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MetaWars #4
Metawars: The Freedom Frontier
The thrilling final instalment of the action-packed METAWARS series.
With the Guardians and Millennials eliminated, Jonah and Sam are left to fend for themselves. When they discover their enemy, Granger, is also on his own they take the ultimate leap of faith and join forces to survive...and save humanity. The future of the world on and off-line is at stake and Jonah will not stop until he prevails.
Even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice.
With the Guardians and Millennials eliminated, Jonah and Sam are left to fend for themselves. When they discover their enemy, Granger, is also on his own they take the ultimate leap of faith and join forces to survive...and save humanity. The future of the world on and off-line is at stake and Jonah will not stop until he prevails.
Even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 2, 2014
1 person is currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Norton
25 books41 followersJeff is the author of the award-winning MetaWars series for young adult readers and 'Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie' and 'Alienated: Grounded At Groom Lake' for middle-grade readers.
Jeff is also a writer and Executive Producer in television. He is the showrunner and EP of 'Finding Her Edge' for Netflix (based on the book by Jennifer Iacopelli). He is also the originating EP of 'Geek Girl' (based on the books by Holly Smale).
His new book series is 'Dino Knights', a chapter book series about brave knights riding into adventure on the backs of dinosaurs!
A reluctant reader as a youth, Jeff is passionate about creating stories that will turn reluctant readers into lifelong ones.
Before writing novels, Jeff managed the Enid Blyton literary estate. Jeff moved to London from Los Angeles where he'd developed and produced the critically acclaimed interactive movie Choose Your Own Adventure, based on the best-selling books.
Jeff recently moved back to his homeland of Canada from London, UK where he lives with his wife, two sons, and a fluffy Bernedoodle.
Jeff is also a writer and Executive Producer in television. He is the showrunner and EP of 'Finding Her Edge' for Netflix (based on the book by Jennifer Iacopelli). He is also the originating EP of 'Geek Girl' (based on the books by Holly Smale).
His new book series is 'Dino Knights', a chapter book series about brave knights riding into adventure on the backs of dinosaurs!
A reluctant reader as a youth, Jeff is passionate about creating stories that will turn reluctant readers into lifelong ones.
Before writing novels, Jeff managed the Enid Blyton literary estate. Jeff moved to London from Los Angeles where he'd developed and produced the critically acclaimed interactive movie Choose Your Own Adventure, based on the best-selling books.
Jeff recently moved back to his homeland of Canada from London, UK where he lives with his wife, two sons, and a fluffy Bernedoodle.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 11, 2014
You know all those mixed emotions you have when you reach the end of a much loved series? The nerves in case things don't turn out how you want them to, the sadness that this is your final adventure with those characters you've become so invested in and the worry that it won't live up to your expectations. I felt all those and more before I picked up The Final Frontier, I've had so much fun reading this series and I really didn't want to see it come to an end. Thankfully Jeff Norton manages to end the things on a high note and I think this really was my favourite book in the series.
Jonah has been through so much since the first book and he's grown into a young man that we can be proud of. He's been faced with difficult decisions, ones where there isn't always an easy solution, but no matter what he's always remained true to his beliefs and tried to do what's right. He has been lied to, manipulated and had people try to force him into things he's not comfortable with but he's also found out who is friends really are. He's lost people he loved and found people who are loyal to him that he would risk his life for in an instant. In short, he's grown up.
I don't want to say too much about the plot of The Freedom Frontier because I want readers to be able to dive in and experience it fully for themselves. Instead I'm just going to talk about the series as a whole and tell you just some of the reasons I've loved it so much. These books are full of action and adventure, the characters are faced with moral dilemmas, friends become enemies and enemies become friends. Nothing is what it first seems and just when you've changed your mind about a particular character something will come along and make you believe you were right about them in the first place. This is a world of different shades of grey, there is no black and white and both sides of the war have done questionable things. I think this quote sums that up perfectly:
"The Guardians wanted freedom. The Millennials wanted control. And both sides were willing to kill for their goals. He wondered how different they actually were. Whose side was he really on?"
Jonah is the one who has been stuck in the middle and he's handled that difficult position incredibly well. I have to mention Sam here too, she's been such a fantastic friend to Jonah and she has always had his back even when she isn't sure he's making the right choices. The two of them will take on any challenge and they always come out fighting for what they believe in.
