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Heaven's Shadow #3
Heaven's Fall
Mankind’s first contact with extraterrestrial life led to an incredible revelation. Their last may lead them to extinction.
Twenty years have passed since the mysterious Near-Earth Object nicknamed Keanu appeared in the night sky and transported humans from all over Earth into its interior. There they discovered that Keanu was a long-range spaceship—and they were not alone. They joined forces with the aliens called the Architects, who had come from a distant galaxy to seek help in fighting the vicious Reivers. And they defeated them.
Or so they thought.
For when Keanu reestablished contact with Earth, they learned that the Reivers have taken over the planet, placing most of the population under their dominion. But mankind’s last hope may yet be hidden inside the NEO. And if the men and women still in Keanu cannot find it, humanity will be finished. And the galaxy will be next.
Twenty years have passed since the mysterious Near-Earth Object nicknamed Keanu appeared in the night sky and transported humans from all over Earth into its interior. There they discovered that Keanu was a long-range spaceship—and they were not alone. They joined forces with the aliens called the Architects, who had come from a distant galaxy to seek help in fighting the vicious Reivers. And they defeated them.
Or so they thought.
For when Keanu reestablished contact with Earth, they learned that the Reivers have taken over the planet, placing most of the population under their dominion. But mankind’s last hope may yet be hidden inside the NEO. And if the men and women still in Keanu cannot find it, humanity will be finished. And the galaxy will be next.
560 pages, Paperback
First published July 2, 2013
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247 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
April 25, 2015
This was a slow starter, but the end got pretty exciting. I think some parts were too technical but then crucial explanations weren't given.
So, I'm going for 3.5/5.0 stars.
Reviewed for Bitten by Books. http://bittenbybooks.com.
So, I'm going for 3.5/5.0 stars.
Reviewed for Bitten by Books. http://bittenbybooks.com.
September 4, 2013
I greatly enjoyed the first two books, and enjoyed this, the third. However, I can't help but note that this was, in many ways, a non-story. SPOILERS
For the most part the main characters land on Earth with no coherent plan, journey to a specific location and are handed a solution to their dilemma by forces beyond their control. The inventiveness of these faceted characters basically boils down to "let's try not to get caught, oh gee we got caught, and hey, we've been saved!" through very little other than determination and belief that it will all turn out ok on their part. The whole book felt like a vaguely interesting backstory waiting for the last chapter to kick things into gear. Given how many innovative ideas and action-packed scenarios the first two books were filled with, (and let's face it, the setup here is a movie premise for a sci-fi thriller) having 90% of the book occur while the main characters were taking long airplane flights was disappointing. I wanted to see the characters struggle for solutions, not have two big (and obvious) Deus Ex Machina plot devices literally swoop in at the end. (Sanjay has been resurrected, phew! Keanu will save us for its own reasons!) There's never even an explanation of how the HB survivors discover how to build a "vesicle" in the first place.
The "story" here seemed to be everywhere but on the page, as if the authors were too tired to actually craft a narrative, instead counting on "tell" not "show" to carry this trilogy to its conclusion. It's a weak ending for a storyline that had a lot of promise. I was, as you can tell, disappointed. I was expecting more ideas and revelations, instead I got twentieth-century travel hijinks and a pat resolution to the series. Meh.
For the most part the main characters land on Earth with no coherent plan, journey to a specific location and are handed a solution to their dilemma by forces beyond their control. The inventiveness of these faceted characters basically boils down to "let's try not to get caught, oh gee we got caught, and hey, we've been saved!" through very little other than determination and belief that it will all turn out ok on their part. The whole book felt like a vaguely interesting backstory waiting for the last chapter to kick things into gear. Given how many innovative ideas and action-packed scenarios the first two books were filled with, (and let's face it, the setup here is a movie premise for a sci-fi thriller) having 90% of the book occur while the main characters were taking long airplane flights was disappointing. I wanted to see the characters struggle for solutions, not have two big (and obvious) Deus Ex Machina plot devices literally swoop in at the end. (Sanjay has been resurrected, phew! Keanu will save us for its own reasons!) There's never even an explanation of how the HB survivors discover how to build a "vesicle" in the first place.
