Había dejado un tanto relegada esta última entrega de la trilogía The Farian War de K.B. Wagers por la decepción de la segunda entrega, pero me picaba un poco la curiosidad de ver cómo acababa la historia.


La autora se había dejado las revelaciones más importantes para el final, como parecía lógico. A mí particularmente me cansa un poco que el motor de la historia sea una amenaza exterior bastante desconocida pero sin duda imponente, es BEM o alienígena que puede acabar con la raza humana de un plumazo gracias a su capacidad bélica superior o simplemente a su desarrollo tecnológico. Afortunadamente Wagers cambia un poco el rumbo de su space opera dejando que este peligro inminente un poco en segundo plano mientras que los problemas más cercanos y por tanto, más urgentes, se conviertan en el centro de la situación.

El juego político que hemos visto desplegarse a través de la trilogía llega aquí a su expresión final, con traiciones y planes que al fin llegan a su clímax. Pero mi impresión es que la autora ha convertido a su personaje principal en un ser tan poderoso y con tantos recursos a su disposición que se hace casi imposible destronarla, cuando puede cambiar su aspecto, resucitar, trasladarse en el espacio de forma casi instantánea… Me parece que es una sucursal de Deus ex Machina INC. que hace que pierda interés por el desarrollo de la novela. Sí, ya sabemos que le va a ir bien a Hail Bristol, lo mismo sufre un poquito por el camino pero poca cosa, como mucho un padrastro.

Lo cierto es que esperaba algo más de esta trilogía, pero me ha resultado imposible sobreponerme al mensaje tan terrible del segundo libro. Aunque en la tercera entrega la cosa mejora, me temo que la trilogía en sí queda inevitablemente lastrada por los problemas anteriores. No puedo recomendar su lectura.

💛✌️BOOK REVIEW TIME✌️💛

Woah! What I can tell you about this one without giving away the goose?
It’s immensely good fun 🤩 I was hooked almost instantly and I loved the unique and diverse characters. It was a pleasure to read! LGBTQA rep overload! Loved it!

Even if it is an interesting final book in this series I think it drags a bit.
The character and the world building are as good as usual but the plot is a bit slow at times.
I think it can't be read as a standalone.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Out Past the Stars is book three in The Farian War trilogy. Please note, what follows may contain minor spoilers if you’ve not read books one and two… Who am I kidding, of course it will contain spoilers. How could it not? The book blurb is a spoiler for goodness sake.

When Hail finally confronts the Farian gods, the last thing she expects to discover is that they’re part of the Hiervet, an alien race who once spread war throughout the galaxy long before humanity’s ancestors crawled out of the sludge of Earth’s oceans.

The discovery carries with it dire news: the Hiervet are coming, eager to take revenge on those who escaped and they don’t care who gets caught in the crossfire.

The fate of the galaxy is on the line and Hail will have to make one final gamble to leverage chaos into peace.

Here we are at the grand finale of Hail Bristol’s story. After many twists and turns the final book in The Farian War trilogy, Out Past the Stars, has arrived. The good news is that Hail’s swansong is exactly what I had hoped it would be. She leaves us on a high, doing what she does best, protecting the innocent and dishing out justice.

For me, the end of any trilogy is always tinged with a certain amount of sadness. I’m hopelessly invested in the characters and caught up in the plot by that point. I wouldn’t have got to book three if I wasn’t*. The thing I’ve enjoyed most about The Farian War, and the trilogy that proceeded it, is K B Wager’s skilled exploration of their protagonist. Hail’s evolution from cocky gunrunner to self-assured galactic leader is riveting. Turns out that spending time working with the criminal underbelly of the galaxy stands you in good stead for living as a royal personage. We’ve had the opportunity to see the good and the bad in Hail’s life, all the highs and the lows. Wager’s doesn’t pull any punches; this is warts and all storytelling and I love it. The physical and psychological toll of a life lived in the service of one’s subjects has left its mark. Watching Hail overcome trauma, conquer seemingly insurmountable obstacles and keep moving forward is a sight to behold. The steel in her veins that drives her to protect all those around has always felt palpable.