The Metawars series is full of unexpected twists and turns, these books will grab you from the very first page and you won't want to stop until you've read them all. This final book is a game changer in the most wonderful ways, it took me on a rollercoaster of emotion and left me with a huge smile on my face. I don't think I can recommend this series highly enough and it's definitely put Jeff Norton on my list of must read authors.
Jonah has been through so much since the first book and he's grown into a young man that we can be proud of. He's been faced with difficult decisions, ones where there isn't always an easy solution, but no matter what he's always remained true to his beliefs and tried to do what's right. He has been lied to, manipulated and had people try to force him into things he's not comfortable with but he's also found out who is friends really are. He's lost people he loved and found people who are loyal to him that he would risk his life for in an instant. In short, he's grown up.
I don't want to say too much about the plot of The Freedom Frontier because I want readers to be able to dive in and experience it fully for themselves. Instead I'm just going to talk about the series as a whole and tell you just some of the reasons I've loved it so much. These books are full of action and adventure, the characters are faced with moral dilemmas, friends become enemies and enemies become friends. Nothing is what it first seems and just when you've changed your mind about a particular character something will come along and make you believe you were right about them in the first place. This is a world of different shades of grey, there is no black and white and both sides of the war have done questionable things. I think this quote sums that up perfectly:
"The Guardians wanted freedom. The Millennials wanted control. And both sides were willing to kill for their goals. He wondered how different they actually were. Whose side was he really on?"
Jonah is the one who has been stuck in the middle and he's handled that difficult position incredibly well. I have to mention Sam here too, she's been such a fantastic friend to Jonah and she has always had his back even when she isn't sure he's making the right choices. The two of them will take on any challenge and they always come out fighting for what they believe in.
The Metawars series is full of unexpected twists and turns, these books will grab you from the very first page and you won't want to stop until you've read them all. This final book is a game changer in the most wonderful ways, it took me on a rollercoaster of emotion and left me with a huge smile on my face. I don't think I can recommend this series highly enough and it's definitely put Jeff Norton on my list of must read authors.
December 31, 2013
I have had mixed feelings about reading this book, I have only recently started this series and have demolished every book I have read, and while I have been looking forward to reading MetaWars: The Freedom Frontier, I have not wanted to read it knowing that it's the final book in the series.
Jeff Norton takes no prisoners in MetaWars: The Freedom Frontier and the action is quick to start. Right off the bat there are an unimaginable number of losses from both Millennials and Guardians, and some potential losses, one of them I didn't expect and actually made me cry, which considering I didn't really develop a bond with this character surprised me.
Jonah, Sam, and Granger have to stop this war for once and for all, and the only solution is to join forces and fight a common enemy. I never saw this coming and considering the history between this trio they work well together, each one bringing something to their advantage. I really thought that they would last for one mission that only benefited Granger, and that he would then do something to split the team up, but he really surprised me, which makes me feel better about liking some of the ways he tried to 'help' the Uploaded in the previous book.
Prepare to grab hold of this book with both hands, and take one hell of an adventure with Jonah, Sam, and Granger. In my head I had it planned out how MetaWars: The Freedom Frontier would go down, and my expectations were thrown out of the window, instead I was presented with a book were I never knew what would happen next from one page to another, and this just made the adventure that much more 'real'.
I wish I could go into detail and write thousands and thousands of words to explain my feelings and thoughts about MetaWars: The Freedom Frontier. But if I did that then I would take away the surprises and the sense of adventure from you. I love seeing how the plan this trio made together works, and the end result from it all, which I think was a perfect touch to this series and what the MetaWars were all about. The friendships made in previous books are tested with bad, good, and happy consequences and I like were the future is heading.
January 7, 2014
Well I finally got to read the last instalment, book 4 and the finale of Metawars. Brilliantly written, great story line. Hard to write a review without spoilers. But here goes. Characters remain true to themselves, even those one might not expect to meet again. Of course there is a twist, great twist. As with all series I've enjoyed I am now going to re-read the whole series again more slowly in case I missed something. Plus give Jeff more time to write me something new to read :)
January 23, 2014
orginally posted at: http://thebookplank.blogspot.com/2014...
It has been quite a ride so far in the MetaWars series and I went into Freedom Frontier with heavy reservations. From the book, Fight for the Future, Jeff Norton managed to win me over to his side. With the books that followed, The Dead are Rising and Battle of The Immortal, Jeff Norton kept up the pace and kept on improving his storyline as he went. The books never faltered for a moment. I have to say that not only I saw a great story unfolding, it also became apparent for me that Jeff Norton as an author kept on improving, his writing style the flow and pacing and use of words kept on improving.