The "story" here seemed to be everywhere but on the page, as if the authors were too tired to actually craft a narrative, instead counting on "tell" not "show" to carry this trilogy to its conclusion. It's a weak ending for a storyline that had a lot of promise. I was, as you can tell, disappointed. I was expecting more ideas and revelations, instead I got twentieth-century travel hijinks and a pat resolution to the series. Meh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2013
Entertaining final novel of the trilogy. It's a page-turner.
Though I had a problem with the main character, Rachael. I liked her as a teen in the first two books, but this sequel takes place 20 years later so we have an adult, the village mayor on Keanu. She's a shrill, whining shrew filled with self doubt, and pisses all over the other characters to exert her will. Telling the folks around her that she's the mission boss over and over. But when she finally has to make a decision for the team on Earth, she passes the responsibility on to her husband! She's such a jerk. However, at the finale she sort of acquits herself with small leadership skills with the help of her own teenage daughter.
Still it's not enough to wholly ruin the book. But with this ending we get I'm really hoping that there will be a 4th novel.
Though I had a problem with the main character, Rachael. I liked her as a teen in the first two books, but this sequel takes place 20 years later so we have an adult, the village mayor on Keanu. She's a shrill, whining shrew filled with self doubt, and pisses all over the other characters to exert her will. Telling the folks around her that she's the mission boss over and over. But when she finally has to make a decision for the team on Earth, she passes the responsibility on to her husband! She's such a jerk. However, at the finale she sort of acquits herself with small leadership skills with the help of her own teenage daughter.
Still it's not enough to wholly ruin the book. But with this ending we get I'm really hoping that there will be a 4th novel.
January 14, 2019
Nice conclusion to the series. I kind of think too much focus was on the wrong characters, and the ending was a tad abrupt, but it did wrap things up. Two of the main characters from the earlier books are the main focus on this one. Rachel and Pav, the daughter and son of an American and Indian astronaut respectively, who wound up stranded without any parents 20 years ago on the near-Earth object that turned out to be an alien spaceship are all grown up now, married, and have a teenaged daughter of their own. And they're heading to earth, together with three other residents of Keanu, with plans to rid it of the Rievers, the computer-based destroyers of life. They arrive, more or less safely, then spend most of their time confined by others, or in airplanes heading for their target. This leads to a narrative with a great potential for adventure, that never quite gets there. More time could have been spent back on Keanu, or with the characters on earth, who actually did more to resolve the intention of the various threads of the story. But it was still interesting and a good read. I liked it.
July 15, 2017
Enjoyed the series
February 2, 2021
Faster paced and than the previous one. Overall, another page turner. I wonder if there will be a fourth book.
December 16, 2013
I received my copy from Tor through Nudge.
The first thing you need to know about this book is that it is the third and final title in a trilogy. While I won’t go so far as to say that this book can’t be read without having read the first two instalments I would strongly recommend against such a course of action.
The story:
Twenty years have passed since the Near Earth Object christened Keanu – and I still like that play with words – took several hundred humans from the only home they ever knew and forced them to create a community for themselves in space. Over the course of those years the people on Keanu have travelled through space while learning to live with and within Keanu’s confines. Now Keanu is on its way back to Earth with a mission that needs to succeed in order to save not only all human life but also the home planet of those who create the NEO.
Reivers, the semi mechanical enemies of Keanu’s creators, have successfully established themselves on Earth after being forced to flee the NEO and have started a process that will destroy the planet if they manage to bring it to a successful conclusion.
