes a lot faster on the other side of the wormhole that on their side. Although they make it back through the wormhole, this time dilation has some significant impacts for the crew and the story (I am not going to give away spoilers)
Ani in the meantime, is left at the Sisterhood, alone, with no allies, or friends. However, she is aware that there are bad things going on within the Sisterhood, and so she continues her plan to rise through the ranks, attain power, and clean house, as she promised she would to Syl when they first joined.
This book also looks at the impact of the Illyri civil war between the Diplomatic Core and the Military (and to a large extent, the Sisterhood). We get to see the stories of Captain Peris and Lord Danis, who are now prisoners, having been taken off of Earth at the last minute as prisoners of war.
This is a fascinating third book in the series, with a multi-faceted storyline, covering not just the main characters, but also covering the various aspects of the Illyri inner workings, the political conflict between the Diplomatic Corp and the Military, as well as the intrigue of the Sisterhood and how they influence the constant power struggles. Earth is not forgotten either, and we follow the plight of the few who remain on a world that is now infested by the Others and their harvesting process.
The world building is brilliant, covering multiple different planets (what becomes of Earth is both apocalyptic, but so incredibly terrifying, so well done), Avila Minor, the home world of the Nairene Sisterhood is just fascinating. The descriptive work of the Cayth, the Others, and so much more I won’t mention, is all exceptional.
The character growth in this book is also brilliant. We see Syl continuing to mature, and develop these incredible powers, that even she is not sure of how to control, let alone anyone else. The Kerr boys have grown into capable leaders, and the relationships they have, Steven with the Mech Alis, and Paul with Syl, are beautifully written.
The development of the Mechs in this story, their personalities, their story and their history has been such an outstanding part of this series, touching on so many moral and ethical points – the rights of sentient machines, and their right to a belief system.
Overall, this third and final book in the series is just epic, and if you have read either of the first, you have to read this last one. If you haven’t read this series, it is absolutely worth the effort, as it develops into such an intriguing politically motivated story, that has all these exceptional storylines and just extraordinary characters wrapped in the utterly outstanding (and at times, terrifying) world-building. Best of all, this is a final book that leaves you satisfied with the conclusion of the series, which is always something that is so important with a series like this.
Nathalie Buscombe is the 3rd Narrator for this series, with a different one for each book. At first, I was a bit worried that this was going to make it difficult to listen to, as you get used to characters having particular voices, and the first 2 Narrators had done a great job of keeping a similar set of voices for all of the Main Characters. But Buscombe does a brilliant job, not only having a beautiful narrating voice that is so nice to listen to, but she does a fantastic set of voices that are almost identical to those in the first books, allowing for an easy transition, and making it easy to pick up with a new narrator for the series. She has a great range of male and female voices, all easily identifiable as belonging to their character, and on top of this, she really captures the emotion of the characters, so you understand how they are feeling at that moment (sad, happy, angry, scared). Buscombe does a wonderful job, well worth the listen!

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