FERREN AND THE INVADERS OF HEAVEN

Humans and angels band together against a common mechanical enemy in Harland’s YA fantasy novel, the conclusion of a trilogy.

In a distant-future Australia, Ferren has led the human Residuals in resisting the Humen, powerful artificial beings that have been taking unwitting Residuals into their military service. Now the Humen prepare to face off against the hosts of Heaven, a fight that Ferren and others anticipate will end in the Humen’s defeat. It seems the Humen have a new leader: an “evil angel” who zips across the sky in a flying ship. Hoping to align themselves with God’s messengers, the Residuals turn to Miriael, a warrior angel “shot down” from Heaven who’s now essentially a hybrid, part-spiritual and part-physical. If she can convince Heaven’s forces to join with humans (“What’s stopping Heaven saying yes to an alliance? Why are they taking so long about it?”), then maybe they can take down the Humen once and for all. Harland focuses this final installment of his fantasy series on action. The set pieces are memorable—Miriael, along with Ferren’s sister Shanna, witness angels and Humen clash; myriad Residuals flee their enemy in the midst of an intense hailstorm; and the lengthy, riveting climax is searing. While the text includes occasional recaps covering prior volumes, the appreciation of some character dynamics relies heavily on readers’ knowledge of the earlier books. Plenty of story unfolds in this novel, however, as one character’s demand to oversee the Residuals’ assembly sparks contempt and another’s subdued romantic feelings beget petty jealousy. Tension steadily builds as the Humen work on an “unimaginably huge construction” for a purpose not immediately apparent. The author rounds out this brisk finale with appearances from archangels, Miriael’s “visionary dreams,” and a wholly satisfying wrap-up.

An action-packed dystopian story teeming with celestial warriors and diabolical machines.