Rachel Stewart is in charge of the small group of humans and one alien whose only goal is to find a way to stop and destroy the Reivers before they can finalise their programme. But alone on a planet they don’t really know anymore, in a world most of which is controlled by those Reivers, it appears their mission may be doomed to fail before it has properly begun. It will take help from unexpected quarters as well as some startling developments on Keanu to provide any hope for our heroes as well as the billions of lives they are trying to save.
My thoughts:
This story is told from several perspectives in alternate chapters which worked very well for me because it separated the science chapters from those concerned with emotions and impressions. The result of the multiple voices is that even a reader like me, who often gets bogged down in the scientific aspects of a Science-Fiction novel, has no problem staying with the story. Whenever the narrative appeared to be getting too technical for my liking the perspective would change and take me, for example, from a mechanical creature with thought process I could barely follow into the mind of a 14 year old girl whose emotions where all to recognisable.
What I really liked is that this book forced me to think about certain things. For example, you would think that returning to Earth after twenty years would be a dream come true for the humans on Keanu and that a girl who was born on the NEO and had only ever heard about life on her parent’s home planet would be delighted to go there. It took me a while to realise that it made sense for those same humans to yearn for a return to the NEO; earth wasn’t home anymore because home is, after all, where the heart is. And after twenty years, the heart was firmly established on Keanu.
It is clear from the way this book is written that the authors are screenwriters. The story is told in scenes; each chapter having a different narrator and its own set-up. While I know nothing about screenwriting it is easy to imagine that it wouldn’t take too much work to transform the three novels in this trilogy into scripts. That doesn’t mean this book is harder to read than most novels though; quite the opposite in fact. All three of the books in this series are quick to grab the reader’s attention and easy to read. Having said that, I have to admit that the first book in this series was by far my favourite.
Overall I would have to say that this trilogy impressed me. The story is original, manages to create a fantastical yet easy to believe environment and gives the reader a fascinating combination of all too recognisable human behaviour and imaginative alien creations. And it doesn’t hurt at all than in the middle of all the danger and action there is time for a philosophical observation or two:
“Assuming anything that had happened in the past twenty years was an adventure. Yes, she’d had had unusual experiences – but so had those she left on Earth. Love was a unique experience. Parenthood. Work. Accomplishment. Failure. Death. Adventure was really just life, the days flowing into and out of each other.”
While this book concludes the ‘Heaven’s Shadow’ trilogy, I won’t be surprised if the authors decide to revisit these characters in the future. The way the book ends allows for a whole new story-line in a brand new universe. If that story becomes available one day, I will be among the first readers to dive into it.
The first thing you need to know about this book is that it is the third and final title in a trilogy. While I won’t go so far as to say that this book can’t be read without having read the first two instalments I would strongly recommend against such a course of action.
The story:
Twenty years have passed since the Near Earth Object christened Keanu – and I still like that play with words – took several hundred humans from the only home they ever knew and forced them to create a community for themselves in space. Over the course of those years the people on Keanu have travelled through space while learning to live with and within Keanu’s confines. Now Keanu is on its way back to Earth with a mission that needs to succeed in order to save not only all human life but also the home planet of those who create the NEO.
Reivers, the semi mechanical enemies of Keanu’s creators, have successfully established themselves on Earth after being forced to flee the NEO and have started a process that will destroy the planet if they manage to bring it to a successful conclusion.
Rachel Stewart is in charge of the small group of humans and one alien whose only goal is to find a way to stop and destroy the Reivers before they can finalise their programme. But alone on a planet they don’t really know anymore, in a world most of which is controlled by those Reivers, it appears their mission may be doomed to fail before it has properly begun. It will take help from unexpected quarters as well as some startling developments on Keanu to provide any hope for our heroes as well as the billions of lives they are trying to save.
My thoughts:
This story is told from several perspectives in alternate chapters which worked very well for me because it separated the science chapters from those concerned with emotions and impressions. The result of the multiple voices is that even a reader like me, who often gets bogged down in the scientific aspects of a Science-Fiction novel, has no problem staying with the story. Whenever the narrative appeared to be getting too technical for my liking the perspective would change and take me, for example, from a mechanical creature with thought process I could barely follow into the mind of a 14 year old girl whose emotions where all to recognisable.
What I really liked is that this book forced me to think about certain things. For example, you would think that returning to Earth after twenty years would be a dream come true for the humans on Keanu and that a girl who was born on the NEO and had only ever heard about life on her parent’s home planet would be delighted to go there. It took me a while to realise that it made sense for those same humans to yearn for a return to the NEO; earth wasn’t home anymore because home is, after all, where the heart is. And after twenty years, the heart was firmly established on Keanu.
It is clear from the way this book is written that the authors are screenwriters. The story is told in scenes; each chapter having a different narrator and its own set-up. While I know nothing about screenwriting it is easy to imagine that it wouldn’t take too much work to transform the three novels in this trilogy into scripts. That doesn’t mean this book is harder to read than most novels though; quite the opposite in fact. All three of the books in this series are quick to grab the reader’s attention and easy to read. Having said that, I have to admit that the first book in this series was by far my favourite.
Overall I would have to say that this trilogy impressed me. The story is original, manages to create a fantastical yet easy to believe environment and gives the reader a fascinating combination of all too recognisable human behaviour and imaginative alien creations. And it doesn’t hurt at all than in the middle of all the danger and action there is time for a philosophical observation or two:
“Assuming anything that had happened in the past twenty years was an adventure. Yes, she’d had had unusual experiences – but so had those she left on Earth. Love was a unique experience. Parenthood. Work. Accomplishment. Failure. Death. Adventure was really just life, the days flowing into and out of each other.”
While this book concludes the ‘Heaven’s Shadow’ trilogy, I won’t be surprised if the authors decide to revisit these characters in the future. The way the book ends allows for a whole new story-line in a brand new universe. If that story becomes available one day, I will be among the first readers to dive into it.
July 14, 2014
I'm a bit conflicted regarding 'Heaven's Fall'. On the one hand it's the end of the trilogy, and it resolves some of the open issues. On the other hand, the writers give short shrift to the science, the technical obstacles that must be solved to avert disaster.
The bulk of the book consists of the characters expressing their angst and doubts to one another. Oh, there's the by now shifting perspectives as our characters travel from one place to another, but for the most part, they are carried along by events like debris in a tsunami. If that's what you're looking for in a book, by all means have at it. I on the other hand, would prefer smart characters who solve problems, not emotional wrecks who stumble on solutions by dumb luck.
I kept waiting for the characters to reveal a secret plan, something, ANYTHING to demonstrate they understood what they were up against. It never happened. The whole story was resolved in the last 20 pages, and left a ton of loose ends. At the end, I felt a bit cheated.
BEYOND HERE, THERE BE SPOILERS!!!
OK, here's where I list a few specific gripes:
1) The HBs spent 20 years returning to Earth, and this is the best plan they could come up with? C'mon, these are supposed to be smart people!
2) Upon arrival, a major character is given a strange piece of high tech, and no one sees a potential danger? Then that same character comes down with a cold, long before any cold virus would have had time to incubate, and no one sees a problem? In fact, the cold is just a cold, but all the pieces were there for a major character to have been infected by the Reivers.
3) The ring is 10 Km across, and creates a cone, but a 100Km object passes through it? Sorry, I think I need to see a diagram of that.
4) No resolution to the elimination of the Reivers on Earth.
5) No contact with the Architects, so for all we know the greater war could have been won or lost millennia ago.
6) a Reiver was brought back to Keanu, a creature made up of thousands of autonomous units, and that's not a major problem?
7) A human consciousness merges with Keanu, with no prior indication that anything like this was possible? And to what end?
8) A late revelation that there are more habitats within Keanu, but no clue as to what is or is not inside.
Perhaps the authors just wanted to leave us with a few questions to puzzle over, a hint at a larger universe.
The bulk of the book consists of the characters expressing their angst and doubts to one another. Oh, there's the by now shifting perspectives as our characters travel from one place to another, but for the most part, they are carried along by events like debris in a tsunami. If that's what you're looking for in a book, by all means have at it. I on the other hand, would prefer smart characters who solve problems, not emotional wrecks who stumble on solutions by dumb luck.
I kept waiting for the characters to reveal a secret plan, something, ANYTHING to demonstrate they understood what they were up against. It never happened. The whole story was resolved in the last 20 pages, and left a ton of loose ends. At the end, I felt a bit cheated.
BEYOND HERE, THERE BE SPOILERS!!!
OK, here's where I list a few specific gripes:
1) The HBs spent 20 years returning to Earth, and this is the best plan they could come up with? C'mon, these are supposed to be smart people!
2) Upon arrival, a major character is given a strange piece of high tech, and no one sees a potential danger? Then that same character comes down with a cold, long before any cold virus would have had time to incubate, and no one sees a problem? In fact, the cold is just a cold, but all the pieces were there for a major character to have been infected by the Reivers.
3) The ring is 10 Km across, and creates a cone, but a 100Km object passes through it? Sorry, I think I need to see a diagram of that.
4) No resolution to the elimination of the Reivers on Earth.
5) No contact with the Architects, so for all we know the greater war could have been won or lost millennia ago.
6) a Reiver was brought back to Keanu, a creature made up of thousands of autonomous units, and that's not a major problem?
7) A human consciousness merges with Keanu, with no prior indication that anything like this was possible? And to what end?
8) A late revelation that there are more habitats within Keanu, but no clue as to what is or is not inside.
Perhaps the authors just wanted to leave us with a few questions to puzzle over, a hint at a larger universe.
October 29, 2015
http://www.themaineedge.com/buzz/the-...
There’s a definite bittersweetness when a trilogy comes to an end. If you’ve been truly engaged by an overarching work of literature, seeing that work reach its conclusion – while satisfying – can make for a difficult goodbye.
The time has come to bid a fond farewell to a good one.
David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt have put the finishing touches on their “Heaven” trilogy with the third book “Heaven’s Fall”. The duo began their journey with 2011’s “Heaven’s Shadow” and carried forward with 2012’s “Heaven’s War” before reaching this, their final destination.
Book three has to be the payoff – we’ve invested a lot of time, both in terms of actual reading and of anticipation. And after the high quality of the first two books, we’re expecting a grand finale – a finale that “Heaven’s Fall” delivers.
Goyer and Cassutt have constructed a fascinating world with a wide-ranging populace. Following so many characters is a gamble, but in the end, it’s worth it. The cast features a multitude of players whose fates intrigue us; the authors balance the long list of dramatis personae beautifully.
One of the highlights of the trilogy is the time spent delving into the ramifications behind the events that take place. Ideas about how humanity would react to things like first contact and invasion are dealt with in a thoughtful manner, with scientific and theological implications alike given due consideration.
Of course, none of it matters if the story isn’t interesting. Goyer and Cassutt fold their broad cast of characters and broader concepts into a thrilling narrative. “Heaven’s Fall” is hard sci-fi with heart, a combination that results in an impactful tale that is powerfully told.
There’s a definite bittersweetness when a trilogy comes to an end. If you’ve been truly engaged by an overarching work of literature, seeing that work reach its conclusion – while satisfying – can make for a difficult goodbye.
The time has come to bid a fond farewell to a good one.
David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt have put the finishing touches on their “Heaven” trilogy with the third book “Heaven’s Fall”. The duo began their journey with 2011’s “Heaven’s Shadow” and carried forward with 2012’s “Heaven’s War” before reaching this, their final destination.
Book three has to be the payoff – we’ve invested a lot of time, both in terms of actual reading and of anticipation. And after the high quality of the first two books, we’re expecting a grand finale – a finale that “Heaven’s Fall” delivers.
