Fine conclusion to a fine series
924050
"Operation Fishwrapper" concludes Mr. Grasso's fictionalized account of the American campaign on New Guinea.  His hero, Jock Miles, has a lame leg incurred in a previous volume, but nevertheless goes back into the field to try to improve the maps our troops were using -- maps so awful the Japanese were using them merely as fishwrappers.  Jock has the usual encounters with Japanese troops and his own higher echelons, and apart from the excellent portrayals of American troops in an unforgiving environment, Mr. Grasso has pretty much exhausted what the New Guinea campaign had to offer.  Although he termed it an alternative history, that description would be more apt if Jock were to eventually be sent to a campaign in the Japanese home islands, a campaign that Hiroshima and Nagasaki rendered unnecessary.  This entire series was an outstanding contribution to WWII PTO fiction.
3978497
A satisfying, but too tidy, conclusion to this trilogy. This series is worth your time!
948794
4.5 stars

Wonderful conclusion to an interesting story. Throughout the books the author does a good job of packing important details and character development into very little words. The installments aren't very long, but they're all meaningful and very well-written.

If you don't mind having to buy three books in order to get a complete story, this is a story worthy reading.

I received an ARC of this book, via Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review.
3653685
The long war is finally nearing what appears to be its' end. Noone who is in the CSN expected they would have survived this long. The Pandorans are coming and, they are coming full force. They are an empire too vast to fail and yet;  the last of the Terrans are going to try to stop them. Outnumbered by odds too massive to count they only know that they would rather die than be subjected to such a life as the Pandorans lead.
  Sweeney finishes up the series in fine style with no story unfinished. Very nicely done. Read the first and second of the series first. They are worth the read.
3714357
THE FLAMES OF SHADAM KHOREH brings Beaulieu's series to a satisfying close. That's not to say that everything is wrapped up and tied neatly with a bow, or that everyone survives the climactic ending. It isn't, and they don't; these add to the nuance and depth of Beaulieu's work. The story sticks with you long after you've finished reading. This series is for readers who like to finish a book shaken but satisfied. It's epic fantasy that gets its hands dirty.
2556288
The end of an excellent series.  Non-stop action, characters I cared about, interesting plot twists, delightfully evil primary villain.  You have to read the prior ones to understand this one, though.
2525286
A truly great final book that ends the series properly. It ties up loose ends and also lays groundwork for the next book series.
4684656
This is an intriguing and satisfying conclusion to the series, all of which I have read. This book has a gradual build-up to a transformative event, after which the story picks up pace. It is told through the eyes of Angie, Starlight's friend, who turns out to be not as dumb as even she thinks she is. We see the development of Eden's society, and the narrative glue that holds its groups together (and which sets them at war with each other). There is a profound understanding of the roots of religious belief and its function within human societies, as well as an appreciation of its delusional qualities. There is a continuation of the theme of gender and how patriarchal authority arises, is sustained and can be undermined. The story, as do those of all the Eden books, touches too on the theme of what it is to be a leader. This final book is also revealing about the nature of politics and diplomacy in conflict resolution. Above all, it reveals what happens when different cultures meet, particularly if there are feelings of inferiority and superiority involved. It is all very sociological and psychological, within the context of a great read. I am only sad that it seems I have to leave this world now, as the author has, I suppose, finished his wonderful trilogy.
4573737
This is the well-executed conclusion to her "Lescari Revolution" trilogy. IRONS IN THE FIRE described the setup in the territory of Lescar, ruled by half a dozen dukes who all aspire to become king of Lescar and are constantly warring with each other in various combinations, resulting in the deaths of lots of the younger men who've been drafted into fighting, and the impoverishment of Lescar by their heavy taxation to hire mercenaries who do most of the serious fighting, and who also prey on the common people. And continued with the efforts of a group of expatriate Lescaris to hire their own mercenary army to end the power of the dukes and set up a more equitable government for Lescar. BLOOD IN THE WATER tells of the campaign against the dukes that ends with three dukes killed and their families in custody, two of them in exile, and only one still in control of his duchy. And finally, this book tells of how the general of the mercenaries leads his troops back to another war in another part of the world, leaving Tathrin - who started the trilogy as a young expatriate scholar, but has become an effective military leader - in charge of what's left of the army (all Lescari, including some former mercenaries and mostly new recruits), and Aremil - the crippled but highly intelligent oldest son of one of the exiled dukes, and one of the original expat cabal - to work out what kind of government would make sense for the newly liberated realm, and then convince enough people to adopt it. First, Tathrin has to clean up some residual problems: a collection of renegade mercenaries who formerly worked for one or another of the dukes has taken over one of the major market towns as a base, and is raiding extensively throughout the central part of Lescar; a rabble-rouser (sort of a Robespierre type) who led a popular uprising in one of the duchies is trying to bring that whole duchy under his personal dictatorship; the two exiled dukes are trying to bring the two neighboring realms of Caladhria and Tormalin into Lescar to restore them to power; an agent of the duke in Caladhria is recruiting idle mercenaries to raid into Lescar, capturing civilians and taking them to the coast to sell into slavery in Aldabreshin; and the surviving duke in power needs to be taken out of the picture. And all this gets fixed by the end of the book, although there's always the possibility that something might yet blow up if she wants to do another book in the series. I'd guess not, though. I really like McKenna's books; she's created a world with a lot of complexity, and has now written 12 books in three different series that more or less overlap in time, with many characters appearing in more than one of the series, though none has been a major character in more than one. Still, it's fun to run across an old friend who was major in one series as a minor one in another, and vice versa. I've never seen any of these books in bookstores, though the SFBC did publish the first five-book series and the first book of the second before dropping her. Fortunately, the paperbacks of the later books are easily found on Amazon. I highly recommend this trilogy, but read the books in order because the later ones don't stand alone.
1884206
It was a very good conclusion to the series of 5 books written by Michael Wallace. Some of the plots twists were predictable, but some were not. Overall, it was a fitting end to a good series of stories, and left the door open for future installments based off of the characters introduced in this tome.
3662185
An apt conclusion to a fun series.  I found it a bit hurried and telling in places, but Mathias' zest behind his story makes for a fun read. The first two books in this trilogy are a must read before tackling this book.
1930947
I really enjoyed this series. Book 1 was great. Book 2 seemed to drag on a little for me, but still kept my interest.  Book 3 seemed to get back into the pace of the first one.  A good way to end the series.  Well thought out and satisfying ending(which is difficult to do in a series sometimes).
3043666
This is the satisfying conclusion to this Legacy series, which is an offshoot of the television series, Stargate Atlantis (which left many matters unresolved).  I liked this book. Many ongoing plot threads were finally woven through, if not tied off, leaving the potential for some sequels, building further on the Wraith retrovirus, Sateda, etc.

