Murder Primates
A fittingly epic finale to this first-class series. What a journey we embarked on; I enjoyed every juice-assisted click.
The authors delivered their best writing of the series here. The escalating descriptions of the consciousness-altering plan, coupled with the attacks from the Others, are original, terrifying, and brilliant.
They also rekindled some of the essence of Book 1, highlighting how our monkey nature limits us from comprehending the wonder and majesty of the universe and our tiny (but important!) place within it.
As usual, there are moments of great levity amidst the death and danger. Calling humans "murder primates" and a "species of beautiful idiots" is both accurate and significant to the plot! A great cameo from our hat waring friend too.
Perhaps most importantly for a huge series, they nailed the ending. It is bittersweet, with some expected and some surprising conclusions. People die, this feels right. Most threads are left somewhat open, which is fitting. It's not a happily-ever-after scenario, just like life isn't. You feel for the characters and the long interstellar life we shared with them. The lived, grew, loved and reflected the best and worst of the species - the fight was to preserve it warts in all compared to a glorious future where we would have been not quite human. A decision we may have to face sooner than anticipated right here on earth!