There has been some time in between the publishing dates of book three (2nd of May 2013) and four so for the sake I will give brief status update of what has happened in the earlier books. The MetaWars is set in the near future dystopian setting and tells a story about several major Metatrends. With the governments going bankrupt, private companies rose to the occasion and more or less took over the world, one person among them was Matthew Granger who created the MetaSphere, a place where people can easily "jack-in"and live their perfect virtual lives. The MetaSphere is the perfect place to escape to because, where would you rather be? A poverty stricken Earth or a no worries virtual place? This is also a heavy theme that is explored all throughout the four books. At the heart of the story we find the main protagonist of the series, Jonah Delacroix, who is thrown in the midst of the fight for the future between the Millenials, who want to privatize the MetaSphere and the Guardians who want to make it free for everyone, by liberating the four corners that all hold a part of the MetaSphere server, so far the Guardians have succeeded in liberating a few corners but this hasn't been without sacrifice for both parties. Besides Jonah there is Sam Kavanaugh, the daughter of the leader of the Guardians. They make a good team but do their allegiance lie in the same direction??
As the story opens I was directly thrown in a very emotional scene, the other books opened in a different way, I cannot say that those was full of joy but with Freedom Frontier I directly got a sense of impending doom. It was all boiling down to something big, and after the introducing chapters it's just one non-stop ride to save humankind. Jonah, Sam and the rest of the Guardians have their minds set on liberating the last remaining corner in Canada, they have air and land invasions planned and they hope they can beat Matthew to the pass. The Millenials are busy with evacuating the last corner before the Guardians can make their strike. Now you might think that with these revealing in the early pages of the book, what else is written in the last 300 pages? Well here Jeff Norton hits the reader, and it isn't a gentle tap. He completely transforms the heretofore proposed story, I had my minds set on a final action packed battle between the Guardians and the Millenials and to finally see who would win, I have had been thinking hard about where my allegiance would be but both parties had their good point but also their bad points. But back to the major twist. Matthew had another devious plan to let the MetaSphere be his again but through a different way, he constructs a Imprint Chamber. But Matthew's plan soon turn full front against him and he looses everything he is dear, his friends (yes he did have them) and his Millenial force. He is on he his own similarly does this count for Jonah and Sam and the Guardians, some of them of the Guardians are drawn into the scheme of Matthew... So it basically comes down to this, both the Millenials and Guardians have become none existent and Jonah and Sam and Matthew are left on their own... This did paved a way for an interesting conclusion as these three protagonist finally start to realize that there is much more than there first presumed causes. They just needed to have that trigger, and they surely got it. OK, now I am going to stop talking about the story, but I can guarantee you that you will be surprised, in a terrific kind of way by the twist that Jeff Norton throws at you, you will just as I abandon all pretense of what you might have had come to believe of the direction that this story would go into!
As I told in my review of the earlier books, I was impressed with how Jeff Norton kept on developing his protagonists. I have to say that in the first book, most felt a bit static and I had some minor remarks about Jonah's emotions and that when he lost his mother it wasn't shown in the way that I would have liked to have seen a grief stricken young boy, it felt moer robotic, HOWEVER, yes it deserves capitals, Jeff Norton really stepped up his game in the subsequent books and put a nice emphasis on the emotional side to many of his characters. Making them feel that much more human and I really started caring not only for Jonah and Sam but also for Matthew, yes he is in many ways the bad guy of the story but all that I have come to learn about him in the first three books did leave some thoughts wondering about him. As for in this fourth and final book, it isn't just a race to the finish, but there is also a transition in the characters, one that I embraced with open arms. Like I said above about throwing away the pretense of the story, you will be doing it in some ways for the characters as well. With the team-up of Matthew, Jonah and Sam several important things about the history of these characters comes to show. Yes, Jonah and Sam are still the determined young adults fighting for their cause, but it seems that Jonah has been learning, a lot, his final transformation in the confident young man he became is just remarkable, added to this is finally that Jonah and Sam give into each other, I knew from the start that they were made for each other! great to see it finally happen. Now as for the bad guy, Matthew, his revealing really stopped me right in my tracks, how Jeff Norton went about and revealed several heavy subject surrounding his past really had me throw away my hate for him, yes he is still an ass sometimes and his reasoning can be better be brought to practice than all out destruction, his heart is in the right place and he cared for more than he initially let on, yes this isn't a typo, so ill repeat: his heart is in the right place and he cared for more than he initially let on! Brilliant.
