man, oh man

I have 17 minutes left in this book and just turned it off. The writer lost the thread. The first book in this series is great, sadly the trilogy is not.

2 people found this helpful

Beautifully written & wonderously narrated!

This was a fantastic trilogy! An amazing world to be thrown into, a world of strength, death, loyalty and love. The unique premise of such a futuristic existence blew my mind, a world far from our own but yet not impossible to imagine which is what made it so much more real. From the moment I met the Thunder Head's existence I fell in love. The complexity of the characters gripped me, Citra, Rowan, Michael, Grayson, The Thunder Head, Cirrus, and even Jerri, how they started, how you watched them grow, how you watched them fall, only to get up again and keep fighting. The immense loss this story held even in a world without sickness and natural death. 

I enjoyed how the three books blended, even down to The Toll, the story still had so much build without feeling rushed or underdeveloped. Tredging back and forth through timelines wasnt complicated and was executed perfectly all while adding to the story. I adored that we got to see this world from so many perspectives as the story grew and most of all I loved how this story took my emotions on a rollercoaster from its infinate highs into its depthless lows, ripping emotion from me at every twist and turn. And that ending though...my heart...

And the narrator had an outstanding performance in this trilogy!!! I truly loved this trilogy and can see myself reading it again and again!

2 people found this helpful

Great conclusion

This was a great conclusion to the series. I enjoyed the read, but I would say the first two books were more intense and nail biting. Overall it was very interesting and I liked the direction it took. My only small issue with this book is the fairly large part of the storyline devoted to social justice/progressive ideas relating to gender identity and expression. There were these themes in the other books, but to a lesser degree. I feel like that's all I hear about in the news and other forms of media. Of course, that's just my own personal opinion and I'm sure some others will appreciate it being inserted into the storyline.
I hope Shusterman is planning another series because I think he has a wonderful writing style . Creative and intriguing.

2 people found this helpful

The Toll Review

This was an excellent ending to the series!! I wish there was more. The narrator was really calming to listen to.

1 person found this helpful

Decepointing

I really like this series but this book is my least favarite. The world is still great or even better but I just didn't really like how it end. It felt to easy. The narrator does again an amazing job.

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Disappointed Conclusion

The number of inconsistencies are staggering in comparison to the previous books. The rules and inner working of the world has become so fickle and character motivations volatile. It seems all characters are made to do something just for the sake of reaching that desired conclusion. However, the path to get there could of been so much better. Hard to see it as the end of what was a great series.

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Slower than the other books

This was a satisfying conclusion to the series, but it was a lot slower than the other installments. Sometimes I felt bored, but I was invested enough to finish it.

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love Greg Tremblay's narration in al three books

Well written and well performed. I listened to the first one and immediately downloaded the second. Was delighted that Mr. Tremblay narrated all three books: he does an excellent job.

awesome book

I love this book but hate the narrator's voice. great finish to the series.

Good enough, weakest of the series

This book was overall decent and enjoyable, but definitely not as engaging as the first two books in the series. The narration is good, but lacks variety in the female voices, which all kind of sound the same. The overall plot does wrap things up decently, but the villains feel a little more flat in this one. Goddard is flawed to the point of almost feeling stupid more than in past, which doesn't seem to match the character as presented in his backstory (which is also an underserved element, as he does not address his past at all, even when it is revealed to the world). Rand has some slight development but also feels like her story wasn't committed to either way.
Neal's writing comes to its worst as he jams in a preachy self insert character who primarily serves as a mouthpiece for his own real world ideology. This would-be side character comes out of the blue and regularly derails the entire story to preach to someone about gender fluidity, which prompts the other characters to break away from their regular concerns long enough to obsequiously discuss how backwards their take on gender is, all while being so charmed that their sexual orientation is called into question. Jericho is the only character in the entire series who has exactly zero character flaws, never once makes a mistake or a wrong move, is never thwarted, and has no real motivations beyond advancing the plot and the author's personal views. The only characters who express any dislike to him are presented negatively, and the rest of the cast puts him on an awkwardly high pedestal. Not only does this create immersion breaking conversations multiple times throughout the book, it also stunts every scene that Jericho is in, as his obvious perfection in the author's view underlines every sentence of the book in which he is even tangentially present.
The book also doesn't pull off the non chronological reveals very well, which feels a bit muddled at times, and it can sometimes be easy to forget which point in the timeline you're at, as it doesn't actually feel that important. Overall the plot is wrapped up well, tying up all the loose ends and taking the world and its concepts to a logical end. Certainly not the best in the series but worth listening to if you've gone past the first book.