Set sixteen years after the events of "The Exiled Earthborn," this explosive conclusion of the Earthborn trilogy tells the story of two brothers, the sons of Lucas and Asha, tasked with surviving the Xalan war to ensure the continued existence of the human race. Noah, an orphan from Earth's last days who, as a child, was smuggled to safety across the stars, is now nearly a man and a leader to the young enclave of Earthborn who reside on Sora. When the tranquility of their settlement is shattered by a shocking assassination attempt, Noah turns to his combative younger brother Erik, Lucas and Asha's only child by blood, for aid. Their journey takes them to the remnants of a dead planet, an outlaw-infested space station, and back to Sora, whose inhabitants are bracing for a final showdown with the bloodthirsty Xalans. They find themselves facing a new the omnipotent Archon, who is somehow controlling the whole of the Xalan horde, and his bloodthirsty lieutenant, the Black Corsair, who has an unmatched taste for brutality. The Archon, so-called God of the Shadows, has unearthed knowledge that could wipe both Sorans and humans alike from the face of existence. The descendants of the Earthborn must uncover the true nature of the Archon and the Xalans before he burns everything they know and love to ashes.
This is the last book in the Earthborn Trilogy, loved every one, they just kept getting better and better. It's the kind of trilogy that makes you want to know how the characters are doing now!
The scope of this series could really have turned into a proper saga and it was leaning that way anyway with each book quite a bit longer than the previous.
It's a pretty action heavy story, constantly shifting from battle to battle until the finale with a few diversions along the way. But even so the characters do grow and adapt.
I had found the flashbackyness a bore in the first two books but it wasn't such a problem here as it pretty much served to fill in the 15ish years that we missed between books two and three.
I enjoyed the whole thing really, truly, but I found the number of super soldier types and final bosses to be a bit ridiculous. We had like Draek, Omicron, the Desecrator, the Archon, the Black Corsair, the Fourth Order, the Shadows and I'm sure I'm missing some. But anyway I always hate it when the ultimate bad guy is topped by an even ultimater bad guy.
My favourite remains the first but it was an enjoyable ride.
I really loved the first two books so I was looking forward to this one. However, if I hadn't been so attached to Lucas, Asha and Alpha, I wouldn't have even made it to chapter 5 on this book. I really only stuck with this book to find out what happened to them.
The only reason I'm giving this book 2 stars rather than 1 is the author has some pretty cool ideas with what's happening to Lucas and the Circle and how the shadows actually work.
However, the book is mainly about the next generation of kids - especially Lucas and Asha's kids: Noah and Eric. I can't stand either one and wouldn't have shed a tear if they had died in the book. From the beginning, Eric is a selfish, cruel bully who uses everyone around him and cheerfully breaks other people's bones in sparring sessions any time he's bored or annoyed. Meanwhile, our big hero, Noah, is a spineless weakling. He spends most of the book watching what Eric is doing and mentally disapproving. In his head, he keeps thinking about how Eric's behavior is bad and cruel and he doesn't like it. However, instead of walking over to where Eric is manipulating and being a jerk and either telling Eric to cut it out or telling Eric's current target that they shouldn't put up with Eric using them, Noah will get tired of watching Eric be a jerk and go to his room to have sex with his girlfriend. And, honestly, their personalities don't really change that much throughout the book. Every time Noah gets called a hero, I'm shaking my head and going, 'Nope, nope, not a chance. Heroes actually do something when they see bad things happening to good people, they don't just shake their head in disapproval and go home to have fun wiith their girlfriend. Or wait until the bad things actually affect them directly before even considering doing something about it.'
And to me, worst of all, *spoiler alert* Eric gets a pass on a lot of his behavior because the poor baby grew up without his parents because Lucas was supposedly dead and Asha was too busy looking for Lucas to pay attention to the boys. So, the whole lack of his parents' presence is blamed for a lot of his failings and even he is constantly ranting about how he was abandoned. So, guess what happens when Eric finds out he's a daddy of 6 kids under 5..."I"m not ready to be a father so I'm going to go on a crusade across the system and let someone else raise my children." Basically, doing the same thing people said screwed up him, that even he says screwed him up. And what does the great hero Noah have to say about it? 'Well, my brother needs that time to heal and I don't begrudge him that. The kids will be just fine with caretakers." Yep, even though you all say that's what caused Eric to be such a cruel user and bully, I'm sure the six kids will do just fine...not *spoiler end*
I don't know what happened between the second and third book but, my advice: Definitely read the first two books but pretend this is a duology and not a trilogy and skip this one. If you just have to find out what the shadows are all about - Borrow the book from the library and just read the last few chapters where you find out all the secrets of the shadows and the Archon and the exos.
