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Revivalist #3
Terminated
Already addicted to the pharmaceutical drug that keeps her body from decomposing, Bryn has to stop a secretive group of rich and powerful investors from eliminating the existing Returné addicts altogether. To ensure their plan to launch a new, military-grade strain of nanotech, the investors’ undead assassin—who just happens to be the ex-wife of Bryn’s lover Patrick—is on the hunt for anyone that stands in their way.
And while Bryn’s allies aren’t about to go down without a fight, the secret she’s been keeping threatens to put those closest to her in even more danger. Poised to become a monster that her own side—and her own lover—will have to trap and kill, Bryn needs to find the cure to have any hope of preserving the lives of her friends, and her own dwindling humanity…
And while Bryn’s allies aren’t about to go down without a fight, the secret she’s been keeping threatens to put those closest to her in even more danger. Poised to become a monster that her own side—and her own lover—will have to trap and kill, Bryn needs to find the cure to have any hope of preserving the lives of her friends, and her own dwindling humanity…
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 24, 2013
45 people are currently reading
2424 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Caine
217 books19.3k followersRachel Caine was a pen name of Roxanne Longstreet Conrad.
She has also published as:
Roxanne Longstreet
Roxanne Conrad
Julie Fortune
Ian Hammell
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Julie Fortune
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
July 17, 2013
Initial Thoughts: Definitely not your usual zombie series. Not your usual urban fantasy either, more of a conspiracy thriller and it was awesome! Spy craft, sinister pharmaceutical companies, crazy evil villain, paranoid (with a good reason) characters - just amazing.
The Review: Rachel Caine’s Revivalist series is very different from her other series. If you are expecting an urban fantasy or a paranormal romance, let me set your expectations. The Revivalist series is more like a science fiction conspiracy thriller. Yes, there are zombies, but these zombies are people like you or me who were (un)fortunate enough to be revived with Pharmadene’s miracle drug – Returné., a drug that reanimates the dead with nanobot technology. The result is a sentient zombie who decomposes rapidly when the drug is withheld.
Stay with me on this – we have zombies filled with nanobots that rapidly heal the body and a giant evil pharmaceutical company. Add in some ex-military types, ex-spies, highly connected and very resourceful paranoid types, and a psychotic villain and this is one action packed, exhilarating read. Oh, and there kind of is a romance, too.
Terminated picks up right where Two Weeks’ Notice left us hanging. Bryn and Riley have been infected with a new and “improved” strain of Returné, and this strain craves protein, raw and bloody. Lots and lots of protein. 72 ounce steak protein. This strain was developed with military applications in mind and it makes Bryn and Riley virtually indestructible. Just how many times can you kill off a character? I think I lost count of just how many times Bryn dies and then is revived.
Talk about exciting! This book was full of explosions, big guns, and destructive military gear. I was astounded by the amount of firepower available to these guys. I loved the “Spy vs Spy” stuff. It added a whole new dimension to the book as Pat used his spy contacts as the gang traveled from safe house to safe house searching for a cure to the drug.
What makes this series so appealing to me are the characters. Manny, the paranoid genius recluse and his girlfriend Pansy were my favorites. Who knew you could set up a safe house in a surplus missile silo? Amazing. Joe and Patrick – they would be men that I’d want on my side if I were running from a well-financed enemy. Bryn surprised me the most. She’s smart and resourceful. I loved how she shines in this book as she struggled to maintain her humanity even when her cravings for protein got to be too much.
If you haven’t yet had a chance to start this series, what are you waiting for? Terminated is a fantastic conclusion to the series. Now, if only we can get the Revivalists made into a TV series – that would be awesome!
Thank you to the author for a review copy of this book.
Review posted on Badass Book Reviews.
The Review: Rachel Caine’s Revivalist series is very different from her other series. If you are expecting an urban fantasy or a paranormal romance, let me set your expectations. The Revivalist series is more like a science fiction conspiracy thriller. Yes, there are zombies, but these zombies are people like you or me who were (un)fortunate enough to be revived with Pharmadene’s miracle drug – Returné., a drug that reanimates the dead with nanobot technology. The result is a sentient zombie who decomposes rapidly when the drug is withheld.
Stay with me on this – we have zombies filled with nanobots that rapidly heal the body and a giant evil pharmaceutical company. Add in some ex-military types, ex-spies, highly connected and very resourceful paranoid types, and a psychotic villain and this is one action packed, exhilarating read. Oh, and there kind of is a romance, too.
Terminated picks up right where Two Weeks’ Notice left us hanging. Bryn and Riley have been infected with a new and “improved” strain of Returné, and this strain craves protein, raw and bloody. Lots and lots of protein. 72 ounce steak protein. This strain was developed with military applications in mind and it makes Bryn and Riley virtually indestructible. Just how many times can you kill off a character? I think I lost count of just how many times Bryn dies and then is revived.
Talk about exciting! This book was full of explosions, big guns, and destructive military gear. I was astounded by the amount of firepower available to these guys. I loved the “Spy vs Spy” stuff. It added a whole new dimension to the book as Pat used his spy contacts as the gang traveled from safe house to safe house searching for a cure to the drug.
What makes this series so appealing to me are the characters. Manny, the paranoid genius recluse and his girlfriend Pansy were my favorites. Who knew you could set up a safe house in a surplus missile silo? Amazing. Joe and Patrick – they would be men that I’d want on my side if I were running from a well-financed enemy. Bryn surprised me the most. She’s smart and resourceful. I loved how she shines in this book as she struggled to maintain her humanity even when her cravings for protein got to be too much.
If you haven’t yet had a chance to start this series, what are you waiting for? Terminated is a fantastic conclusion to the series. Now, if only we can get the Revivalists made into a TV series – that would be awesome!
Thank you to the author for a review copy of this book.
Review posted on Badass Book Reviews.
December 17, 2017
I really loved how this all came together and most importantly, ended. Yes it was wrapped up in a neat bow but it wasn't all sunshine and roses, it truly worked for the storyline and the series as a whole.
This was a great series and held my interest until the very end.
This was a great series and held my interest until the very end.
December 1, 2013
CAUTION: spoilers, rant
The first book was kind of good and really promising. The second book — not so good, because it was too angsty for my taste. The third book (this book) was better. Less on the angst (and Bryn’s internal whining), more of a thriller with Bryn literally taking names and kicking ass. She still whined some but this time she got the message that it is not who, or rather what, you are that makes you a monster, it is what you do that does. About damn time.
+ What I Didn’t Like: a lot
Unfortunately, book 3’s better wasn’t good enough. To see that this book is the final book of the series saddens me. The series had so much potential, but never fully realized it. In book 1 through 2, the story danced around the ethical issues. I accepted this because I thought the issues were going to be dished out in pieces throughout the series. This was back when I was ignorant of the fact that the series was only a trilogy. In book 3, the story completely sidestepped it by paint brushing the entire zombie technology as evil and something that should have never been invented. The book did so much wrong there.
1) Talk about anti-science. Seriously, talk about it. The characters never once thought, “hey, maybe this technology could be modified not to make people zombies but instead to enhance their natural healing abilities (within constraints, without them dead first, of course).” But oh no, the zombie technology is absolutely evil is what the book went for. The technology must be destroyed. Never mind the facts it’s the evil people who use the thing for evil and that there were equally destructive AND MORE destructive inventions in existence.
2) It’s lazy writing, considering that the story is a what-if. This story was about what if death could be cured with a drug. Evidently, that was just a flimsy setting for a mediocre thriller fiction. Largely flash and little substance.
SPOILERS AHEAD.
3) And the ending. It sucked! Seriously, a kill switch? Seriously? There’s a blatant deus ex machina if I ever see one. The characters actually thought the kill switch would be the end of things. The fuck it isn’t. They never once thought people might figure out a way around the kill switch of a hack as people usually do because there’s no such thing as an unhackable hack. They never thought that other bad guys might accept the kill switch thing as an acceptable risk, kidnap a bunch of innocent people, and turn them into disposable mind-controlled zombie super soldiers to inflict the maximum damage before the enemy realizes they’re zombies and activate the kill switch... assuming they have the high technology on hand. Hell, they never even thought that invention could still be used as a biological weapon and be modified to make it more contagious, e.g. infect people by air or drinking water. Just because there is a cure for something does not make that something any less dangerous, smallpox for example. Come on! It’s weaponology 101.
Beside the ethical issues, book 3 also skimped out on the Evil Corporation, Massive Conspiracy, and Global Domination plot. The reader never got to learn the entire extent of it. For a story where the world was at stake, it was absurdly provincial. In other words, the story told the reader the world is at stake but what was happening felt more on the scale of a national level rather than a global one. I hardly doubt Americans were the only players in the game, but in the series that was all who the reader sees. If there was any mention of international stuff, it was in the abstract and distance. The farthest and most foreign place the characters ever went in the story was Alaska. Honestly.