MetaWars: Freedom Frontier is the perfect conclusion to this outstanding young-adult series. What initially started with a plan when the Icelandic ash cloud shut down air traffic, now has shown in full colors that it really payed off to chase your idea's. I was hooked from the first book and Jeff Norton has never let me down in his stories, I had some thoughts as to how this story might finished but he really threw me a cruveball right there and then. It's these last minute changes that really get me fired up about reading books. They make the story. From the idea with escaping reality and who controls who down to the world and the characters that live in it, this book is just perfect. People... get to reading this series, it will not let you down!
It has been quite a ride so far in the MetaWars series and I went into Freedom Frontier with heavy reservations. From the book, Fight for the Future, Jeff Norton managed to win me over to his side. With the books that followed, The Dead are Rising and Battle of The Immortal, Jeff Norton kept up the pace and kept on improving his storyline as he went. The books never faltered for a moment. I have to say that not only I saw a great story unfolding, it also became apparent for me that Jeff Norton as an author kept on improving, his writing style the flow and pacing and use of words kept on improving.
There has been some time in between the publishing dates of book three (2nd of May 2013) and four so for the sake I will give brief status update of what has happened in the earlier books. The MetaWars is set in the near future dystopian setting and tells a story about several major Metatrends. With the governments going bankrupt, private companies rose to the occasion and more or less took over the world, one person among them was Matthew Granger who created the MetaSphere, a place where people can easily "jack-in"and live their perfect virtual lives. The MetaSphere is the perfect place to escape to because, where would you rather be? A poverty stricken Earth or a no worries virtual place? This is also a heavy theme that is explored all throughout the four books. At the heart of the story we find the main protagonist of the series, Jonah Delacroix, who is thrown in the midst of the fight for the future between the Millenials, who want to privatize the MetaSphere and the Guardians who want to make it free for everyone, by liberating the four corners that all hold a part of the MetaSphere server, so far the Guardians have succeeded in liberating a few corners but this hasn't been without sacrifice for both parties. Besides Jonah there is Sam Kavanaugh, the daughter of the leader of the Guardians. They make a good team but do their allegiance lie in the same direction??
As the story opens I was directly thrown in a very emotional scene, the other books opened in a different way, I cannot say that those was full of joy but with Freedom Frontier I directly got a sense of impending doom. It was all boiling down to something big, and after the introducing chapters it's just one non-stop ride to save humankind. Jonah, Sam and the rest of the Guardians have their minds set on liberating the last remaining corner in Canada, they have air and land invasions planned and they hope they can beat Matthew to the pass. The Millenials are busy with evacuating the last corner before the Guardians can make their strike. Now you might think that with these revealing in the early pages of the book, what else is written in the last 300 pages? Well here Jeff Norton hits the reader, and it isn't a gentle tap. He completely transforms the heretofore proposed story, I had my minds set on a final action packed battle between the Guardians and the Millenials and to finally see who would win, I have had been thinking hard about where my allegiance would be but both parties had their good point but also their bad points. But back to the major twist. Matthew had another devious plan to let the MetaSphere be his again but through a different way, he constructs a Imprint Chamber. But Matthew's plan soon turn full front against him and he looses everything he is dear, his friends (yes he did have them) and his Millenial force. He is on he his own similarly does this count for Jonah and Sam and the Guardians, some of them of the Guardians are drawn into the scheme of Matthew... So it basically comes down to this, both the Millenials and Guardians have become none existent and Jonah and Sam and Matthew are left on their own... This did paved a way for an interesting conclusion as these three protagonist finally start to realize that there is much more than there first presumed causes. They just needed to have that trigger, and they surely got it. OK, now I am going to stop talking about the story, but I can guarantee you that you will be surprised, in a terrific kind of way by the twist that Jeff Norton throws at you, you will just as I abandon all pretense of what you might have had come to believe of the direction that this story would go into!
