Domination- ♥♥♥♥

Oz getting kicked out I can kind of understand. Kind of. What bothered me though was how easily he got back in. If all it took was a phone call from Grandpa McAllister why didn't it happen sooner? I wished we would’ve have seen more development from Oz. His father was corrupt, killed several people, and tried to kill his best friend. More of that should have come through. I guess some of it could have been the perspective we were given, but I still wished there was more we had seen.

The patrols were interesting to watch, but also very sad. The level of destruction around was intense. I think the only character that truly acknowledged that was Dani. She felt better to me in this book than in Alienation, but I still wish she could have improved more. Her acknowledgement of the devastation was the biggest redeeming quality of hers in this book.

The repeated failed simulation attempts were bothersome. It seems like they failed in extreme and thorough ways. I think Lewis took that too far. These are the kids that need to be the saviors of the world... maybe give them a better look than miserable failings. Failing I get. If it looked easy the book wouldn't be interesting, and it would be extremely unrealistic.

The invasion of the academy was really well written. Colt going after Lily first came across as very authentic. Finding Pierce instead and working with him to get through it all was an important moment for Colt. It really put everything in perspective. I think finding Captain Starling was more than sobering. The carnage hit really close to home for him again.

When they set off to Jonas's home town I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought he could be Thule or maybe his parents were famous… Who knows. Finding that community of Thule posed so many challenges. I wasn’t sure where it was all going to go, but I knew I didn't like the Mayor. The invasion there was expected. What I took from that entire section of the story (combined with lots of scenes with Glyph) was Lewis was making a stand about race and acceptance. The Thule were always the bad guys, but then... they weren't. Some of them just wanted to survive. I think that speaks a great deal toward judging someone on their character over all else.

This leads to Rhane. Rhane put himself on the line to help humanity survive. Hell, he died for it. Until the last little bit I wasn't sure how I felt about him. He was gruff and a little intense. When he showed up to help Colt off the transport, I decided he was probably a good guy. He was just an intense soldier fighting for what he believed was right.

Gathmara seemed really cool. It would have been awesome to see more of it! Even as a dying planet it was quite impressive. Rhane believed it could be saved, and I hope it is restored to what it was before. It would have been nice to learn a little more about the animals and such there, but that wasn't the point of the story so I understand why it was left out.

Ok, the showdown... the buildup was intense. The prisoner transport, fighting through Koenig's trackers, the trek through the vile water, soldiers marching in the streets only to be hit with a Molotov cocktail, the watcher attack, the men in the hallway, and Koenig's last offer to Colt.... then it all ends when Colt essentially trips Koenig and he falls to his death? That was a pretty disappointing finale. It was all of a page. So much more could've been done.

The final scene was fitting. Lily has grown on me, and I'm glad her and Colt are together. Dani and Oz seemed to have admitted they want to date. I didn't like it at first, but they are cute together, and I'm ok with it. The Phantom Flyer thing is kind of silly, but it looks like they are all going to be doing it together. So I guess it's kind of silly in a good way. Something to lighten the mood between official and dangerous missions.

Overall, I liked it. The book and the series. I'm glad I stopped by the library on a whim to look around!