Man, eye color really carried the weight of this book. Was there even a brown eyed person in the books? Does Paul Tassi hate brown eyes?
I also didn’t understand the motivation of the big baddie. War for the sake of war?
Asha, Alpha, Theta, & Zeta were my favorites, in that order. Asha is a force of nature & doesn’t ask for permission to exist & I like that the most. Alpha is logical & idealistic. His dry/ dad humor is on point, for me. Theta is a shy young xalan who is amazingly levelheaded & capable. Zeta lead the resistance before it was cool to do so.
Lucas’s coming to terms with his past was kind of interesting but it didn’t land for me. At times this all felt like a fever dream metaphor for what it’s like to be an alcoholic with a hero complex. I would’ve been mad but not surprised if this was all in his head. I feel like the big baddies represent the destruction of his disease which gives them that air of senselessness. They don’t build, they only consume & destroy.
On that note, attacking his family felt like classic black out domestic violence, -for this reason, I found it hard to let him forgive himself. Self forgiveness is good but after some self confrontation. Since he was under the influence of something forced on him, the responsibility for the violence is passed over him. I’d read the story again if the author meditated more on that aspect because there’s more there.
Noah is Thor & Erik is Loki, tell me I’m wrong & those two figures had nothing to do with their inspiration lol
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Nach den Ereignissen im letzten Band war ich unglaublich gespannt, wie es hier nun weitergeht. Wie zu erwarten führen die Kinder von Asha und Lucas, Noah und Erik, mit derart außergewöhnlichen Eltern alles andere als ein ruhiges Leben. Während sie am Anfang, zusammen mit künstlich geborenen weiteren Erdenmenschen, in einer Kolonie wohnen, eskaliert die Handlung ziemlich schnell. Wobei ich allein die Idee der Soraner, die Menschen auf diese Weise zu erhalten, sowohl interessant als auch ein wenig makaber finde. Vor allem nachdem man am Ende erfährt, wie weit die Machenschaften mit DNA-Manipulation und Menschenzucht wirklich gingen. Aber auch die Xalaner hielten einige üble Überraschungen bereit, zumal man einiges mehr über die berüchtigten Schatten lernt, zu denen auch der totgeglaubte Lucas zu werden droht. Dadurch war er für mich tatsächlich auch der interessanteste Charakter der Geschichte, und wie bereits erwartet erlebt vor allem er einiges an Character Development. Besonders den angeführten Aspekt mit Selbstzweifeln und Selbstbeschuldigung fand ich interessant dargestellt, vor allem in Verbindung mit dem drohenden Verlust seiner Eigenständigkeit und Menschlichkeit. Am besten fand ich den Moment am Ende, wo man sich nicht mehr sicher ist was tatsächlich passiert ist und was nur in Lucas's Vorstellung, als nämlich im Endkampf die Ereignisse seltsam werden. Auch Asha hat einige Veränderungen durchgemacht, wobei es mich - wie bereits die Romanze in Band 1 - unter anderen Umständen gestört hätte, wie sehr sie an Lucas hängt und ihn auch nach seinem vermeintlichen Tod nicht loslassen könnte. Angesichts ihrer gemeinsamen Erlebnisse und der Tatsache, dass Asha auf Sora sowohl eine fremde als auch ein gefeierter Star ist, kann ich ihr Verhalten nachvollziehen. Alpha rückt in diesem Band leider eher in den Hintergrund, aber dafür lernen wir seine und Zetas gemeinsame Tochter Theta kennen, welche wiederum eine interessante Figur ist die mehr Aufmerksamkeit verdient hätte. Erik und Noah fand ich als Figuren auch interessant, vor allem wie unterschiedlich sie sich entwickelt haben und wie verschieden ihre Persönlichkeiten sind. Noah ist eher der typische Held einer Geschichte, während Erik einen Fehler nach dem anderen macht und auch ansonsten einige zweifelhalte Eigenschaften aufweist. Während ich ihn nicht besonders mochte, fand ich jedoch gerade dies gut geschrieben, wenn man den ganzen Druck bedenkt unter dem er aufgewachsen ist und der Tatsache, dass Menschen nunmal verschiedene Eigenschaften haben und die Kinder zweier außergewöhnlichen Personen nicht automatisch werden wie sie. Insgesamt war ich überrascht, wie weitreichend die Ereignisse rund um Menschen, Soraner und Xalaner wirklich reichen und wie viel Geschichte dahintersteckt. Dabei habe ich mich gefreut, mit meiner bereits in Band 2 aufkommenden Theorie bezüglich der Verbindung zwischen Menschen und Soranern - und anderer verdächtig menschlicher Völker - recht behalten zu haben. Der Archon war ein heftiger Gegner und auch wenn Lucas ihn letztendlich in einem Deux Ex Machina Moment besiegt hat, war er meiner Meinung nach ein guter Antagonist und auch die gesamte Idee der Hintergrundgeschichte fand ich sehr spannend. Das Ende ist ein guter Abschluss; es lässt die Ereignisse an einer zufriedenstellenden Stelle enden und lässt dabei doch eine Hintertür offen, bei Bedarf in die Welt dieser Trilogie zurückzukehren.