Other things I hated was how some Bryn’s allies turned out not to be trustworthy to say the least. After all they have been through together, it made me mad how easily the team could break. Granted, they all pulled through in the end but I felt the side road drama was unnecessary and the time could have been much better spent on world building and plot depth building.
Another thing I didn’t like was how practically all the villains were 100% evil. They were either psychopaths or people just blindly following orders. The black and white-ness of things felt juvenile.
The deaths at the end felt overly dramatic and contrived because obviously the kill switch had to come with a high price. Oh please. Spare me the tragic tough choice. The kill switch could have easily come with no price at all with the way the book made up the science stuff.
The ending was abrupt. I was shortchanged of an epilogue. The series ended with a belief that the loose ends were wrapped up, and they were. But it was in a way that could easily be unwrapped with another book if the author decided to continue the series.
+ What I Liked: a little
The only things I liked beside Bryn’s kicking ass was how the romance between Patrick and Bryn continued without angst and stupid issues. I was thankful that at the very least the series allowed the two to survive at the end together.
Conclusion
I rate Terminated and the entire series 2-stars for it was okay. I don’t recommend this series. It promised a basketful of things it never delivered. I recommend the White Trash Zombie series, a MUCH better zombie series.
The first book was kind of good and really promising. The second book — not so good, because it was too angsty for my taste. The third book (this book) was better. Less on the angst (and Bryn’s internal whining), more of a thriller with Bryn literally taking names and kicking ass. She still whined some but this time she got the message that it is not who, or rather what, you are that makes you a monster, it is what you do that does. About damn time.
+ What I Didn’t Like: a lot
Unfortunately, book 3’s better wasn’t good enough. To see that this book is the final book of the series saddens me. The series had so much potential, but never fully realized it. In book 1 through 2, the story danced around the ethical issues. I accepted this because I thought the issues were going to be dished out in pieces throughout the series. This was back when I was ignorant of the fact that the series was only a trilogy. In book 3, the story completely sidestepped it by paint brushing the entire zombie technology as evil and something that should have never been invented. The book did so much wrong there.
1) Talk about anti-science. Seriously, talk about it. The characters never once thought, “hey, maybe this technology could be modified not to make people zombies but instead to enhance their natural healing abilities (within constraints, without them dead first, of course).” But oh no, the zombie technology is absolutely evil is what the book went for. The technology must be destroyed. Never mind the facts it’s the evil people who use the thing for evil and that there were equally destructive AND MORE destructive inventions in existence.
2) It’s lazy writing, considering that the story is a what-if. This story was about what if death could be cured with a drug. Evidently, that was just a flimsy setting for a mediocre thriller fiction. Largely flash and little substance.
SPOILERS AHEAD.
3) And the ending. It sucked! Seriously, a kill switch? Seriously? There’s a blatant deus ex machina if I ever see one. The characters actually thought the kill switch would be the end of things. The fuck it isn’t. They never once thought people might figure out a way around the kill switch of a hack as people usually do because there’s no such thing as an unhackable hack. They never thought that other bad guys might accept the kill switch thing as an acceptable risk, kidnap a bunch of innocent people, and turn them into disposable mind-controlled zombie super soldiers to inflict the maximum damage before the enemy realizes they’re zombies and activate the kill switch... assuming they have the high technology on hand. Hell, they never even thought that invention could still be used as a biological weapon and be modified to make it more contagious, e.g. infect people by air or drinking water. Just because there is a cure for something does not make that something any less dangerous, smallpox for example. Come on! It’s weaponology 101.
Beside the ethical issues, book 3 also skimped out on the Evil Corporation, Massive Conspiracy, and Global Domination plot. The reader never got to learn the entire extent of it. For a story where the world was at stake, it was absurdly provincial. In other words, the story told the reader the world is at stake but what was happening felt more on the scale of a national level rather than a global one. I hardly doubt Americans were the only players in the game, but in the series that was all who the reader sees. If there was any mention of international stuff, it was in the abstract and distance. The farthest and most foreign place the characters ever went in the story was Alaska. Honestly.
Other things I hated was how some Bryn’s allies turned out not to be trustworthy to say the least. After all they have been through together, it made me mad how easily the team could break. Granted, they all pulled through in the end but I felt the side road drama was unnecessary and the time could have been much better spent on world building and plot depth building.
Another thing I didn’t like was how practically all the villains were 100% evil. They were either psychopaths or people just blindly following orders. The black and white-ness of things felt juvenile.
The deaths at the end felt overly dramatic and contrived because obviously the kill switch had to come with a high price. Oh please. Spare me the tragic tough choice. The kill switch could have easily come with no price at all with the way the book made up the science stuff.
The ending was abrupt. I was shortchanged of an epilogue. The series ended with a belief that the loose ends were wrapped up, and they were. But it was in a way that could easily be unwrapped with another book if the author decided to continue the series.
+ What I Liked: a little
The only things I liked beside Bryn’s kicking ass was how the romance between Patrick and Bryn continued without angst and stupid issues. I was thankful that at the very least the series allowed the two to survive at the end together.
Conclusion
I rate Terminated and the entire series 2-stars for it was okay. I don’t recommend this series. It promised a basketful of things it never delivered. I recommend the White Trash Zombie series, a MUCH better zombie series.
July 4, 2024
This is merely the latest novel I have read by the immensely talented Rachel Caine. This is the 3rd book in the Revivalist Series and comes behind the outstanding Weather Warden Series that made me fall in love with her as well as the offshoot OutCast Series that followed along with the end of the Weather Warden Series and another Young Adult series that should not be discounted, the Morganville Series which will soon be turning into a high-quality web tv series which I am incredibly excited about!
Rachel Caine falls into my Top 5 Female Authors on All-Time List for a good reason. She has been writing and publishing novels since 1990 and was also a professional musician. She is an international bestselling author of more than 30 novels and, luckily for us, returned to full-time writing in 2010 to bring us even more great stuff in each series!
Terminated is the 3rd book in the Revivalist Trilogy. This trilogy takes an entirely different approach to zombies than anyone has even touched upon previously. It is about a woman named Bryn who served time in the military and a war zone and then doesn't know how to fit back into society. She starts working at a funeral home and ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time when she is killed. She is then given a shot of the drug Returne' which puts little machines (nanites) into her body and keeps her alive. However, without recurring shots, she will start to decay and decompose until she turns into nothing and does die. This condition makes her indebted primarily to a substantial pharmaceutical company and 3 letter agencies that want to use her and destroy her equally. Luckily Bryn can make some allies along the way and even find a man in whom she begins to feel interested.
I hate spoilers, and if you have not read the Trilogy yet, I don't want to ruin it for you. Just whet your appetite. Therefore I will say that this third book takes things to a whole other level in the troubles that Bryn faces and that there is a lot of running and espionage going on. There is a lot of action and even some vivid horror. Rachel Caine is tasteful in her approach to sexuality and does not overdo it in her books. I will say that there is at least one brief sexual encounter per novel. The least of which would be in this novel. There is not enough time between the action and evasion and trying to save the world to have any sex, haha.
I have enjoyed zombie movies in the past, but thus far, I have not gotten into reading anything on zombies unless they happened to make a brief appearance in other series that I have read. This trilogy is engaging and fresh and keeps you guessing. You have a hard time thinking of Bryn as a zombie or undead. Bryn plays a significant role as a strong, independent, empowering woman while still needing saving from time to time thanks to the ever-adaptive and deadly friends that she makes that happen to save her butt when she can't save it herself. The latest book sees Bryn coming into her own and doing more saving than being saved. I commend Rachel Caine on her imagination and suggest this book to anyone who may shy away from a "zombie" novel.
Don't sleep on this one, my friends. It is worth the read.
5 Stars
Rachel Caine falls into my Top 5 Female Authors on All-Time List for a good reason. She has been writing and publishing novels since 1990 and was also a professional musician. She is an international bestselling author of more than 30 novels and, luckily for us, returned to full-time writing in 2010 to bring us even more great stuff in each series!
Terminated is the 3rd book in the Revivalist Trilogy. This trilogy takes an entirely different approach to zombies than anyone has even touched upon previously. It is about a woman named Bryn who served time in the military and a war zone and then doesn't know how to fit back into society. She starts working at a funeral home and ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time when she is killed. She is then given a shot of the drug Returne' which puts little machines (nanites) into her body and keeps her alive. However, without recurring shots, she will start to decay and decompose until she turns into nothing and does die. This condition makes her indebted primarily to a substantial pharmaceutical company and 3 letter agencies that want to use her and destroy her equally. Luckily Bryn can make some allies along the way and even find a man in whom she begins to feel interested.
I hate spoilers, and if you have not read the Trilogy yet, I don't want to ruin it for you. Just whet your appetite. Therefore I will say that this third book takes things to a whole other level in the troubles that Bryn faces and that there is a lot of running and espionage going on. There is a lot of action and even some vivid horror. Rachel Caine is tasteful in her approach to sexuality and does not overdo it in her books. I will say that there is at least one brief sexual encounter per novel. The least of which would be in this novel. There is not enough time between the action and evasion and trying to save the world to have any sex, haha.
I have enjoyed zombie movies in the past, but thus far, I have not gotten into reading anything on zombies unless they happened to make a brief appearance in other series that I have read. This trilogy is engaging and fresh and keeps you guessing. You have a hard time thinking of Bryn as a zombie or undead. Bryn plays a significant role as a strong, independent, empowering woman while still needing saving from time to time thanks to the ever-adaptive and deadly friends that she makes that happen to save her butt when she can't save it herself. The latest book sees Bryn coming into her own and doing more saving than being saved. I commend Rachel Caine on her imagination and suggest this book to anyone who may shy away from a "zombie" novel.
Don't sleep on this one, my friends. It is worth the read.
5 Stars
October 24, 2017
Working Stiff, the first book in the Revivalist series, was an enjoyable enough read – whilst I wasn’t crazy about it, I was excited to read more. Two Weeks’ Notice was a lot more enjoyable – I felt as though there was a lot more to the story. Terminated, sadly, was the weakest in the series. I wanted to enjoy this conclusion to the series so much, but it felt anti-climactic. I kept waiting for something to build some emotion within me, kept waiting for something big to happen, yet it never reached that point where I felt as though it was truly deserving of a four-star rating. At a push, I would give this one a three-point-five-star rating, but it is certainly the weakest of the series.
Reading the books back to back instantly had me noticing the inconsistencies in this book following on from the prior. The first chapter of this book went against the final scenes in the prior book, instantly leaving me confused. There were then inconsistencies later in the book, conflicting details, leaving me with the belief this book could have done with a better editor than it was given. Thus, you can imagine, I was let down from the very start. It appeared prior details were being ignored to ensure this story followed a set pattern.
Was this forced story enjoyable? If you’re a fan of watching characters traipse across the country, then sure, but I grew bored of it rather quickly. It followed the same formula over and over, something that became rather boring quickly: car scenes, discussion, action, near death experience, running, and back to the car to repeat in a new locale. There were slight variations, but it amounted to the same kind of scenes playing out over and over again. I kept waiting for the big fight, kept waiting for everything to come together, but it never really reached that point.
Even the scene where our big evil met her comeuppance, I wasn’t entirely happy with. It happened, then it was over. It really wasn’t what I had anticipated it to be. In fact, there was only one scene in the entire book that really hit any emotions – and even then, it was only a very small proportion of a much larger scene that was disappointing to me as a whole.
Whilst I did enjoy seeing how everything came together, and we did get answers to some of our questions, I wasn’t really content with how things played out. Things seemed to come together without there being the build-up I wanted, deus ex machina moments popping up to save the day. As I said, it was all rather anti-climactic. The ending in particular felt like a big let-down, considering how everything had been building.
Overall, this wasn’t quite the ending I had been hoping for.
Reading the books back to back instantly had me noticing the inconsistencies in this book following on from the prior. The first chapter of this book went against the final scenes in the prior book, instantly leaving me confused. There were then inconsistencies later in the book, conflicting details, leaving me with the belief this book could have done with a better editor than it was given. Thus, you can imagine, I was let down from the very start. It appeared prior details were being ignored to ensure this story followed a set pattern.
Was this forced story enjoyable? If you’re a fan of watching characters traipse across the country, then sure, but I grew bored of it rather quickly. It followed the same formula over and over, something that became rather boring quickly: car scenes, discussion, action, near death experience, running, and back to the car to repeat in a new locale. There were slight variations, but it amounted to the same kind of scenes playing out over and over again. I kept waiting for the big fight, kept waiting for everything to come together, but it never really reached that point.
Even the scene where our big evil met her comeuppance, I wasn’t entirely happy with. It happened, then it was over. It really wasn’t what I had anticipated it to be. In fact, there was only one scene in the entire book that really hit any emotions – and even then, it was only a very small proportion of a much larger scene that was disappointing to me as a whole.
Whilst I did enjoy seeing how everything came together, and we did get answers to some of our questions, I wasn’t really content with how things played out. Things seemed to come together without there being the build-up I wanted, deus ex machina moments popping up to save the day. As I said, it was all rather anti-climactic. The ending in particular felt like a big let-down, considering how everything had been building.
Overall, this wasn’t quite the ending I had been hoping for.
April 11, 2024
Terminited
Revivalist, Book 3
I Picked Up This Book Because: Continue the series.
Media Type: Audiobook
Source: Hoopla via HC Public Library
Dates Read: 4/5/24 - 4/7/24
Stars: 3 Stars
Narrator(s): Julia Whelan
The Characters:
Brynn:
Patrick “Pat”:
Joe,
The Story:
The last installment in the trilogy. There is a bit too much cat and mouse for me. I thought I was losing interest but turns out I was just missing Pat. The ending wrapped up very abruptly. I think an epilogue would have been nice just to tie everything together.
Revivalist, Book 3
I Picked Up This Book Because: Continue the series.
Media Type: Audiobook
Source: Hoopla via HC Public Library
Dates Read: 4/5/24 - 4/7/24
Stars: 3 Stars
Narrator(s): Julia Whelan
The Characters:
Brynn:
Patrick “Pat”:
Joe,
The Story:
The last installment in the trilogy. There is a bit too much cat and mouse for me. I thought I was losing interest but turns out I was just missing Pat. The ending wrapped up very abruptly. I think an epilogue would have been nice just to tie everything together.
Read
July 24, 2013I don't use star ratings, so please read my review!
(Description nicked from B&N.com.)
“Already addicted to the pharmaceutical drug that keeps her body from decomposing, Bryn has to stop a secretive group of rich and powerful investors from eliminating the existing Returné addicts altogether. To ensure their plan to launch a new, military-grade strain of nanotech, the investors’ undead assassin—who just happens to be the ex-wife of Bryn’s lover Patrick—is on the hunt for anyone that stands in their way.
And while Bryn’s allies aren’t about to go down without a fight, the secret she’s been keeping threatens to put those closest to her in even more danger. Poised to become a monster that her own side—and her own lover—will have to trap and kill, Bryn needs to find the cure to have any hope of preserving the lives of her friends, and her own dwindling humanity.”
Oh dear. I usually try to avoid spoilers in my reviews, but in this case, I need to make an exception. I can’t talk honestly about this book without giving away a few things, so consider this your warning. Read no further if you want to go into this book with an open mind.
The first major issue that I have with this novel is continuity. I caught one minor continuity error, which was no big deal, but the book opens with a major one. And by major, I mean “changes the direction of the book from where the second book was having it go”. I might not have caught either of these problems if I hadn’t read the second and third books back to back… but the fact remains that I did, and that big one is too big to ignore. I even went back and re-read the final scenes of Two Weeks’ Notice to make sure that I wasn’t imagining things.
At the end of book two, Bryn and FBI agent Riley have been infected with a souped-up version of the Returne drug. They’re super-strong, super-fast, able to heal almost anything in seconds, and have to consume massive amounts of protein to support the new breed of nanites. Yes, they’ve turned into traditional zombies. As Bryn and Riley escape from the lab, they’re met by a few other characters, and the conversations that happen afterwards make it plain that Bryn’s friends know what has happened to her and know what she has become. They know that she can infect other Revived with the new nanites in thirty days. They know that she could be forced to consume human flesh.
At the start of book three, nobody knows anything about any of this. Page space is taken up with her waffling about how to tell them, and when she finally does, one of the guys who had pledged to help her manage the nanites in book two is shown shooting her in the face because he’s so scared of her. This particular guy is the genius who usually helps them crack extremely hard problems in a matter of hours, so reversing his support effectively cuts Bryn off from someone who could make what comes next a heck of a lot easier. That’s far too big an error for me to forgive.
I also didn’t like the new “upgraded” versions of Bryn and Riley. Since they’re at the point of being able to take massive amounts of damage without dying permanently, the author puts them through the metaphoric meat grinder for most of the book. Bryn is shot, burned, hit by a truck, beaten, and digs around in her own intestines. It felt like the author just felt free to be as bloody and gory as she wanted, since her character is nearly immortal. It got old fast.
By the novel’s end, the new breed of nanite is being distributed throughout special military units, creating unstoppable super-soldiers. In the eleventh hour, the genius who ran screaming from Bryn suddenly turns up with a machine that will turn off all the nanites all over the world. Of course, since the nanites sustain life in a dead body, that will kill anybody infected with them. But Bryn magically is able to be revived from death as a fully functional person once her nanites die… even though missing shots (which makes for dead nanites) causes her to start rotting almost immediately in earlier books. The realization that Bryn can have children now, despite the impossibility of her even being alive (much less have viable eggs) made my jaw drop.