As I told in my review of the earlier books, I was impressed with how Jeff Norton kept on developing his protagonists. I have to say that in the first book, most felt a bit static and I had some minor remarks about Jonah's emotions and that when he lost his mother it wasn't shown in the way that I would have liked to have seen a grief stricken young boy, it felt moer robotic, HOWEVER, yes it deserves capitals, Jeff Norton really stepped up his game in the subsequent books and put a nice emphasis on the emotional side to many of his characters. Making them feel that much more human and I really started caring not only for Jonah and Sam but also for Matthew, yes he is in many ways the bad guy of the story but all that I have come to learn about him in the first three books did leave some thoughts wondering about him. As for in this fourth and final book, it isn't just a race to the finish, but there is also a transition in the characters, one that I embraced with open arms. Like I said above about throwing away the pretense of the story, you will be doing it in some ways for the characters as well. With the team-up of Matthew, Jonah and Sam several important things about the history of these characters comes to show. Yes, Jonah and Sam are still the determined young adults fighting for their cause, but it seems that Jonah has been learning, a lot, his final transformation in the confident young man he became is just remarkable, added to this is finally that Jonah and Sam give into each other, I knew from the start that they were made for each other! great to see it finally happen. Now as for the bad guy, Matthew, his revealing really stopped me right in my tracks, how Jeff Norton went about and revealed several heavy subject surrounding his past really had me throw away my hate for him, yes he is still an ass sometimes and his reasoning can be better be brought to practice than all out destruction, his heart is in the right place and he cared for more than he initially let on, yes this isn't a typo, so ill repeat: his heart is in the right place and he cared for more than he initially let on! Brilliant.
MetaWars: Freedom Frontier is the perfect conclusion to this outstanding young-adult series. What initially started with a plan when the Icelandic ash cloud shut down air traffic, now has shown in full colors that it really payed off to chase your idea's. I was hooked from the first book and Jeff Norton has never let me down in his stories, I had some thoughts as to how this story might finished but he really threw me a cruveball right there and then. It's these last minute changes that really get me fired up about reading books. They make the story. From the idea with escaping reality and who controls who down to the world and the characters that live in it, this book is just perfect. People... get to reading this series, it will not let you down!
April 4, 2020
*SPOILER ALERT - main broad themes not specifics*
Before reading MetaWars: The Final Frontier, I re-read the first three books in this fantastic series and I loved how The Final Frontier manages to be a complete narrative continuation from Battle of the Immortal and yet the overall message is so different and ultimately more important.
Jonah and Sam have helped get three of the the Four Corners under Guardian control, and so three quarters of the servers that support the Metasphere (a virtual ‘new world’ where users can escape from the reality of an earth ravaged by climate change) are no longer in the hands of Matthew Granger, ruthless leader of the Millennials and creator of the Metasphere. Only one corner left for the Guardians to take and the Metasphere will be free for all users.
And yet Jonah’s experiences have changed him and when he comes up against a new adversary, one who doesn’t distinguish between Millennial and Guardian but only wants to protect the world for Tomorrow’s Children through the genocide of 7 billion Metasphere users, Jonah allows himself to listen. Jonah is going to put his life on the line to save those 7 billion users, but can he also save the planet?
I really cannot recommend this series enough. If you like ReadyPlayerOne, dystopia or a save-the-world plot, you will love MetaWars.
Before reading MetaWars: The Final Frontier, I re-read the first three books in this fantastic series and I loved how The Final Frontier manages to be a complete narrative continuation from Battle of the Immortal and yet the overall message is so different and ultimately more important.
Jonah and Sam have helped get three of the the Four Corners under Guardian control, and so three quarters of the servers that support the Metasphere (a virtual ‘new world’ where users can escape from the reality of an earth ravaged by climate change) are no longer in the hands of Matthew Granger, ruthless leader of the Millennials and creator of the Metasphere. Only one corner left for the Guardians to take and the Metasphere will be free for all users.
And yet Jonah’s experiences have changed him and when he comes up against a new adversary, one who doesn’t distinguish between Millennial and Guardian but only wants to protect the world for Tomorrow’s Children through the genocide of 7 billion Metasphere users, Jonah allows himself to listen. Jonah is going to put his life on the line to save those 7 billion users, but can he also save the planet?
I really cannot recommend this series enough. If you like ReadyPlayerOne, dystopia or a save-the-world plot, you will love MetaWars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2021
This is more like a 3.5, but during this re-read I just didn't enjoy this one as much as the others... The romance just gets a bit, well, cringey, and although giving Matthew Granger a love interest was an interesting idea, I wasn't convinced by the way it was written. Or by the sudden resurrection of Miriam Delacroix! And although it's an optimistic ending and I'm glad they chose to stick with the real world, who does Jonah think he's kidding with his plans to fix everything?!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2014
Book review to follow on blog http://www.mrripleysenchantedbooks.com/
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews