Found this one a bit slower than the first 2 books in the series. Was good when it picked up half way through but felt that there could have been more to the ending. Felt sorry for Cass she deserved a happier ending than she got

An awesome concussion to what has been an amazing trilogy - original, daring and dark. I cannot recommend these books enough!

The final in the Fire sermon trilogy! I’ve been eagerly anticipating this book since finishing the first in the series and trying to imagine how Haig was going to conclude her story of a post nuclear war society.

With the Alpha and Omega soldiers now working together with the Ringmaster and the introduction of another way of life in the form of the medicine from Elsewhere that Paloma talks of, the end of twinning is in sight. However The General is still intent on destroying Elsewhere by bringing back the blast and it’s clear to Cass from her visions that the end is coming.

In this final book we finally get a bit more of an insight into Zack the Alpha twin the Omega Cass, I found this particularly intriguing as we’d only heard of him from the memory of Cass and his terrible actions in the earlier books – The Keeping Rooms and the Tankings.
The introduction of the strange and new Paloma from Elsewhere also added another dimension to the plot, a new hope that perhaps things can change. I did however feel that the character was a bit distant (but perhaps this was intentional, she does come from Elsewhere after all), but her growing bond with Zoe seemed to reflect the bridging of a gap between the two worlds.

Once again I was gripped from the first page of the novel, on the edge of my seat during battles and as the book reached it’s conclusion. I was certain there could be no happy ending for Cass – not with The Reformer as a brother, however the ending is very clever in insuring the reader is happy with the conclusion for both him and Cass and may you leave shedding a tear for the right reasons.

Nail biting, edge of the seat reading at it’s best!

I fantastic end to a highly enjoyable series. Well worth a read.

It felt like it was only a few months ago that I was thinking about this book and how I hadn't heard anything and then suddenly BAM here we are at release date; it'd slunk like the Rosalind out of the either and inserted itself at the top of my TBR pile. It's weird to have come to the end of the series, and i can still feel it lingering inside me. It's on of those books that I still want to more more.

All points in the previous two books have been building up to this point and there were a lot of questions hanging over this. As such this is and was always going to be a 'war book' and needs to be looked at as a reflection of the series.

The Alpha/Omega was a fantastic construction and really comes into force here. We've seen its effects a lot throughout the series but I thin for the first time, like the characters I really felt it here. There were these simple moments when you get this image of another half just dropping and you think damn, creating these really strong moments in the book. It was strange, and I don't know if this is a good or bad thing, but as I was reading the book I didn't read people in terms of their omega disability, until it was overtly prevalent and mentioned. I saw everyone as people, and I think that was a beautiful over arching theme. We are all just people and we can get along we just have to choose to. Its a message that is soo timely and so appreciated.

The series has been compared to The Road, and I think this was that feeling I got, but didn't really understand until I'd finished the series. There was this constant overhanging bleakness, like an atmosphere that the characters have to live in. In many ways though there are moments of light, it is not a happy book. It is a book of determination and sacrifice, of decision and action pushing the characters to their limits and making you consider and question at every toss and turn. These are characters we have journeyed with so the connections are stronger and their actions have greater consequences. The feels are real! You get jumpy and you think 'don;t you do that', or in some cases you sit on the bus and mutter no no no no to yourself. I'm not ashamed. Piper shone here for me, I have always liked his characterisation and I felt for him more here. Cass who had already been through just as much was pushed to the edge and you wanted to support her, but them shout at her and shake her and hug her.

II was a fitting end to a series, one that I am sad is now over, but I look forward to what is to come!

enjoyed this trilogy a lot. Great to have dystopian aimed at adults not YA. The writing was beautiful in this final instalment as throughout. If I had a criticism it would be that the pace could have been a bit quicker, as is often the case, this could have been told in two parts I think, so the beginning of this felt a bit slow. That said, the last third was excellent and, without spoilers, I loved the end, I thought it was just perfect. I will definitely look out for what Francesca writes next.

What I liked: I think pretty much everything. It was a satisfying conclusion to a trilogy that utterly gripped me; I loved that it tied everything up in a way that whilst I might not have chosen, I understood. This whole series is so good people – read it.

What I didn’t like: I would like there to be more please. I don’t like that it’s over. Also, THAT ENDING. I mean, I understood it, I did, and it makes a hell of a lot of sense from a narrative sense but no. There are things I wanted that are not that and I hope you appreciate how hard I try to be spoiler free.

The Forever Ship completes this trilogy which began with The Fire Sermon and continued with A Map of Bones – I’ll be sorry to see the back of Cass, Piper et al I’ve lived this journey with them and a brilliantly engaging and thought provoking one it was too and the lovely Ms Haig puts a pitch perfect finish on it.

In this finale, the battle to save Elsewhere is the main focus along with ever changing loyalties and Cass still trying to come to terms with her relationship with Zach – twin and Alpha – who has been an extraordinarily difficult challenge.