The rest of the novel is peppered with stupid decisions by the characters and a mad rampage around the country being chased by the bad guys. Eventually, I kept reading only because I wanted to see Jane, the quintessential bad guy, finally get hers. There are still plenty of loose ends flapping around when this novel finally closes, and this is apparently the series’ final book, so I don’t know why things weren’t wrapped up.
I usually hate giving a book a bad review, because I’m aware that I’m criticizing someone’s work, something that they crafted over the course of several months, at least. But I do expect a level of quality to a novel, and massive continuity errors and deus ex machina eleventh-hour bailouts do not equal quality to me. Terminated is the worst entry in this series.
This review originally appeared on Owlcat Mountain on July 24, 2013. Please note that this book does not come out until August 6, 2013.
http://www.owlcatmountain.com/termina...
(Description nicked from B&N.com.)
“Already addicted to the pharmaceutical drug that keeps her body from decomposing, Bryn has to stop a secretive group of rich and powerful investors from eliminating the existing Returné addicts altogether. To ensure their plan to launch a new, military-grade strain of nanotech, the investors’ undead assassin—who just happens to be the ex-wife of Bryn’s lover Patrick—is on the hunt for anyone that stands in their way.
And while Bryn’s allies aren’t about to go down without a fight, the secret she’s been keeping threatens to put those closest to her in even more danger. Poised to become a monster that her own side—and her own lover—will have to trap and kill, Bryn needs to find the cure to have any hope of preserving the lives of her friends, and her own dwindling humanity.”
Oh dear. I usually try to avoid spoilers in my reviews, but in this case, I need to make an exception. I can’t talk honestly about this book without giving away a few things, so consider this your warning. Read no further if you want to go into this book with an open mind.
The first major issue that I have with this novel is continuity. I caught one minor continuity error, which was no big deal, but the book opens with a major one. And by major, I mean “changes the direction of the book from where the second book was having it go”. I might not have caught either of these problems if I hadn’t read the second and third books back to back… but the fact remains that I did, and that big one is too big to ignore. I even went back and re-read the final scenes of Two Weeks’ Notice to make sure that I wasn’t imagining things.
At the end of book two, Bryn and FBI agent Riley have been infected with a souped-up version of the Returne drug. They’re super-strong, super-fast, able to heal almost anything in seconds, and have to consume massive amounts of protein to support the new breed of nanites. Yes, they’ve turned into traditional zombies. As Bryn and Riley escape from the lab, they’re met by a few other characters, and the conversations that happen afterwards make it plain that Bryn’s friends know what has happened to her and know what she has become. They know that she can infect other Revived with the new nanites in thirty days. They know that she could be forced to consume human flesh.
At the start of book three, nobody knows anything about any of this. Page space is taken up with her waffling about how to tell them, and when she finally does, one of the guys who had pledged to help her manage the nanites in book two is shown shooting her in the face because he’s so scared of her. This particular guy is the genius who usually helps them crack extremely hard problems in a matter of hours, so reversing his support effectively cuts Bryn off from someone who could make what comes next a heck of a lot easier. That’s far too big an error for me to forgive.
I also didn’t like the new “upgraded” versions of Bryn and Riley. Since they’re at the point of being able to take massive amounts of damage without dying permanently, the author puts them through the metaphoric meat grinder for most of the book. Bryn is shot, burned, hit by a truck, beaten, and digs around in her own intestines. It felt like the author just felt free to be as bloody and gory as she wanted, since her character is nearly immortal. It got old fast.
By the novel’s end, the new breed of nanite is being distributed throughout special military units, creating unstoppable super-soldiers. In the eleventh hour, the genius who ran screaming from Bryn suddenly turns up with a machine that will turn off all the nanites all over the world. Of course, since the nanites sustain life in a dead body, that will kill anybody infected with them. But Bryn magically is able to be revived from death as a fully functional person once her nanites die… even though missing shots (which makes for dead nanites) causes her to start rotting almost immediately in earlier books. The realization that Bryn can have children now, despite the impossibility of her even being alive (much less have viable eggs) made my jaw drop.
The rest of the novel is peppered with stupid decisions by the characters and a mad rampage around the country being chased by the bad guys. Eventually, I kept reading only because I wanted to see Jane, the quintessential bad guy, finally get hers. There are still plenty of loose ends flapping around when this novel finally closes, and this is apparently the series’ final book, so I don’t know why things weren’t wrapped up.
I usually hate giving a book a bad review, because I’m aware that I’m criticizing someone’s work, something that they crafted over the course of several months, at least. But I do expect a level of quality to a novel, and massive continuity errors and deus ex machina eleventh-hour bailouts do not equal quality to me. Terminated is the worst entry in this series.
This review originally appeared on Owlcat Mountain on July 24, 2013. Please note that this book does not come out until August 6, 2013.
http://www.owlcatmountain.com/termina...
July 27, 2013
I am sad to learn that Terminated concludes Rachel Caine's Revivalist series. This has a been a fabulous trilogy that overrided my aversion to all things zombie with great characters and an exciting mix of action, conspiracy with the lightest touch of romance. I enjoyed Working Stiff and Two Weeks' Notice immensely and I hoped that Terminated would provide the conclusion the series deserved.
Picking up where Two Weeks' Notice left off, Terminated begins as Bryn and her allies flee the compound where Bryn and Riley have been held prisoner and tortured by Patrick's psychopathic ex wife, Jane. Eluding capture by Jane and her cohorts will not be easy, and what follows includes pitched fire fights, ambushes and explosions where the action is fast paced, the tension high and the body count mounts. Bryn herself is shot point blank in the head, hit by a truck, blown up, shot again (again and again), severely burnt in a brush fire and forced to burrow into her own stomach.
Complicating everything is the secret Bryn and Riley are keeping. During their time in the base they were infected with a new mutation of the Returne. This new strain is self replicating and requires feeding with protein - raw steak, human flesh - the nanites don't discriminate and now Bryn has to worry about turning on her people.
The end game for Bryn and her allies, Joe, Patrick, Manny, Pansy, Annalie and Liam, is finding the cure for Returne and thwarting the plans of those who are determined to build a new world order. It's a hell of a wild ride to get there and the resolution is the perfect payoff.
With the story complete, I have no hesitation in recommending The Revivalist trilogy. The combination of urban fantasy, page turning action and kickass characters is irresistible, don't even try.
August 21, 2013
The series presents a refreshing take on the zombie trend, and I liked a lot of the characters. But the first two thirds of this one felt like inconsistent filler.
Constant chases, escapes, and repetitive fight scenes pushed the pace along so quickly that it was almost possible to forget how little sense some of their moves made. For example,
Just as in the later Weather Wardens books, the protagonists jump from crisis to crisis while we're told about their emotional turmoil. The villains were cartoonishly good at swooping in out of nowhere, but there were always convenient contacts or resources nearby.
The final part of the book was far more effective, bringing back the gross-out horror and hard choices that elevate the concept above action movie cheese.
Overall, the series is worth reading, but it still feels a little like lost potential. I love so many aspects of Caine's writing, at some point I'd love to see her take on a slower, more deliberate story arc that doesn't whip me through so much ridiculously frenetic action.
Constant chases, escapes, and repetitive fight scenes pushed the pace along so quickly that it was almost possible to forget how little sense some of their moves made. For example,
Just as in the later Weather Wardens books, the protagonists jump from crisis to crisis while we're told about their emotional turmoil. The villains were cartoonishly good at swooping in out of nowhere, but there were always convenient contacts or resources nearby.
The final part of the book was far more effective, bringing back the gross-out horror and hard choices that elevate the concept above action movie cheese.
Overall, the series is worth reading, but it still feels a little like lost potential. I love so many aspects of Caine's writing, at some point I'd love to see her take on a slower, more deliberate story arc that doesn't whip me through so much ridiculously frenetic action.
July 17, 2014
When I first started this trilogy honestly I was more than a little confused and my initial thoughts were after writing such awesome stuff Caine has lost her touch. But I'm not one to give up easily so I went on reading Working stiff. And when I finished it I was like cool stuff not bad at all, I'd be totally reading the next part. Not to mention I liked Patrick quite a bit. And then I read two weeks notice. While reading it I would think I wish this was better and then I was gobsmacked. The ending was so awesome that it made me realize in no way had Rachel lost her magic quality of writing awesome stuff. So I anxiously waited for this part.
Terminated starts from almost where Two Weeks Notice left off. Our protagonist Bryn has turned into a new and improved form of Zombie like being along with detective Riley. They were injected with a new type of Returné which makes them not require day to day doses of the normal Returné. They have also now become flesh eating zombies, they crave meat and if really hungry humans with them make their mouths water. This has also made them indestructible and they can no longer die unless they are thoroughly burned.
