What can I say - another half a star because when it's going well I just love his style. I didn't get on with Gap #1 but I'm glad I picked up this last one. Only falls down when the time comes for some action - luckily right near the end of this long book. While it is about the internal life of each character, how that translates into speech and actions and the affects of each character on each other then it is riveting. Battles are boring. The wrapping up is pretty poor as well but it's only a few pages compared to the hundreds of pages of brilliance that led to that point. ( )

What a series. It's finally done. I'm really glad that I made the decision to re-read the series and finish up the last book. This book was the only book in the series that wasn't a reread for me.

The conclusion was satisfying and wrapped up the story in grand opera fashion. Everyone had their appropriate end with one exception.

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Angus Thermopyle. In the just world, he would have died with Fasner and his yacht would have been destroyed. But, Angus lives on as a super pirate "working for the UMPC". There's something profoundly wrong with that after his life of depravity and evil. His forced redemption as a wired human doesn't make up for what he did to Morn, Davies or Marc Vestabule.

I suppose it's a twist on the normal plotting, but everyone else had such a deserved conventional ending that his stuck out as a sour note.

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I get the need to explain what had happened before, but it got a bit repetitive in this book. Much of the dialogue could have been trimmed back in this massive volume. Still, it was good to see history various eyes.

The battles remained a strong point in this book. The characters were well drawn and multifaceted.

By the fifth book my love for many of them had grown so strong - Particularly Vector Shaheed in his weakened, arthritic middle-age amid his claims of cowardice. He was the strongest of them all, no matter what his claim.

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I wanted to forgive Angus, but couldn't. I wanted Morn to walk away from Min Donner, but she didn't. I mourned for Pup in a way that Mikka couldn't. I was happy that Davies found his own voice.

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End of spoiler

I would have given anything for someone to punch Hashi right in his fucking face.

This series isn't for everyone. It's certainly not for anyone who can't handle books that refuse to flinch away from violence and abuse, including rape. It's not for people who can't handle women who use their sexuality as a weapon or a tool. It's not a book that excuses doing bad things for the right reasons or doing good things for the wrong reasons. It is a book that shows there are consequences for every action you take and those consequences can be dire. ( )

One of the most fun and exciting adventure scifi series I have ever read. Very smart and complex, but also written with clarity and easy readable style. The series is absolutely sequential- one needs to read them in proper sequence in order to get the most from them. Characters you can cheer, bad guys you love to hate, and a lot of soul searching between. Lots of action, lots of political intrigue, lots of emotional crisis, lots of surprises. Ties up everything nicely without being too predictable. ( )

Magnificent. Mr. Donaldson never ceases to amaze me. ( )

Brilliant! ( )