RELUCTANT WARRIORS

An imminent cosmic threat forces battling factions of humanity to wage war on two fronts in this third installment of an SF trilogy.

It is 2093, and the survivors of the asteroid called Jurbay that destroyed half of the United States exist as “The 28 United.” In the city of Ash, their leader, Avery DeTornada, has formed a truce with the army of The Third, led by a man called Raghill. Avery believes in combining forces and preparing for war against another army led by Chapman, her 10-year-old son, who is a half genetically engineered being. But Avery’s most trusted friends, Morris and Annalynn, believe that tackling another threat should take precedence. Five years ago, a second asteroid was discovered heading for Earth. This menace, named Jurbay’s Baby, must be dragged or blown off course within three years, otherwise the survivors’ monumental struggles will be for naught. Complicating Avery’s goals is Degnan, the wily operator of the Dark Market and creator of weapons capable of changing humanity’s fate. While Avery feels compelled to fight for her husband, McGinty; and their infant son, Justice, she must tread a dark moral landscape. Thankfully, her colleagues have superseded her authority in preparing for the asteroid. Yet the manipulative Chapman is willing to force Avery into bloody terrestrial warfare. Mansfield’s finale deftly addresses how relationships evolve over time and under extreme duress. When Annalynn and Raghill, who grew up together, begin working closely on curtailing the asteroid, new emotions overtake them. Only Avery’s chapters are first person yet the prose never fails to instill the “ticking of the world’s clock” in readers. Combining this warning with mentions of natural beauty (“We venture...into the midst of multiple groves of hemlock trees”), the book echoes the present-day call for urgent action on climate change. Some of the conceptual play from prior volumes persists in the “repwas,” creatures that are a blend of reptiles and wasps. While many of the emotional turns are grim, the powerful narrative offers quiet hope with Avery’s line, “We may always disagree about our methods, but I trust you to...[s]eek a world of words and not weapons.”

A strong series finale that celebrates the growth of both individuals and societies.