Ascension

I am...not pleased with this book. Objectively, there is nothing wrong with it, still good writing and likable characters - but too many choices that were made for the book are ones I personally feel was detrimental to my enjoyment of the story.

First, let's talk about the things I did like.

- I do like the characters - even if that isn't without it caveats.
- The writing is the same easy to read, snappy dialogue that I've gotten used to.
- Basically everyone is bi/pan and there is a poly triad romance here. (And poly marriages are totally a thing!)

Now, the things I didn't like.

- The characters caused me a lot of problems, because the ones this story is about aren't ‘our' iteration's version. The Marty we follow is not Edward's Marty. The main characters in this story share names, but they aren't the same people, so for half the book I was trying to get attached to them, when I really missed the ones we followed for the first three books. I did, eventually get attached to them, but the final book in the series is not the time to be introducing new heroes and new villains. (Because the villains are ones that, save the ‘big bad,' were never even mentioned before.) (I could also talk about not one, but two character glossaries at the beginning of the book, but I won't.)

- The first 30 pages skips 13 years. ... This contributed to me taking so long to actually care about the people because I hate time skips with a passion.

- The only relationship that is worth anything is a romantic relationship. Look, the whole series trended that way, but the way this book refuses for anyone to be without at least one lover/love interest ... Marty and Jake do have moments where they are being brothers, but every single conversation they had was about one or both of their love interests. (Okay, I don't know that's true, but it sure felt that way.) People don't have friendships. They have people they want to have sex with.

- Jennifer? Trevor? Nope. (Which kind of goes back to the issue with introducing basically a whole new cast of characters for the final book. Important players of the previous ones no longer matter.) (Side note: I think we saw Annette once.)

- The whole villain/plot reveal thing-y. Look, I guess you could say something was hinted at in the third book. (Third?) But, in truth, this was something that I never got hints or foreshadowing on and... I don't love it. (I think I could have, with at least hints that it was headed in that direction.) Over all, I miss Gifford as the villain. (At least he wasn't a whole new convoluted society that we had to remember who people were and what their connections were to each other.


Okay, look, I don't regret finishing the series. Maybe someday I'll even want to reread it. (I'd probably stop at the first two books, to be honest.) And, this was not the worst book I read this year. Nor was it the worst series finale I read this year. Nor was it the worst series finale of a sci-fi series with heavy MLM elements that I read this year. (If you want me to get really specific.)