Goyer and Cassutt have constructed a fascinating world with a wide-ranging populace. Following so many characters is a gamble, but in the end, it’s worth it. The cast features a multitude of players whose fates intrigue us; the authors balance the long list of dramatis personae beautifully.
One of the highlights of the trilogy is the time spent delving into the ramifications behind the events that take place. Ideas about how humanity would react to things like first contact and invasion are dealt with in a thoughtful manner, with scientific and theological implications alike given due consideration.
Of course, none of it matters if the story isn’t interesting. Goyer and Cassutt fold their broad cast of characters and broader concepts into a thrilling narrative. “Heaven’s Fall” is hard sci-fi with heart, a combination that results in an impactful tale that is powerfully told.
December 25, 2014
"Heaven's Fall" is book 3 of the Heaven's Shadow series by David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt. (I forgot to mention co-author Michael Cassutt in my previous reviews. I'll go back and correct that.) It constitutes the end of this story arc but it leaves a substantial opening for another book. This ending is pretty good and smart in a sense.
The story: It is 20 years later and some of the characters that were kids in the previous novels are now grown with their own children and they are heading back to Earth to save it from the alien invasion, but not in the way one would expect. (I don't want to say more or I'll give it away.)
Any problems with the novel? Not really. After all... the returning heroes knew they would be viewed with suspicion by the aliens who now inhabit Earth. The alien defenses would be up and would expect them to do certain things to take back Earth so the returning heroes do something unexpected... which is to be expected from humans, but aliens don't know that.
It gets exciting, especially at the end and some of it seems logically contradictory, but it's so much fun I just ignored that. Most of the major conflicts in the book are resolved but there is a big opening left for continuing the series. I'm not sure if another book is in development. The authors could leave it here with no problem.
The story: It is 20 years later and some of the characters that were kids in the previous novels are now grown with their own children and they are heading back to Earth to save it from the alien invasion, but not in the way one would expect. (I don't want to say more or I'll give it away.)
Any problems with the novel? Not really. After all... the returning heroes knew they would be viewed with suspicion by the aliens who now inhabit Earth. The alien defenses would be up and would expect them to do certain things to take back Earth so the returning heroes do something unexpected... which is to be expected from humans, but aliens don't know that.
It gets exciting, especially at the end and some of it seems logically contradictory, but it's so much fun I just ignored that. Most of the major conflicts in the book are resolved but there is a big opening left for continuing the series. I'm not sure if another book is in development. The authors could leave it here with no problem.
April 11, 2014
David Goyer has made a name for himself for being involved in some of the most sucesscful movies of all time. He has made excellent movies as a screenwriter, director and a producer. He has written comics and TV. He knows how to tell a story. The first novel in this series was written during the writers strike and I personally think the quality of that book which seemed to have more focus is clear.
Goyer’s partner is also a screenwriter after all. The first novel worked well and I liked it a lot. I was excited to read the second book. I liked it but found the ending to be a bit weak. I read this one almost just to feel I completed it.
The third book took me forever to finish. I found that I was drifting my attention to other books. The only reason I put my finger on was that the story was not clear to me. The adventure was not clear to me. What the Characters were doing was not clear to me.
There is an interesting shift in the story going twenty year ahead in the story, extra terrestrials have taken over the earth, the humans who were taken by Keanu have returned. Etc.
Honestly I am not going to go deep here. I didn’t enjoy the book, yet I did the first one.
Goyer’s partner is also a screenwriter after all. The first novel worked well and I liked it a lot. I was excited to read the second book. I liked it but found the ending to be a bit weak. I read this one almost just to feel I completed it.
The third book took me forever to finish. I found that I was drifting my attention to other books. The only reason I put my finger on was that the story was not clear to me. The adventure was not clear to me. What the Characters were doing was not clear to me.
There is an interesting shift in the story going twenty year ahead in the story, extra terrestrials have taken over the earth, the humans who were taken by Keanu have returned. Etc.
