With this book, the series became more a fantasy than a sci-fi story. However, I'm still attracted to the characters, particularly - besides MCs- Simion, Exley and Manny, I would read their stories. ( )

The final book in Merq and Armise’s part of this mind-blowing series is worse than any previous volumes in terms of gutting me, making me cry, and leaving me feeling raw for days. It is also better than any of the previous books because Merq and Armise finally find peace, although not in a way I could have predicted had I tried. But man, the author put them (and me!) through the wringer before she let that happen. More than once it seemed as if they’d made it, as if all the secrets had finally been revealed and dealt with, only for anther twist to yank victory from their hands and plunge them (and me!) into a new round of despair. I have rarely felt so invested in main characters as in these two men, and to see them hurt each other, suffer, and make it through painful growth spurts was both hell and an extraordinary experience.

Merq has already changed and grown from the cold-blooded soldier focused only on following orders to a man who cares about others. He is now a man who has ideals and will think about what he does in light of his objectives before he acts. But he has a lot more learning to do in terms of his relationship with Armise, and his ability to love the man he has been with, in a sense, for fifteen years. In ‘Strength of the Rising Son’ Merq faces who he is, finds out what he was meant to do, and has to deal with the consequences of what others have planned for him. And central to every decision he has to make is the question of how important Armise is to him, and exactly what Merq is ready to sacrifice to be with him.

The entire Borders War, the search for the infochip, the question of what the genetic modifications are about – all of it unravels in this final volume of Merq and Armise’s story. Because as much as world politics, historical events, and morality are key themes in this series, at the end, what it boils down to is Merq’s and Armise’s roles in the ending of the three-hundred-year war. But that is just on the surface. Deep down, this series is their story. And that is why the ending is perfect. It may be slightly flawed, if only in one tiny aspect, but what did I expect? The world of the Borders War is brutal, and Merq and Armise are its children.

If you have made it all the way to this final installment of S.A. McAuley’s incredibly detailed and very scary vision of the future, you can now take a deep breath. I certainly did, but I suspect it will take me quite a while to deal with the emotional effects of these books. I’ll have to read them all again, this time knowing the outcome because I think they will be even more astounding with that understanding, But not for a while. I may not need therapy after this, but I came close!

If you’re ready for an emotional roller coaster of epic proportions, and if you think you’re up to the challenge of dealing with the war atrocities, extreme violence, and psychological abuse so prevalent in this series, give these books a go. ‘The Borders War’ with its scarily accurate vision of one possible future for humankind is one of the best science fiction series I have ever read.


NOTE: This book was provided by Pride Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )