Dang! I really, really hate to read the last book in a trilogy! That obviously means it’s all over. Sometimes they end like the should and sometimes they don’t. For this one, the ending was good, but disappointing that the story won’t continue. Oh, yeah, the author mentions he might carry-on with some of the same characters in this setting, but the one main character, Captain Jackson Wolfe, is retiring. Yeah, it’s surprising that he’s still alive to do so.
The Black Fleet, including the Ninth Squadron, and the rest of the Confederation fleet have fled back to Earth to try and figure out what to do next. After the fall of Haven and the destruction of Jericho Station, the only person left to organize anything is Admiral Marcum. Why he is still in charge is beyond my understanding. He and the Confederation President went hiding in a hidden system on the plane known as the Ark. They were willing to let the rest of humanity die at the hands or ships of the Phage. Now, Admiral Marcum has emerged and still wants to be in-charge of the Confederate Fleet. Since apparently there aren’t any other Admirals with guts enough to challenge him, he’s getting his way. Captain Jackson Wolfe, leery of getting promoted to Admiral and stuck behind a desk, is very willing to let Admiral Marcum stay in place.
So, Admiral Marcum orders the rag-tag Confederate Fleet to collect in the DeLonges System so ships needing repairs can do so at the New Sierra Shipyards. Admiral Marcum decides that they will go out and face the Phage and end this one way or another. Unfortunately, he has no idea where to meet the Phage, but he’s sure that he doesn’t have enough ships in the entire human fleet to defeat this enemy. Then Colonel Blake makes a stunning statement that he knows were the main collection of the Phage is staged.
Then Colonel Blake also informs Captain Wolfe and Admiral Marcum that astoundingly, the Vruahn want to meet face-to-face with Captain Wolfe. They haven’t said why or how come, they just want him to come and talk with them. So, he boards Col Blake’s ship and they go to where the Vruahn wants to meet.
So, what is it that the Vruahn want to tell Captain Wolfe that they couldn’t tell Col Blake or even Admiral Marcum. It is something significant, but it doesn’t come easy and there are strings attached with the information they provide. Still, the ultimate goal is the eradication of the Phage. The Vruahn are extreme pacifist. They can’t even think of destroying another race and the very thought of fighting another entity is very repulsive to them. So, that’s where the humans come into play. We do what they won’t, but at what cost?
This is a very good third and final book. I like the way the author writes. While there wasn’t as much action in this book as the others, it make some sense as things are getting figured out. Captain Jackson Wolfe is very, very smart and a little to hard on himself. And lastly, I’ve got to believe that Lieutenant Davis should be one pissed off Officer! Why she hasn’t or wasn’t promoted a long time ago is beyond me. She’s Captain Wolfe’s XO while Lieutenant Commander Barrett is still the Tactical Officer, an Officer who choked in his first combat action. That was one glaring mistake made by the author that for some reason just disturbed me during the whole book. It just wasn’t right!