Bryn and her little party meaning Patrick, Joe, Riley, Liam and her sister along with Manny the paranoid, mad scientist and his girlfriend go to his safe house where they leave Liam and Annie with Manny and Pansy while the rest set off to look for the doctor who they think can help them cure this new form of Returné.
Along the way Riley calls some more forces to help them because Patrick's ex-wife who is also a new improved zombie is out to kill them while take some of them alive to experiment on. Brick the guy whose team came to help Riley drop them off near a clinic where they know the doctor is. During this journey they had to leave Patrick behind with some paramedics. They find the doctor in that clinic and after some complications they kidnap him. Then they take a lift from a truck driver to San Francisco and along the way there the doctor stops being obstinate and tells them that he has the antidote but only one vile and he calls someone to deposit it at some place he thought safe. When they get where the vile is supposed to be they realize it's a trap not set by the doctor but the guy who dropped off the vile there and it's there but the doctor is then blown off to pieces but not before he tells Bryn that his friend in Alaska has another vile and that is the last one.
From there they decide to split up and send Patrick a message to meet Bryn while Joe and Riley take the antidote back to Manny so he can work on it. Then Bryn and Patrick go to another guy they know worked for the Pharmadene Pharmaceuticals who were the ones responsible for creating Returné. This is a trap though and Jane causes them lots of problems but they escape and they take the guy who is also a doctor with them. To stay safe and hidden from Jane and her company The Fountain Group Patrick takes them to a some people who are mobsters and do illegal dealings. From there they take a plain to Alaska where they find Manny and the rest of their group waiting for them. They go to the old doctors friend get the antidote but before they can escape Jane and her people capture them. This happens due to the almost betrayal of one of their members. Then Bryn hides the antidote, I won't say where because it's too awesome a place to tell you like this, and later they are able to escape from there too while killing some major enemy of theirs.
Manny comes up with a way to kill all the "Zombies" at once and on Bryn and Annie's insistence they do it and then it's the end for everybody. And if you don't believe me go ahead read it because I'm not telling you what happens in the last one and a half page ^_^
What I loved
So of course I loved the whole book but there were some particular things that really stood out for me.
Like the love between Bryn and Patrick it doesn't matter that one is Human and the other is Zombiefied they still love each other and the effect Patrick has on Bryn is riveting and just simply awesome when put in a book like this.
"Funny, I'd have taken you for a spy novel kind of girl.
Maybe even romance." He raised his eyebrows, and just like
that, she fell in love with him, an almost physical click.
Even though in the start Bryn is not sure about them because of all the problems caused by his ex-wife an ex-wife she didn't even know existed she still couldn't stop the feelings she had for him or her thoughts straying towards him.
Her last thought was incoherent and strange
I miss you.
She saw Patrick's face, just a flash, and then it was
all gone
He was what broke her. Every time.
I also loved how more gruesome this part was. There was more blood. More death and way more eckyness and it was awesome.
She picked up the knife and on the next roll over it and jammed it straight in the guard's chest.
She twisted, ripping his heart wide-open.
Tugged the knife free and gave him a few more fatal wounds to worry about, including leaving the knife buried in his eye socket.
The knife in the brain would keep his nanites pretty busy, particularly if the knife was still in place
This is in no way the most gruesome there is plenty more awesome stuff in that book. So all of you guys should give this series a try and who haven't read this part hurry up and read it times a wastin and you are missing out.
Terminated starts from almost where Two Weeks Notice left off. Our protagonist Bryn has turned into a new and improved form of Zombie like being along with detective Riley. They were injected with a new type of Returné which makes them not require day to day doses of the normal Returné. They have also now become flesh eating zombies, they crave meat and if really hungry humans with them make their mouths water. This has also made them indestructible and they can no longer die unless they are thoroughly burned.
Bryn and her little party meaning Patrick, Joe, Riley, Liam and her sister along with Manny the paranoid, mad scientist and his girlfriend go to his safe house where they leave Liam and Annie with Manny and Pansy while the rest set off to look for the doctor who they think can help them cure this new form of Returné.
Along the way Riley calls some more forces to help them because Patrick's ex-wife who is also a new improved zombie is out to kill them while take some of them alive to experiment on. Brick the guy whose team came to help Riley drop them off near a clinic where they know the doctor is. During this journey they had to leave Patrick behind with some paramedics. They find the doctor in that clinic and after some complications they kidnap him. Then they take a lift from a truck driver to San Francisco and along the way there the doctor stops being obstinate and tells them that he has the antidote but only one vile and he calls someone to deposit it at some place he thought safe. When they get where the vile is supposed to be they realize it's a trap not set by the doctor but the guy who dropped off the vile there and it's there but the doctor is then blown off to pieces but not before he tells Bryn that his friend in Alaska has another vile and that is the last one.
From there they decide to split up and send Patrick a message to meet Bryn while Joe and Riley take the antidote back to Manny so he can work on it. Then Bryn and Patrick go to another guy they know worked for the Pharmadene Pharmaceuticals who were the ones responsible for creating Returné. This is a trap though and Jane causes them lots of problems but they escape and they take the guy who is also a doctor with them. To stay safe and hidden from Jane and her company The Fountain Group Patrick takes them to a some people who are mobsters and do illegal dealings. From there they take a plain to Alaska where they find Manny and the rest of their group waiting for them. They go to the old doctors friend get the antidote but before they can escape Jane and her people capture them. This happens due to the almost betrayal of one of their members. Then Bryn hides the antidote, I won't say where because it's too awesome a place to tell you like this, and later they are able to escape from there too while killing some major enemy of theirs.
Manny comes up with a way to kill all the "Zombies" at once and on Bryn and Annie's insistence they do it and then it's the end for everybody. And if you don't believe me go ahead read it because I'm not telling you what happens in the last one and a half page ^_^
What I loved
So of course I loved the whole book but there were some particular things that really stood out for me.
Like the love between Bryn and Patrick it doesn't matter that one is Human and the other is Zombiefied they still love each other and the effect Patrick has on Bryn is riveting and just simply awesome when put in a book like this.
"Funny, I'd have taken you for a spy novel kind of girl.
Maybe even romance." He raised his eyebrows, and just like
that, she fell in love with him, an almost physical click.
Even though in the start Bryn is not sure about them because of all the problems caused by his ex-wife an ex-wife she didn't even know existed she still couldn't stop the feelings she had for him or her thoughts straying towards him.
Her last thought was incoherent and strange
I miss you.
She saw Patrick's face, just a flash, and then it was
all gone
He was what broke her. Every time.
I also loved how more gruesome this part was. There was more blood. More death and way more eckyness and it was awesome.
She picked up the knife and on the next roll over it and jammed it straight in the guard's chest.
She twisted, ripping his heart wide-open.
Tugged the knife free and gave him a few more fatal wounds to worry about, including leaving the knife buried in his eye socket.
The knife in the brain would keep his nanites pretty busy, particularly if the knife was still in place
This is in no way the most gruesome there is plenty more awesome stuff in that book. So all of you guys should give this series a try and who haven't read this part hurry up and read it times a wastin and you are missing out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2013
Terminated...
There is something to be said for the unkillable, the seemingly immortal zombie. What is the zombie's favorite garnish or flavor... possibly salt? Maybe even the coppery tang of the blood...
Needless to say this last book was hemorrhaging the series, and the author wrapped up this book in a finale she feels was adequate. So let me get this straight for others, one... Fast Freddy is now suppppperr low on plot devices and doesn't warrant a mention in this novel. The creator of the drug apparently wasn't as solo creating as originally... well actually... well just not quite so important after all.
So we see a few amazing things happen in this series, the healing factors are pretty neat, the action scenes are fun and semi ok. But seriously, we are talking about a country who has more black ops get busted by goat herders than succeeded, and suddenly they are omni-present. Maybe it was Riley.
Ok so now that I have gotten these few views down here we go into the beginning...
The book starts off, as a stand alone. This book takes all the previous books and says, if I had a cliff-notes version and it were to basically have been written by a person scanning previous novels... How would I write this book.
So the writing begins.
Plot : Bad Corpoation trying to infect the world with undeath... So basically like the first book... just global and not select. Well yeah! But I mean it takes the plot from book and and two and kind or rehashes it...
Problems : Umm... Lets see... Last few pages of the last novel were just selectively used as actual history, parts that were stupid were omitted, parts that lead to awkward communication between characters in this book were omitted from history and rehashed in this book.
They are following Bryn with satellite... Jumping on the back of 18 wheelers and riding on trailers... apparently impossible to see with satellite or drones..
Oh yeah... the fact that they missed the whole car bomb... Or the fact they missed the whole... Landmine...
Why don't they kill Jane on any of the times they beat her... "Its going to take too long..."
