I borrowed an audio copy of Aurora’s End*, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff through my local library. I reviewed books one and two, here.
Is this the end?
What happens when you ask a bunch of losers, discipline cases, and misfits to save the galaxy from an ancient evil? The ancient evil wins, of course.
Wait. . . . Not. So. Fast.
When we last saw Squad 312, they were working together seamlessly (aka, freaking out) as an intergalactic battle raged and an ancient superweapon threatened to obliterate Earth. Everything went horribly wrong, naturally.
But as it turns out, not all endings are endings, and the team has one last chance to rewrite theirs. Maybe two. It’s complicated.
Cue Zila, Fin, and Scarlett (and MAGELLAN!): making friends, making enemies, and making history? Sure, no problem.
Cue Tyler, Kal, and Auri: uniting with two of the galaxy’s most hated villains? Um, okay. That, too.
Actually saving the galaxy, though?
Now that will take a miracle.
I didn’t dislike this, but I also didn’t enjoy it anywhere near as much as the first two books (especially book one). Fin was one of my favorite characters and I admit to wishing he got more screen time here (in the book with him on the cover).
Similarly, what I so enjoyed about book one was the interplay between all of the characters. Here, they’re split into three grouping and don’t come together until the very end. I appreciated how each of their storylines wrapped around and became pertinent to the ending. But I missed seeing them all together, missed their humor and sarcasm.
Lastly, I was simply bored for the first half of this book. The second half had a bit more going for it (and even made me cry a little). But being bored for the first 5 or 6 hours of an audio book is hard to overcome. Plus, I thought the solution to the Ram problem was incredibly pat. I was not thrilled with the ending.
Having said all that, I did still like the overall sarcastic tone of the book, appreciated the amount of growth in the characters, and the narrative cast did a good job.
* N
Other Reveiws:
https://cupsandthoughts.com/2021/12/04/non-spoiler-book-review-auroras-end-by-amie-kaufman-and-jay-kristoff/