The other characters not only complement the novel’s charismatic lead, they also help to flesh out her journey. Every time I’ve picked up the next book I’ve felt like I am reconnecting with old friends. The narrative would be a far sadder place without the likes of Emmory, Zin, Hao, Aiz, Mia and everyone else besides**. Each and every one of these characters gets an opportunity to shine and they have evolved into far more than the sum of their parts. I’ve thought about this long and hard and I think, at its heart, this is a story about family. I’m sure I mentioned this in my review of Down Among the Dead and it is still true here. The idea that the people you choose to let into your life are the ones who become the most important to you. The bonds you have with them are far more significant than something as arbitrary as biology. These people become your life and they become your home.

I waffle about reading a lot, you’ve probably noticed. Over the last decade, I’ve made a point of sharing my thoughts about the hundreds of books that I’ve read and enjoyed. K B Wager’s Hail Bristol novels have deservedly earned a spot towards the top end of that vast list. I love genre fiction but, if I’m honest, I’ve always struggled a bit with science fiction. It’s mostly the science part. I’m worried that I’ll drown in technobabble. These novels got me passed that. Wager’s flawless character-driven writing is so damned accessible and insightful it has reinvigorated my love of space operas.

For entirely selfish reasons, mostly that I didn’t want to let the characters go, I was hoping for a long meandering conclusion to the novel. Sadly, it was all over way too soon. The Farian War has been a great trilogy and Out Past the Stars is a perfect conclusion. I think I need to go and have a bit of a lie-down. What can I say? It’s been emotional. I’ll be honest I don’t know what I’m going to do for my next sci-fi fix now that I don’t have the next Hail Bristol novel to look forward to ☹

Out Past the Stars is published by Orbit and is available now. Highly recommended.

For the musically minded amongst you, my recommendation to accompany our last foray into the void is the soundtrack to Disintegration by Jon Everist. There is something suitably epic about it that fits nicely with Out Past the Stars.

*Remember the golden rule people – life is way too short to read fiction you don’t connect with. No such worries in this case obviously.

**I shall live in hope of a spin-off series featuring Johar travelling the galaxy, kickin’ ass and stealing stuff just because they can.

This is the final book in the Farian War trilogy and to fully understand the worldbuilding and characters I feel that the previous books should be read first .

This book brings together all the unresolved points from the previous books ......... Galatic warfare , Aliens and Civil wars .
Hail is now Empress , developed alien powers and despite having 'died' repeatedly in the previous book has saved her part of the Galaxy ............ !!!
Despite this book having the most revelations I was left feeling a little flat ........... I feel the Author was glad to put this series to rest .

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The last of the Farian War Trilogy manages to tie up the loose ends of the previous two novels though feel considerably distanced from the previous trilogy. Wagers first pulpy run around in this universe was interested in galactic warfare, with the slightest hint of alien seasoning (the Farians). At this point in saga Hail Bristol has saved her part of the Universe once, developed alien powers, died on every other page in the previous novel and now has the potential fate of the galaxy in her hands as an alien invasion takes over the civil war she was trying to solve. So a lot to unpack, and whilst it does, I couldn't help but feel Wagers is happy to finish it off.

This trilogy started with a successful attempt to broaden the political scope of this universe. The second one took a sharp turn into trauma, perhaps too hard (though not without interest), but this one has nothing thematically going on beyond finishing the thing. The peril is there and there are some decent set pieces but there feels like there's two main competing principles, complete the book without repeating the previous trilogy beats. The Empress Hail (cos yes, still space monarchy), has recovered from her previous trauma but is in no mood to play nice with anyone, though she is more likeable here than she has been. But despite this book having the biggest revelations and the most lore to unpack, it doesn't really sing.

Whilst this isn't quite a by the dots contractual obligation ending, I do get the sense that Wagers has moved on from this character and this universe. It was always on the edge of YA and perhaps this is what happens when a story and a writer grows up. I mentioned I liked the complexity in the first of this trilogy, and was blindsided by the trauma in two, Well this is very much the aftermath of both, Wagers tried to broaden the world and the character and came up against the pulp limitations perhaps. There are some good ideas in the centre here around the warfare, and it works as an ending, but it feels the right time to end it.