Seriously? I am almost 100% Sure they could have ended her... And carried her head off with them... I know I would have. Then a major force in your capture would be gone. Sure maybe she isn't the only factor in your capture, but she is a major pain in the rear end.
I would have killed her long ago. But apparently I am on they level of coldly rational that hits on the side of really really evil. lol... Is it just me or if you kill someone in a street, do you not steal their wallet and their guns? I mean if you have enough time to check their pulse... Seriously?
Lets see the fact this entire book is a chase scene that manages to take 30 days+. That irks me.
They go from where ever to Kansas to California to California to Alaska to Texas then to New Mexico... Let me sum this up. They made a lot of miles on their journey and got no where. Because the super confrontation was stupid.
Also Bryn figuring out about her sister was... well a bit odd. Her sister then confirming it was also odd. And this whole book lead up from weird to odd and just stupid. Because the shots they have been getting to reprogram the nan-ites to not send out signals or anything else could have been transmitted... Just they enjoyed using needles. Plus tons of other things.
Basically... this whole book, was just kind of weird, and yes I am glad I read it, but I am so glad this is over and there are no more. I won't read any more Caine Novels. I think the Zombie thing last book killed this book for me, but I was hoping for an interesting spin, because the first blew me away. And this book just let me down.
P.S. She totally ganked the sister just because she was "annoying", and didn't play much of a roll in the books, not out of any artistic license, just like how she killed the missing one.
There is something to be said for the unkillable, the seemingly immortal zombie. What is the zombie's favorite garnish or flavor... possibly salt? Maybe even the coppery tang of the blood...
Needless to say this last book was hemorrhaging the series, and the author wrapped up this book in a finale she feels was adequate. So let me get this straight for others, one... Fast Freddy is now suppppperr low on plot devices and doesn't warrant a mention in this novel. The creator of the drug apparently wasn't as solo creating as originally... well actually... well just not quite so important after all.
So we see a few amazing things happen in this series, the healing factors are pretty neat, the action scenes are fun and semi ok. But seriously, we are talking about a country who has more black ops get busted by goat herders than succeeded, and suddenly they are omni-present. Maybe it was Riley.
Ok so now that I have gotten these few views down here we go into the beginning...
The book starts off, as a stand alone. This book takes all the previous books and says, if I had a cliff-notes version and it were to basically have been written by a person scanning previous novels... How would I write this book.
So the writing begins.
Plot : Bad Corpoation trying to infect the world with undeath... So basically like the first book... just global and not select. Well yeah! But I mean it takes the plot from book and and two and kind or rehashes it...
Problems : Umm... Lets see... Last few pages of the last novel were just selectively used as actual history, parts that were stupid were omitted, parts that lead to awkward communication between characters in this book were omitted from history and rehashed in this book.
They are following Bryn with satellite... Jumping on the back of 18 wheelers and riding on trailers... apparently impossible to see with satellite or drones..
Oh yeah... the fact that they missed the whole car bomb... Or the fact they missed the whole... Landmine...
Why don't they kill Jane on any of the times they beat her... "Its going to take too long..."
Seriously? I am almost 100% Sure they could have ended her... And carried her head off with them... I know I would have. Then a major force in your capture would be gone. Sure maybe she isn't the only factor in your capture, but she is a major pain in the rear end.
I would have killed her long ago. But apparently I am on they level of coldly rational that hits on the side of really really evil. lol... Is it just me or if you kill someone in a street, do you not steal their wallet and their guns? I mean if you have enough time to check their pulse... Seriously?
Lets see the fact this entire book is a chase scene that manages to take 30 days+. That irks me.
They go from where ever to Kansas to California to California to Alaska to Texas then to New Mexico... Let me sum this up. They made a lot of miles on their journey and got no where. Because the super confrontation was stupid.
Also Bryn figuring out about her sister was... well a bit odd. Her sister then confirming it was also odd. And this whole book lead up from weird to odd and just stupid. Because the shots they have been getting to reprogram the nan-ites to not send out signals or anything else could have been transmitted... Just they enjoyed using needles. Plus tons of other things.
Basically... this whole book, was just kind of weird, and yes I am glad I read it, but I am so glad this is over and there are no more. I won't read any more Caine Novels. I think the Zombie thing last book killed this book for me, but I was hoping for an interesting spin, because the first blew me away. And this book just let me down.
P.S. She totally ganked the sister just because she was "annoying", and didn't play much of a roll in the books, not out of any artistic license, just like how she killed the missing one.
August 28, 2013
Summary for my own sake, under spoiler tag
--------------
A different take of the walking dead, I found this as a great conclusion of the trilogy. Jane was a worthy villain and the whole action sequence where Bryn and the gang ran from Jane, only for her to blocked their plans left and right was worthy of a movie. I thought it would be great visually -- since it involved bombs and helicopters, some heavy weaponries. Not to mention Bryn eating one of Jane's soldier. It was awesome.
However, at the same time, the climax in which felt a bit of a let down. It just happened too quick. I was expecting some epic martial arts battle that last several pages *lol*.
The ending was really good too! I loved the twist -- Manny was able to develop . I was holding my breath on the final chapter.
So yes, definitely a great conclusion and a worthy urban fantasy trilogy...
--------------
A different take of the walking dead, I found this as a great conclusion of the trilogy. Jane was a worthy villain and the whole action sequence where Bryn and the gang ran from Jane, only for her to blocked their plans left and right was worthy of a movie. I thought it would be great visually -- since it involved bombs and helicopters, some heavy weaponries. Not to mention Bryn eating one of Jane's soldier. It was awesome.
However, at the same time, the climax in which felt a bit of a let down. It just happened too quick. I was expecting some epic martial arts battle that last several pages *lol*.
The ending was really good too! I loved the twist -- Manny was able to develop . I was holding my breath on the final chapter.
So yes, definitely a great conclusion and a worthy urban fantasy trilogy...
January 10, 2016
Spoilery, though mostly nonspecific
Caine's series do not 'wear' well. They always start out fun and interesting for me, but a few books in I'm rolling my eyes. (I dropped Weather Warden eventually and have never had any interest finding out how it wrapped up.)
First half was incredibly boring and full of inane conversations. Didn't help that the rest of the plot consisted of running around getting stabbed/shot/bombed/falling off cliffs/hit by semis/starved with no coherent plan for "stopping the bad guys".
Good thing Manny is a gibbering deus ex machina. So annoying. One second he's all, "get out, you're cut off", the next, "so glad you're all okay". Gosh, he's so *paranoid*...except when he isn't.
Second half caught its stride and had some exciting moments. I laughed out loud at both halves of Bryn's solution to hide the vial on her person.
Caine's series do not 'wear' well. They always start out fun and interesting for me, but a few books in I'm rolling my eyes. (I dropped Weather Warden eventually and have never had any interest finding out how it wrapped up.)
First half was incredibly boring and full of inane conversations. Didn't help that the rest of the plot consisted of running around getting stabbed/shot/bombed/falling off cliffs/hit by semis/starved with no coherent plan for "stopping the bad guys".
Good thing Manny is a gibbering deus ex machina. So annoying. One second he's all, "get out, you're cut off", the next, "so glad you're all okay". Gosh, he's so *paranoid*...except when he isn't.
Second half caught its stride and had some exciting moments. I laughed out loud at both halves of Bryn's solution to hide the vial on her person.
April 1, 2015
It has something of a video game feel to it – go from Point A to Point B to Point C to Point D, etc., have a fight at each point, gain or lose health points, gather clues, etc.
Our main character has finally come into her own as. But yikes, it was a high cost – and it took a lot to get her there.
Besides the amount of horror and violence as the antagonists’ far reach stretches out like Cthulhu, the book also spends a little too much time lovingly describing paramilitary bases, bunkers, armories, and other ways to prepare for the End of the World as We Know It - it suggests the author is actually on Team Zombie Apocalypse Now.
In the end
Zombies tend to represent something, ranging in socials ills from McCarthyism or Consumerism, depending on the times.
Here, zombie represent the result of the unholy marriage of large corporations with government branches.
The suggestion that an unorganized loose-cannon group of hackers will save the day is a bit of a flippant response to so serious an issue.
August 11, 2016
Terminated
3.5 Stars
Overall, a satisfying conclusion to the series, but does not really live up to the promise of the first two books.
To begin with, the entire first half with Bryn & Co. on the run is a series of disjointed capture/escape scenes strung together for no apparent reason. There are also one or two plot discrepancies , and the mystery of Bryn and Annie’s sister Sharon comes out of nowhere. There is also no follow up to the Mercer and Fast Freddy storyline.
Thankfully, the plot development improves at the halfway mark with the search for a “cure”, and the resolution to the Returne epidemic is realistic although somewhat Deus Ex Machina . Finally, Jane’s comeuppance is exceedingly gratifying as is the ending to Bryn and Pat's romance.
3.5 Stars
Overall, a satisfying conclusion to the series, but does not really live up to the promise of the first two books.