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Der 3. Teil der Earthborn-Trilogie unterscheidet sich von den anderen beiden Teilen in Punkte Stil und Storytelling nur marginal, der Autor hat es wieder geschafft, den Plot, der schon in Band 1 zu lesen war, immer wieder neu zu erzählen. Da ist ein grausamer Feind, der sich nicht nur im äußern, sondern ganz besonders auch in Inneren zeigt, da ist eine kleine, verschworene Gemeinsacht, die dem Widersacher trotzt und es im letzten Moment, als alles schon verloren schien, schafft, irgendwie zu überleben. Hier in diesem Buch treten die Protagonisten der ersten beiden Bände, Asha und Lucas, etwas zurück und überlassen die Action ihren beiden Söhnen, Noah und Erik, die letzten Menschen der Erde, die auf Sora aufgewachsen sind mit dein Klon-Kindern, deren Genmaterial noch von der Erde stammt. Die beiden kommen mit ihren Freunden einer Verschwörung innerhalb der soranischen Gesellschaft auf die Spur, während ihr totgeglaubter Vater auf der zerstörten Erde bei einem lang andauernden Gen-Experiment der Zalaner leidet. Doch die Kinder können ihren Vater retten, allerdings wird er gleich darauf von Mitgliedern der soranischen Regierung benützt, um ihre eigenmächtigen Ziele zu verfolgen. Natürlich geht die Sache gut aus und es kann damit gerechnet werden, dass die Saga noch weiter erzählt wird, obwohl von einem 4. Band noch nichts bekannt ist. Das Problem von Tassis Trilogie ist, dass seitenweise blutige Action zelebriert wird, bei deren Vorstellung man Schmerzen zu verspüren scheint, die Figurenzeichnung und der SF-Hintergrund, obwohl nicht gerade im Vordergrund, entschädigt ein bischen; trotzdem hatte ich mich gut unterhalten gefühlt...
There's no real need for the third book. I felt that the second book concluded the story arc, and I was happy with the ending. The third book makes the overall trilogy story line a watered-down plot, and goes out of its way to invent twists and turns, and consequences for new and old situations, to justify the extension of the overall story. I couldn't finish the book and gave up at 42% (as per my kindle details). I had a thought that it could work as a stand-alone story, completely separate from the original and with different characters (that is, different names and unrelated to the first two books) but as the third volume on the trilogy it felt to me that the run-of-the-mill turns and plots, especially the relationships, feelings, and characters' luck and/or uniqueness, were too much of a stretch. It felt never ending, and I just didn't care after a while because there's also so much description and exposition at a cost of a story. Also, it gets a bit repetitive when the main characters always have the skills, the luck, the timing, and whatever on their side. Every single one of them is exceptional in some way, and what are the chances of that? What are the chances that a group of friends will be always lucky, all-around skilled, and each have an exceptional property ? All that becomes even more so as the story trudges on and on. It was a bit annoying in the second volume of the trilogy, but in the third it is unbearable.
The first two books had their issues but were an enjoyable read/listen. The narrator on audible, Victor Bevine, is what made me able to slog through the third book. I don't have complaints about the children being the focus, I find it shocking anyone is surprised by this.
The story arc of the children is quite enjoyable. The hero worship tropes grow really tiresome in this book. It's an interesting look at hero and anti-hero but it really doesn't do anything with it. Eric's psychology is lightly touched and almost never from his own point of view, which taints any desire to root for him, or to see a redemption arc.
What happens to Lucas is both unbelievable and well envisioned which makes it difficult to dislike the book. I could see this plot working in a video game where you play as Lucas and are thrust into situations to move the plot forward, but as a literary plot where you have some basis of the psychology and personality of the character and their history, it fails to deliver an organic believable plot.
It's the worst book of the trilogy but a decent read to close out the series.
Review in 10 points: 1. This was an appropriate end for a trilogy, that provides us with enough closure; 2. I liked the new characters well enough, but the original 3 were still my favorite; 3. That being said, I didn’t care particularly for the Lukas plotline; 4. I also didn’t care that much for the new romance between one of Lukas’s sons and a mysterious character (I’m trying not to spoil anything). I didn’t think it made any sense and was a little bit of a instant romance thing; 5. I was used to aliens and spaceships by this point in the series, so the scenery didn’t felt like nothing new; 6. I felt it was quite predictable in the end; 7. The writing was improved from the first book! 8. It’s a cool book for sci fi lovers but not only; I’m not particularly a sci fi girly and found it quite enjoyable; 9. I hoped people’s relationships were more explored overall; 10. It was quite an enjoyable book.
What can I say except that after reading the first two books I wanted to finish with the third. Tassi explores, from my experience, some new ways in which humans and technology mix. Add the concept of non-humans races in the mix and you have an exciting canvas. Some pleasant surprises mixed with some questionable moralities add to the story. I found it enjoyable.
The "trilogy" can end here, but the door is open for another "trilogy" if the author decides to pursue. I would continue reading. Character development is good, and lots of different personalities are easily identified with from this reader's perspective.
I listened to the Audible version with Victor Bevine as the narrator. Victor did a good job narrating, which probably saved the book.
There is a lot going on in this book, not the least of which is the battle against the ultimate baddy named Archon who is bent on ridding the universe of the humanoids. There are many sub-plots running simultaneously. It does wrap up the first two books, but there is a lot to process in book three that could have been a stand-alone book. The book has a satisfying ending to the book and the trilogy.
Towards the middle of the book, the extended battle scenes got a little tedious and I almost bailed but I hung in there.
This is a good book. It really wrapped up the story well and left a little opening for the future. At the same time the plot went somewhere I did not expect and it really widened into epic proportions at the end.
I can’t say I liked the sons of earth as well as the old Asha and Lucas, but they had less time to marinate.
Very good overall plot and the bad guys really felt insurmountable. Definitely worth paying for.
After the ending of the second book in this series I was a bit reluctant to continue. Glad I did.
As with the entire series this book keeps moving at a rush. I enjoyed the action and mystery elements in the story. Character building is not a strength, but was adequate. For anyone that has invested in listening to the first two books in this trilogy I suspect that this one will be well worth your time.
I really enjoyed the first two books in the series, but I really didn't connect with "The Sons of Sora". I guess all the fighting in the first two, and my strong attachment to "the earthborn parents" prevented me from loving this one. There were the same excellent environment description and changes of pace, but this one was very predictable and the character attachment I felt for the parents didn't happen for the kid and progeny of the earthborn. I felt I was pushing myself to finish.
It’s the definition of a while male power fantasy in a space opera environment. Men, boys, sons do lots of really cool things while the women are enigmatic, blessed beings. Mostly no matter what happens to the characters, there’s always some kind of whatzit or doodad that they can do to magically save themselves, the others, turn the tide, etc. Unless you’re a GIRL, and then you get and stay fridged.
Well, I liked book two the best. This one jumped a lot in time. Eric and Noah were essentially new characters. Lucas was different and confusing. Asha wasn't around much. I did like seeing Theta as a real character and having the loose ends tied up. It essentially relied on magic though. The story of Adam and Eve was heavily foreshadowed so not as big a surprise as I guess it was supposed to be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This review is really for the entire trilogy. Overall, not too bad, but kind of a conglomeration of many sci-fi cliches. And every time you turn the page the characters get more and more superhuman powers and eventually it becomes a bit crazy. I think a really good storyteller will focus more on character weaknesses and struggle than just constantly upping the hero factor again and again.
While I ultimately enjoyed the resolution of this trilogy, this third book was a slog. I was legitimately surprised by the first book, but the quality degraded over the three books. This one just meandered around before getting where it wanted to go... I think it just needed some more editing or more time in the plotting phase.
I loved this series; thought it was an original take on the "alien invasion" theme. The only reason I gave this particular book 4 stars is because some of the "a-ha!" moments really took the main characters far longer than they should have and it felt unrealistic and was a little frustrating to wait through as the reader.
Clearly the best due to significant and non repetitive action. A nice explanation with a satisfying ending to the series. Not much extraneous filler that is often found in poor sci fi.
A great ending to the series. A few too many fight scenes and not enough character development, and a LOT of characters to keep track of, but overall a good story to wind things up for Lucas, Asha, Noah, Eric, Alpha, and the fate of Sora, Earth, and so many other things.
Loved The Sons of Sora and the entire trilogy. I wish that there was more!
I thought that it would be a great idea if Paul Tassi wrote a prequel novella of short stories that featured Lucas, Asha and Alpha before they had met!
The book was a fast read. Enjoyed the many twists and turns. Would recommend to anyone that likes science fiction. My only question is how was the city Elyria chosen? Loved all three books, maybe a sequel?
Could have cut alot of fluff out. Mostly focused on ridiculous fight scenes and not story line. Not as good as the first two but I think it was because they were just trying to make it longer instead of sticking to quality content