Honestly I am not going to go deep here. I didn’t enjoy the book, yet I did the first one.
August 26, 2013
This was the 3rd book in the trilogy - Heaven's Shadow, War and Fall. I enjoyed all three books and loved, loved, loved the story. The authors writing put me in the story with it's authenticity, descriptive language and consistency. There were no gaps in the writing and storytelling and although the premise of their story may be far fetched, nothing about it struck me as completely absurd. I read all 3 books quickly and was most excited about Fall since it was the conclusion of the trilogy. If you like sci-fi woven with real world geo-politics, science, etc - this is a story for you. DSG and MC do a wonderful job at laying out the characters, their faults and emotions as well as their depth - just enough to root for them without bogging the reader down in boring details. BOTTOM LINE: this was an excellent trilogy that sci-fi, adventure, thriller and mystery readers would love.
June 5, 2014
I was looking forward to finally finishing this trilogy and going in I knew it was going to be a bit different since the the leading main character had died at the end. I am glad that I read it. Overall I think it was interesting and the way they did the chapter headings with interview quotes was a nice touch. The only thing I did not enjoy was the ending. I was a bit confused as a reader. I had to go back several times. I did not think there was to be another book, but perhaps, because so much was left hanging. I also felt that the book was so much lead in then the end was just over too quick.
So I still am glad I read it, but I wouldn't say that this left me hanging to the edge like the other ones did.
So I still am glad I read it, but I wouldn't say that this left me hanging to the edge like the other ones did.
September 2, 2014
This was a good finish to the Keanu trilogy. Although, I am left with more questions than were answered. That may be the point of the series though, questions. I don't want to spoil anything, so I will say, a good read and a good finish, although I could have some things tied up more tightly. There were also events that I had to spend extra time in figuring just exactly what happened.
The Mother Daughter relationship of Tea, Rachel, and Yahvi was satisfying. The Dale Scott plot line was a little hit or miss. I could have used more example of his connection. In essence, I enjoyed the trilogy a little more than the final book, but in the end, I am a satisfied reader. :)
The Mother Daughter relationship of Tea, Rachel, and Yahvi was satisfying. The Dale Scott plot line was a little hit or miss. I could have used more example of his connection. In essence, I enjoyed the trilogy a little more than the final book, but in the end, I am a satisfied reader. :)
August 15, 2015
3,5stars. Was looking forward to this, but feeling a bit ambivalent. First book by far the strongest of the three, second book second, and third book third. In other words: the quality is going down. Had I not read the first two books, I'm not sure if I would have continued, just boring. It picks up at the halfway mark, and quickly races to the end. I had to look up that this is a trilogy, since it leaves enough opening at the end to get another book in. If it really is the end, I would have much preferred that the first 150 pages of this one be skipped for more words at the end, since it leaves things (to) open at the end for my liking. Nevermind.
September 8, 2014
I truly enjoyed the two first books but was utterly disappointed with this one.
What should have been the conclusion of the trilogy turned out to be a book lacking excitement, interesting revelations. With the storyline that the authors created in the first book the third could have led to a great conclusion, answering questions about life and death or an epic fight for survival. This was just 'meh'.
I honestly believe that this story would be better off left untold.
With that said I still truly do recommend the first two books!
What should have been the conclusion of the trilogy turned out to be a book lacking excitement, interesting revelations. With the storyline that the authors created in the first book the third could have led to a great conclusion, answering questions about life and death or an epic fight for survival. This was just 'meh'.
I honestly believe that this story would be better off left untold.
With that said I still truly do recommend the first two books!
January 3, 2014
I read this book only out of a sense of obligation after reading the first two in the series. I found the ending of the second book to be incredibly frustrating and thought that this final book could not be any worse. I was so wrong. The characters don't even remotely achieve any of their objectives, and the story ends more or less in the same place it began. The scope of these three books never met their potential, and given that the author primarily writes for film it is understandable given that medium's time constraints.
August 2, 2014
Third book in this sci if series and it continues to impress. I enjoyed the latest version for its return to Earth do deal with a 'robotic' threat the Near Earth Object had released during battle in the last book. The planet and people they find as a result and the action on Earth and the NEO is well done. It seems like this trilogy is done with the author's acknowledgement at the end, but I hope they chose to explore the return of the NEO to its home system.
December 26, 2013
The third in the series Heaven's Shadow. Took a long while to get going with this which was a surprise as I enjoyed the other two. Keanu has returned to Earth twenty years after the 2nd book, characters have grown up, married and had children. Leaders of Keanu have crash landed on Earth with a mission. Once I persevered with the first third of the book I was back on familiar ground and thoroughly enjoying it. The ending lends itself to a fourth novel or possibly a novella.
February 21, 2014
Not as bad as I imagined it could have been but still pretty close to what I expected it would be. The writing itself is fine, but the story, and the ending are not. Even though a long time has passed, nothing much has changed and to top it all off, we basically end up in the same situation we started with in the first place.
I feel cheated somehow, reading this trilogy has not been a very good (time) investment.
68/100
I feel cheated somehow, reading this trilogy has not been a very good (time) investment.
68/100
December 17, 2015
Didn't finish. But in fairness to the book, I wound up picking this one up out of the blue without reading the first two first (I didn't even realize it was the third in the series until a little way in). Maybe I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had read the first two. Maybe not. From what I could tell, there were interesting things going on, but the writing just didn't seem to suck me in. Pacing was slow. Action was...dull?
December 21, 2015
For a plot which includes a threat to all life on earth, too much of the book concerned relative trivialities. Then, when the pace picked up towards the end, it felt like significant parts of the story were skipped over completely. I listened to an audio version, and though the narrator did a great job with the character voices, he read the rest in a dull monotone. I picked this up not knowing there were two previous books in the series, but I don't think I missed anything by skipping them.
October 12, 2016
What a sloppy in-between, has-no-end book.
I love the other books but this one has a really slow pace spending too much time on repeating content from other books and from itself. The story moves along very slow and then all of a sudden is solved, horrible pace.
And that is not even mentioning that its not an end, its a wide open intermission, this should have been book 2. I'm very frustrated by this book.
I love the other books but this one has a really slow pace spending too much time on repeating content from other books and from itself. The story moves along very slow and then all of a sudden is solved, horrible pace.
And that is not even mentioning that its not an end, its a wide open intermission, this should have been book 2. I'm very frustrated by this book.
February 11, 2016
It is unclear to me if this is the final book in the series. If so, it is a very frustrating an unsatisfying conclusion. If, however, there is another book coming, then this is an acceptable bridge and I would give it three stars.
The story is as interesting as the previous two, with more action on earth than in Keanu.
The story is as interesting as the previous two, with more action on earth than in Keanu.
November 7, 2015
Somehow, this last instalment reminded me if some sci-fi classics, like Stargate and Flight of the Navigator. However unoriginal the ideas may be, it's nice to see some progress with the characters some 20 years where book two ended. I feel that there's a lot of potential in exploring what could happen after Keanu passed the wormhole; the writers certainly kept that option open.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2013
I really enjoyed this 3rd volume in the series. Many of the characters developed more depth in this volume. The action is fast paced. There are sufficient twists and turns to keep your interest. The ending leaves space for a 4th volume, I hope we see one.
December 10, 2014
So-so finish to a decent trilogy. Many issues with the details and the fact that the main characters felt like they were bumbling thru their "plan". Great ideas that should have amounted to more. Closure with more questions.
December 29, 2013
Read it, good for me but not great, or even really gripping. To much time moving around, main characters locked up and not in the story.
May 11, 2014
A solid finish to the Heaven's trilogy. Although I found the ending quite rushed and short, I still enjoyed the series.
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March 18, 2014Bad.
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