I’ve come to know the world built here really well – the Alpha and Omega twins, one perfectly formed the other with flaws and the author has delved deep into human nature here, throughout the narrative, in a beautifully plotted battle where its not so much one of good v evil but of this compromise v that compromise and how far we would go to preserve ourselves.

The characters are formed and authentic, Cass is divisive and tortured by her visions, her journey from that first page of The Fire Sermon to this last page of The Forever Ship has been one full of twists and challenges, utterly riveting and beautifully described.

I don’t really want to give anything away – but Francesca Haig has created a dystopian reality that is very believable, as our world teeters on the brink of who knows what, one can perfectly well imagine a future such as she describes – even the more fantastical elements of it.

Overall The Fire Sermon trilogy has been a most terrific reading experience – and that melancholy, cleverly thought out finale just put the icing on a very delicious cake.

Highly Recommended.

So I joined this story at book number three, which, again, is not something I advise doing but I'm a rebel without a cause so I have been known to do so from time to time. What I will tell you is that this concept is so solid that you don't need to have read the first two books to figure out pretty much everything that happened in them. This is a stupendously good thing (at least it was for me) because it means I don't spend the first third of the book trying to work out what on earth is going on.

You can definitely feel The Hunger Games influencing this book and this storyline. There's the themes of triumph over adversity and the elements of arbitrary hierarchy are evident throughout. Joining the story in the third book does mean that I'm at the climax of the action so I can't say for certain that the first two books were as exciting but this one was certainly packed full of battles, daring escapes, tragedies and rousing speeches.

There are a few elements that don't make precise sense, like why, in a world 400 years into the future, people are still fighting with swords. But I have to give the benefit of the doubt and assume that this is explained in earlier books (and, to be perfectly honest, swords are just cool and I'm not going to be angry at swordfights).

What I truly loved about this story was the concept. The idea of one twin not being able to be killed because then the other will die is a phenomenal idea that, while I don't think it is entirely novel, is used so well in this story. Where normally any problem would be solved with a swift sword to the heart in this case they have to consider their actions and there's a whole other ethical element. Equally, it adds a degree of tension because at any time a character's life can be at risk not only from the circumstances at that point in the story but also their twin's circumstances. All in all I was totally sold on this idea by about page ten and it just kept getting better and better.

Pull into this mix a bunch of characters all of whom were interesting to read about and all of whom you grow to care about (I imagine if you've read the other two books you'd like them even more) and you've got yourself a darned good ending to a trilogy.

As far as books that sit on the 'similar to The Hunger Games' shelf go this is one of the better ones I have read. I've just done some speedy searching and it turns out The Fire Sermon (book #1) is in my local library so I may have to go and grab that at lunch time!

My rating: 4/5 stars

By the way, I received a digital review copy of this book for free from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

There's always a certain satisfaction from completing a trilogy or series. Although this wasn't my favourite instalment I couldn't imagine not reading it, I just wanted to know what happens in the end.

If you need a quick recap, Cass and Zach are twins in a world where everyone is twinned. Each birth brings a "perfect" Alpha and an Omega with deformities or other disabilities. When one twin dies, so does the other, that is the strength of their bond. Cass was separated from her brother later than normal as she could hide her ability, that she saw visions, including those of the blast which brought about the twinning.

In The Map of Bones, proof of Elsewhere was discovered in the form of Paloma, an untwinned young woman sent as an emissary. With the use of medicines from the before, they have ended twinning even though birth defects are still the norm. Cass, Piper and Zoe have teamed up with The Ringmaster, an ex-Council member to fight The General and Zach, who are tanking Omegas and have plans to bomb Elsewhere with the blast technology.

For all the evil Zach has done, I was still waiting with baited breath for his change of heart, yet his resentment for Cass is still strong. His selfishness does bring him to seek asylum in New Hobart, knowing that they would protect him for Cass's sake.

The resistance is at war with the Council and Francesca doesn't shy away from showing the sheer number of resulting deaths. There were a lot of battle scenes which isn't something I particularly enjoy reading and at times it felt it was impossible it could ever end well.

I thought the second book had done a good job of showing the fatal bond between twins and I would have liked that carried on a bit more during the battles. Because they were killing a lot of twins in the process but that was glossed over, except for a few times when Cass saw a vision of the twin's death. It's such a complex and conflicting thing, two lives so intertwined with each other. At times you can kind of see where Zach was coming from even though it doesn't forgive his acts.

It seemed a bit inconsistent that twins were feeling more shared pain; if they were so affected by the others' health would those with a tanked twin not be suffering? At one point Cass tortures herself to get information out of Zach because he feels the same pain. It didn't quite all fit together for me this time.

I had hoped this final instalment would have been set in Elsewhere, instead it is just mentioned, a lot. There was also some repetition around the seers' visions of the blast and how it was inevitable, it could have done with a tighter edit to be a much pacier book, but I do think pacing has been the one issue throughout the trilogy that made it less than perfect.