Review: A rushed,sketchy, unsatisfying end.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 14, 2013
The first book in Michael Stark's "The Island" series was a scintillating, engaging, deep and carefully structured work.  It was a joy to read.  Unfortunately, the later books showed less and less care and more and more haste.  This one, the last book in the series, reads more like a set of sketches filled into an outline, without the polish and the careful editing that made the first book so good.  It's still an engaging, interesting read, but too many things happen with little reflection or forewarning, a lot is left unexplained.  It feels like a mid-story pivotal event, not like a conclusion to the story.I think Stark is a good enough writer and the ideas he presents here are sufficiently intriguing to justify buying and reading this book.  But expect to be left saying "Really?  That's it?  You are going to just leave it here?!"