To begin with, the entire first half with Bryn & Co. on the run is a series of disjointed capture/escape scenes strung together for no apparent reason. There are also one or two plot discrepancies , and the mystery of Bryn and Annie’s sister Sharon comes out of nowhere. There is also no follow up to the Mercer and Fast Freddy storyline.
Thankfully, the plot development improves at the halfway mark with the search for a “cure”, and the resolution to the Returne epidemic is realistic although somewhat Deus Ex Machina . Finally, Jane’s comeuppance is exceedingly gratifying as is the ending to Bryn and Pat's romance.
July 16, 2014
Terminated is an acceptable ending to the Revivalist series. Zombies aren't usually my thing, but R.C.'s writing appeals to me and her spin is engaging. Book 1, Working Stiff, is my favorite because there's more story than countless gruesome killings, which seem excessive in Terminated.
One point on consistency: (I think) Two Weeks' Notice and Terminated repeat the "fact" that upgraded zombies who don't need the daily shot of Returne can only infect other zombies when they purge, not humans. So while I was glad Joe was saved, the way it happened felt like a Hollywood ending that contradicted a major story element. Also, the resolution to the mystery of Bryn's missing sister, Sharon, was oddly inserted.
And just a little more detail about how Manny's computer code killed the zombie infection would have been helpful. Terminated is an entertaining read that mostly ties up the loose ends, but Walt, Brick, and Brent make me wonder if R.C. will feature them in the future.
One point on consistency: (I think) Two Weeks' Notice and Terminated repeat the "fact" that upgraded zombies who don't need the daily shot of Returne can only infect other zombies when they purge, not humans. So while I was glad Joe was saved, the way it happened felt like a Hollywood ending that contradicted a major story element. Also, the resolution to the mystery of Bryn's missing sister, Sharon, was oddly inserted.
And just a little more detail about how Manny's computer code killed the zombie infection would have been helpful. Terminated is an entertaining read that mostly ties up the loose ends, but Walt, Brick, and Brent make me wonder if R.C. will feature them in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2013
Beautifully savage!
I fell in love with this series since book 1 and it's really sad for me to read this book because for some reason, I didn't know this was the last book in this series.
I never ever thought I'd read a zombie book because I'm just SO NOT INETRESTED in zombies or the whole culture of the brain eating monsters, but this book and the previous ones had mo hooked. You get to see the main character evolve and you live every single change with her, the male heroine is lovable by all standards and the action is just unstoppable and unpredictable.
I expected no less from Rachel Caine and I would never in my life time turn down a book by her because she writes exactly what I love to read. Even her ethical and moral views I respect and share with her in her writing.
I strongly recommend this series to everyone. Especially those who feel reluctant to read semi-sci-fi or Zombie apocalypse.
I fell in love with this series since book 1 and it's really sad for me to read this book because for some reason, I didn't know this was the last book in this series.
I never ever thought I'd read a zombie book because I'm just SO NOT INETRESTED in zombies or the whole culture of the brain eating monsters, but this book and the previous ones had mo hooked. You get to see the main character evolve and you live every single change with her, the male heroine is lovable by all standards and the action is just unstoppable and unpredictable.
I expected no less from Rachel Caine and I would never in my life time turn down a book by her because she writes exactly what I love to read. Even her ethical and moral views I respect and share with her in her writing.
I strongly recommend this series to everyone. Especially those who feel reluctant to read semi-sci-fi or Zombie apocalypse.
June 24, 2013
Happened to score an ARC copy from Rachel Caine herself at a meet and greet, (Second time I met her and every time I met her it just solidifies why I love her as an author, you can really feel her in her writing) Terminated was an amazingly beautiful way to wrap the books up. Your sad, then happy then sad... It really is a roller coaster in a good way. And in the heat of the moment, you couldn't think of what crazy huge thing comes next. I can't say too much, but it was really... really well ended, I honestly, could not think of a better ending.
Great read.
Great read.
March 13, 2016
Great (and somewhat unexpected) end to the series. At least I think it's done...seems like it's pretty well wrapped with a bow on top, though I could see more books featuring some of the characters perhaps. The overall plot line seems to be complete though. Liked it much better than the 2nd, though some of that could just be that I'd forgotten the first one too much and was still getting back into things. Do recommend the entire series though.
January 17, 2016
I was only going to give this book 4 stars but after that ending - definitely 5!
September 14, 2019
I knew this was the last book in the series and I was really looking forward to knocking it off my list.
But most of the time while reading this, it did not feel like a finale.
And it didn't pull me in as well as the other books. I liked the action in this (and there was always action) and that did make it fun to read. Bryn's character development in this was also really interesting to read, but that didn't really come out much until the end.
I guess, to me, most of this story felt like a wild goose chase. We were never settled in one place long enough to let anything develop, and I'm not much of a fan of that, apparently. Since they were on the run, basically the same things kept happening over and over. Battle, flee, hide, battle, flee, hide.
I do really like these characters. I think they're fun. But this book didn't showcase much of their personalities the way the previous books had. Maybe it was because we were still getting to know them back then, but these just weren't as...fun.
I was kind of let down by the ending, though. It was one of those cases where I knew I was about 20 pages from the end and literally nothing had been resolved yet. The climax and resolution happened very quickly, which wasn't very satisfying. I liked how it ended, don't get me wrong, but it felt incredibly rushed.
I liked this series. I think it is inventive and interesting. I just wish the ending had done more.
But most of the time while reading this, it did not feel like a finale.
And it didn't pull me in as well as the other books. I liked the action in this (and there was always action) and that did make it fun to read. Bryn's character development in this was also really interesting to read, but that didn't really come out much until the end.
I guess, to me, most of this story felt like a wild goose chase. We were never settled in one place long enough to let anything develop, and I'm not much of a fan of that, apparently. Since they were on the run, basically the same things kept happening over and over. Battle, flee, hide, battle, flee, hide.
I do really like these characters. I think they're fun. But this book didn't showcase much of their personalities the way the previous books had. Maybe it was because we were still getting to know them back then, but these just weren't as...fun.
I was kind of let down by the ending, though. It was one of those cases where I knew I was about 20 pages from the end and literally nothing had been resolved yet. The climax and resolution happened very quickly, which wasn't very satisfying. I liked how it ended, don't get me wrong, but it felt incredibly rushed.
I liked this series. I think it is inventive and interesting. I just wish the ending had done more.
January 15, 2019
The last book was admittedly a little better than book 2 was for me, but it had a level of spontaneous action and poor decision making (on the part of the main characters) that frustrated me almost the entire book. I think my problem ultimately was that the characters' actions seemed superficial, more checking boxes of 'feel this way' or 'go to this location'. The main character's day job evaporates quickly from the story, and the supporting cast personalities feel more like charicatures and concepts than three dimensional characters. I wanted to read this to completion, although I suspected how the story would complete, and was pretty close. Is had potential for being an interesting series, but it meandered off into a vanilla hide and seek story.
January 8, 2020
3.5 When it comes to kicking the sh*t out the main character and providing an entertaining plot, this book deserves 5 stars; I especially liked when they set her on fire! But it did feel like she was given a constant safety net and the ending was a bit lackluster.
Also, telling you something dreadful about one character and then killing them off as collateral damage felt a bit contrived. Was it supposed to make me feel better? I just felt like l was conned. I don't think it added anything to the narrative.
I still enjoyed the story overall and am glad I finally finished this trilogy seven years after I started! This counts for the first tier of my Stacking the Series 2020 Challenge.
Also, telling you something dreadful about one character and then killing them off as collateral damage felt a bit contrived. Was it supposed to make me feel better? I just felt like l was conned. I don't think it added anything to the narrative.
I still enjoyed the story overall and am glad I finally finished this trilogy seven years after I started! This counts for the first tier of my Stacking the Series 2020 Challenge.
December 6, 2017
Once again, I am reminded of watching the video game "The Last of Us" as my son played through. Lots of loss in this series, lots of consipracy, lots of human nature--the good, the bad, and the ugly. To me, this was a good series ender, but it felt so.show rushed--like a tv series that needed another season was canceled and they didn't want to go for the nuclear ending, but couldn't quite fit everything in. That said, this ending gives a wide open path forward for reader imagination.
May 14, 2017
This was quite a different series - mix humans who are practically zombies, some with a conscience and some not, scientists who can save or destroy the world as we know it, and corrupt politicians and officials, and you get the conspiracy of all conspiracies. Just when it seems there is no possible solution, voila! I enjoyed the writing and the story with it's satisfying conclusion.
March 6, 2018
It's hard to review this book. I thought it was good, and I enjoyed reading it. It had some great ideas and lots of twists and turns that made it hard to figure out what would happen next. But I did not like the ending. I found it to be unbelievable. Which made it a big disappointment. I know she needed to end this book on a happy note, but really? Maybe she could have ended it much better. Sigh.
June 30, 2018
I enjoyed the series. I did not enjoy the huge editing issues. Book 2 ends with nano transmission by one character and the entire group being aware of the latest twist. Book 3 starts with everyone - except Brynn being clueless, and the nano transmission happened via bite by a different character. Bad editors and bad author for not rereading the damn ending of the prequel.
August 5, 2013
Killed and brought back by the drug Returné Bryn has now had the drug “upgrade” and although she no longer needs the regular shots of Returné to stay ‘alive’, her new status does come with its drawbacks, including the insatiable desire for large amounts of protein and often. Bryn, Riley, Patrick, Leon, Joe and Annalie have gone underground with Manny and Pansy to evade those that desperately want to capture them – Patrick’s insane ex-wife Jane and all those she has working for her.
Although Pansy is anxious to help them, Manny’s paranoia rears its ugly head when Bryn confesses to the group the little upgrade she’s received and it’s clear that they have to leave the safety of his compound and go on the run to find out more information and attempt to stop Jane. They get wind of some information – a possible antidote to Returné, both versions: the one that requires the daily shots and the one that Bryn and Riley enjoy. They need to track down the person that can give them the information and find out how to get that antidote. Manny can replicate it and Jane and her cohorts can be shut down for good. But Patrick and Bryn are horrified to discover that Jane’s backing comes with seemingly limitless funds and ammunition. It seems that the research goes all the way to the top and Returné Pt 2 is being cultivated for mass release in warfare. Patrick and Bryn know that under no circumstances can they let that happen – they need to get the antidote and they need to stop people being turned.
Bryn is already feeling how the upgrade has changed her. She’s becoming more ruthless, less human every day and her insatiable craving for meat to feed the nanites disturbs her beyond belief but she can’t stop herself. She’s beginning to become very frightened of what she is becoming – has become. She has seen Jane at her worst and knows what might await her. The antidote will render anyone who has been given Returné no longer and Bryn is well are that they might need to use it on her…
Oh how I love this series! I remember that I was devastated when I learned that this one, the third, would be the final installment. I’ve read Caine’s other books and all her series’ seem to go much longer so I thought I had a lot of books ahead of me! When I nabbed this one off NetGalley, I was too frightened to read it. I wanted justice for Bryn and what happened to her, I wanted the best of possible outcomes for her and Patrick, I wanted this series to go out with a bang.
Should’ve known it’d tick all the boxes.
Terminated takes all the action of the previous two books, Working Stiff and Two Weeks’ Notice and ramps it right up. Patrick, Bryn and Co have to leave everything they know behind and go on the run, trying to dodge Jane and those she has doing her dirty work and at the same time trying to find the information they need to bring the whole Returné military plans down – for good. They cannot risk this version of the drug being released to more people than it has been so far – even the ones that do have it now are a huge risk, Bryn included.
There’s no way around it – Bryn’s behaviour in this book is pretty disturbing. It gets the closest to zombie that it has so far. She’s been dead for all of the books but the ‘upgrade’ certainly comes with some very significant side effects. Her inner struggle with what she is becoming is beautifully done. I was slightly grossed out by her at the same time that I was so utterly sympathetic towards her. She’s fast, she’s strong, she’s virtually unkillable and she needs every single skill she possesses to avoid being captured by Jane. She’s been there before and she’s absolutely not going back. She and Patrick also have some issues to sort out – Patrick never even told her he was married and to find out the way that she did really rocked her. She had come to utterly rely on Patrick for many reasons. He was the one who brought her back and then the one who fought for her being able to stay on the drug, instead of just being disposed of. In the last book they progressed to being lovers and then to have Jane drop her bombshells. So Bryn is really not quite sure what to say to Patrick and he knows that he’s on the backfoot. But the chemistry between the two of them is so strong, it just leaps off the page.
Ever since I found out that this book would be the last, I tried to think of ways that it might end while I waited for it to be published. I wasn’t sure how it would be a satisfying ending given Bryn’s…condition. Rachel Caine utterly nailed it. Books that are the last in a series always have to be approached a little warily – I know myself that I end up with high expectations and sometimes its impossible for the author’s choices to satisfy all of my wants because it’s just not possible. However this book really does do everything it should – it’s the perfect end to a series that should be held up for all others. I know Caine is ending the Morganville Vampires series soon and reading this book gives me full confidence that will face the same treatment really does tie things up and give satisfaction to the readers. It’s pretty hard to top that scene between Bryn and Patrick in Two Weeks’ Notice but this book does its very best throughout. The result is pretty close to perfection.
Although Pansy is anxious to help them, Manny’s paranoia rears its ugly head when Bryn confesses to the group the little upgrade she’s received and it’s clear that they have to leave the safety of his compound and go on the run to find out more information and attempt to stop Jane. They get wind of some information – a possible antidote to Returné, both versions: the one that requires the daily shots and the one that Bryn and Riley enjoy. They need to track down the person that can give them the information and find out how to get that antidote. Manny can replicate it and Jane and her cohorts can be shut down for good. But Patrick and Bryn are horrified to discover that Jane’s backing comes with seemingly limitless funds and ammunition. It seems that the research goes all the way to the top and Returné Pt 2 is being cultivated for mass release in warfare. Patrick and Bryn know that under no circumstances can they let that happen – they need to get the antidote and they need to stop people being turned.
Bryn is already feeling how the upgrade has changed her. She’s becoming more ruthless, less human every day and her insatiable craving for meat to feed the nanites disturbs her beyond belief but she can’t stop herself. She’s beginning to become very frightened of what she is becoming – has become. She has seen Jane at her worst and knows what might await her. The antidote will render anyone who has been given Returné no longer and Bryn is well are that they might need to use it on her…
Oh how I love this series! I remember that I was devastated when I learned that this one, the third, would be the final installment. I’ve read Caine’s other books and all her series’ seem to go much longer so I thought I had a lot of books ahead of me! When I nabbed this one off NetGalley, I was too frightened to read it. I wanted justice for Bryn and what happened to her, I wanted the best of possible outcomes for her and Patrick, I wanted this series to go out with a bang.
Should’ve known it’d tick all the boxes.
Terminated takes all the action of the previous two books, Working Stiff and Two Weeks’ Notice and ramps it right up. Patrick, Bryn and Co have to leave everything they know behind and go on the run, trying to dodge Jane and those she has doing her dirty work and at the same time trying to find the information they need to bring the whole Returné military plans down – for good. They cannot risk this version of the drug being released to more people than it has been so far – even the ones that do have it now are a huge risk, Bryn included.
There’s no way around it – Bryn’s behaviour in this book is pretty disturbing. It gets the closest to zombie that it has so far. She’s been dead for all of the books but the ‘upgrade’ certainly comes with some very significant side effects. Her inner struggle with what she is becoming is beautifully done. I was slightly grossed out by her at the same time that I was so utterly sympathetic towards her. She’s fast, she’s strong, she’s virtually unkillable and she needs every single skill she possesses to avoid being captured by Jane. She’s been there before and she’s absolutely not going back. She and Patrick also have some issues to sort out – Patrick never even told her he was married and to find out the way that she did really rocked her. She had come to utterly rely on Patrick for many reasons. He was the one who brought her back and then the one who fought for her being able to stay on the drug, instead of just being disposed of. In the last book they progressed to being lovers and then to have Jane drop her bombshells. So Bryn is really not quite sure what to say to Patrick and he knows that he’s on the backfoot. But the chemistry between the two of them is so strong, it just leaps off the page.
Ever since I found out that this book would be the last, I tried to think of ways that it might end while I waited for it to be published. I wasn’t sure how it would be a satisfying ending given Bryn’s…condition. Rachel Caine utterly nailed it. Books that are the last in a series always have to be approached a little warily – I know myself that I end up with high expectations and sometimes its impossible for the author’s choices to satisfy all of my wants because it’s just not possible. However this book really does do everything it should – it’s the perfect end to a series that should be held up for all others. I know Caine is ending the Morganville Vampires series soon and reading this book gives me full confidence that will face the same treatment really does tie things up and give satisfaction to the readers. It’s pretty hard to top that scene between Bryn and Patrick in Two Weeks’ Notice but this book does its very best throughout. The result is pretty close to perfection.
May 8, 2019
Bryn finally kicking ass and taking names but the ending was a bummer. Huge potential however it ultimately left me feeling like the author just skimmed over the top of the water instead of diving in and getting soaked.
September 10, 2019
Wow. Rachel Caine really doesn't mess around. Talk about character development!
I loved the internal debate Bryn had, the tense atmosphere between literally everyone and the end wasn't even that far-fetched. Ok, no, it was, but it totally worked.
I loved the internal debate Bryn had, the tense atmosphere between literally everyone and the end wasn't even that far-fetched. Ok, no, it was, but it totally worked.
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