Morning Star

Morning Star wraps up the original trilogy and it does so… fine. That's kind of the most honest thing I can say about this series as a whole — it's fine. It does what it sets out to do.

The finale goes big. Full-scale rebellion, a cast that's grown considerably across three books, and Brown swinging for emotional payoff on storylines that have been building since the first chapter. Some of it works. There are moments here that hit harder than anything in the previous two books, and I'll give it credit for not taking the easy way out on every beat.

But there's also a sameness to it all by this point. The formula is familiar — Darrow gets knocked down, Darrow gets back up, someone monologues about blood and bone and rising. Three books in, the mechanics are showing.

I finished it, which says something. I'm not rushing to pick up the follow-on series, which says something else. If you've made it this far you'll want to see it through — the ending is satisfying enough to justify the time you've already put in. Just don't go in expecting a conclusion that changes how you think about the genre.

It's a decent trilogy. I read all three and I don't regret it. That might be the review.