Evolution by Stephanie Diaz (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Also by this author: Rebellion
Published by Macmillan on September 8th 2015
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Clementine's world is on the brink of destruction. An army of aliens from the distant planet Marden has arrived with a massive fleet of battleships, intent on finally putting an end to the war Kiel's old rulers initiated. With the Alliance headquarters reduced to rubble and one of the rebel leaders close to death, Clementine and her friends have no choice but to retreat to the Core to escape the alien ships attacking the Surface.But safety in the Core means forming a temporary alliance with their sworn enemy, Commander Charlie. He's a ruthless man and a liar, but striking a bargain with him--his pardon in exchange for their help defeating the Mardenites--is the only way the rebels might survive the war. And Charlie needs their help too, for Marden's force is more powerful than anyone anticipated, with weapons and technologies never before seen on Kiel. Unless old feuds can be set aside long enough for a diplomatic solution to be found, all of Kiel's people will be destroyed, and everything Clementine and her friends have sacrificed in their fight for peace will have been for nothing.
Evolution is book three in the Extraction series and it picks up shortly after book two (Rebellion) wraps up so you aren’t missing anything. I have really been enjoying this series so as soon as I was able to read it, I dove in. If you haven’t read any of these books yet, you might want to stop here (and of course, go read them) so I don’t ruin any of the story for you.
As the story begins, Clementine and the rebels have to figure out what to do now that their headquarters is destroyed and aliens from Marden are invading. Clem has to figure out who she can (and will) trust and it definitely isn’t an easy decision. The one thing she and the group do know is that they can’t do anything about the aliens on their own. Because of this, she and the small group decide to head to the core but on their way, they are attacked and some of the group are taken by the aliens. When Clementine gets to the core, she is face to face with Commander Charlie again and has to make a deal with him to save her friends and Logan.
We have the normal cast of characters in this book as we had in the past and I thought Diaz did a wonderful job of giving us more of each of them while still keeping the focus on Clem. I did think Clem showed some growth in this book and although she definitely needs to watch Sam and the Commander, she holds her own with both of them. I also like that we get to see more of Logan and Clem together again.
As always, Diaz does a fantastic job of developing the world these characters inhabit. From the space ships to the planet Marden, all have a real feel to them. It also helps that the writing is well done and paced in a way that keeps the story moving but still spends some time on the important parts.
Overall I thought Diaz tied this story up well. Not only do we get explanations around what really happened with Marden so long ago, but we also learn more about why the aliens are back and what they are looking for. I won’t lie, things don’t go 100% perfectly for the group and there are some unexpected twists but in the end, the story concludes with some hope.
If you are looking for something that has plenty of action and a story that will pull you in with some great characters, aliens, and deception, consider checking this series out. I will definitely be waiting to see what Diaz writes next and will be reading it as soon as I can.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy!
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