I have some quibbles, but they are fairly minor: There were a few times when a character breached (Teyla would not have told Ronan what she did). Also, the epic celestial battle between Queen Death's hive ships and the Allied space ships went on too long.

But happy endings all around. Nice!

Update: there's another new sequel, called STARGATE ATLANTIS: Unascended.
1476164
Modesitt continues his fine work with Scepters, the final chapter of the Corean Chronicles Trilogy.

 The writing and plot continues to develop as Alucius and his wife Wendra learn about their powers.

 This book is different from the other books as Alucius is promoted to a majer and is responsible for 3 companies of lancers. The larger scale responsibility challenges Alucius' leadership, but as always he responds with his best effort.

 His relationship with his wife Wendra is true love but quite bland. On the other hand his relationship with his executive officer Feran is wonderful. Modesitt captures the camraderie of brothers in arms and the graveyard cynicism of veteran troopers.

 One problem I had was Wendra leaping into battle with her young daughter in a carry sack. I found that hard to believe but that was the only problem I had with the book.

 A very enjoyable world and characters and I would highly recommend this series.
2413392
I have enjoyed the previous 3 books in this series. This final book is maintaining the interest and is very readable.
2102407
Great Ending to a wonderful series.  While the author left the door open for more adventures all the plot lines I was invested in wrapped up nicely in this last installment.
4288353
This is a fine and creative tale. Nix creates a believable fantasy world and populates it with compelling characters in the Castle. The series is concluded in a satisfying fashion, consistent with what we've learned about the characters and what has gone before. These are engaging characters, and drama is blended with action to provide a well rounded read.

The only problem is, I'm not sure this is a six book worthy story. If you are really a fan of these characters and this story, it's certainly fine to read all six books. If time or money is at a premium, or if you can't easily track down the entire set, you could actually read book one, ("The Fall"), book two, ("Castle"), and then this book six, ("The Violet Keystone"), and follow everything perfectly well. Then you can move on to other great Nix books, like the Keys to the Kingdom series.