Ah, this series went out with quite a bang! I liked the first book. I really liked the second book. This, the final book? Best one yet. It was fast paced and full of action. The characters really had grown so much as they learned more about the story behind them, the stories that they had been denied for so long.

This is another review that I will be keeping short, because not only do I want to steer clear of spoilers from this book, but I want to try to make this as spoiler free for the whole series as I can. So much takes place during this series, yet the end of the trilogy just unfolded masterfully. There was a lot going on, but it never felt like too much. Everything seemed to have a purpose, leading toward the ultimate end.

Em of course goes through so much change, but so do even the most minor of characters. They’re essentially finding out who they are every minute. I loved too that none of the characters were sugar coated- none were perfect, none were evil. Even Em, as a leader, still made her mistakes, was still aware of her flaws.

And every single question that I had, everything that confused me in the first and second book? No worries, the answers are coming. And some of them will blow your mind. This book, the plot, the development of the characters and relationships were all incredibly satisfying.

Bottom Line: This is hands down one of the strongest series finales I have read in a long time. So if you were waiting to see if it is worth starting this series? A resounding “hell yes”.

I feel that it's rare that a series gets better with each book, but I'm excited about what Scott Sigler has accomplished. Alive was entertaining and unique, Alight was captivating, gripping, and enticing, it's pages filled with mystery, and Alone takes the best of both books and puts them together. The characters were great, they are believable and relatable, unlike many characters in other dystopian books, I'm sad that the story is at it's end but I'm satisfied with the ending.

This has been a thrilling, incredible YA sci-fi series and I'm sorry to see it end - and the way it ended was something I never saw coming in book one.

Seeing the way these characters developed from book one was thrilling and it speaks to the talent of the author that he makes teenagers assuming such mature and critical adult roles so entirely believable. In Alone, these characters have to make hard choices and decisions, come to grips with things they've done - and in some cases atone for them, and along the way we lose some. Hated it, but knew it had to happen.

Superb world-building, riveting action sequences, hidden secrets revealed - I wanted to hole up somewhere and hide so many times so I could finish this book, but real life kept creeping in. The ending wasn't what I wanted or expected - but it felt right for these characters.

Although a YA series, The Generations Trilogy is soooo easily a crossover, so if you think YA sci-fi is 'just for kids' - think again. Read this series and stand corrected.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I finished this book in one day it was so good. Perfect ending to a fantastic trilogy. Exhilarating and, at times, exhausting, this story is expertly written. Scott Sigler has created a magnificent world with great characters. Thank you sir for the journey.

Wow. Scott Sigler. You have outdone yourself! I honestly didn't know what to expect with this final book (which made me both excited and nervous) and was partly the reason why I took two months reading it!
But boy, was it worth it.

Em's journey was truly a long one and what an astounding and exhilirating ride it was! Alive shocked me, Alight made me even more shocked, and Alone made filled me with emtions: hope, fear, anger and lastly, happiness!

Thank you Scott for writing this awesome trilogy and also, to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC

Although this third and final novel in the “Generations Trilogy” is primarily aimed at the ‘YA’ market it will also be widely read by the author’s sizeable and incredibly loyal following of adult horror fans. These ‘uber-fans’ are known as “junkies” and I am proud to count myself amongst their number. Why? I’ve read every word Sigler has written since 2008 and when he published a new book this is a big event in my calendar. Basically: Scott Sigler publishes a book, I batten down the hatches and power through that bad-boy in no time at all.

For anyone who has never read a Sigler novel: they are usually a terrifically exciting and violent fusion of science or speculative fiction, horror with the odd alien thrown in. Did I mention how violent they are? Astonishingly graphic in parts, stomach body horror churning in others, sadism is thrown in with good cheer and these reads are so far over the top they’re half way down the other side. Sigler lives on a planet all of his own and it is a scary place. But it’s good for us mere mortal fans to visit once in a while for a day trip.

This is Sigler’s second series to foray into the world of YA. The first being his Galactic Football League (GFL) sequence, which I adored. There are currently five books in print (“The Rookie” is book 1) of a projected seven books series. They seem to be on a temporary hiatus and who knows when number six will arrive. Initially these novels, an incredible fusion of science fiction, action and sport (NFL/Grid Iron) take one football season in the GFL following a rookie quarter-back called Quentin who plays for a tier two team called the “Krakens” and I’ve loved them all as Quentin Barnes grows, develops and has his own personal adventures. Along the way, as a Scotsman I also learned a lot about American Football as a sport, which was completely new to me. Although they’re pegged as YA I suspect most of the books were bought by Sigler’s adult Junkie fans (like me), initially they were all pricy and limited to 2500 copies in hardback and are incredibly collectable, but were later released in paperback

So Scott had a great record for writing quality YA. So I was really looking forward to the “Generations Trilogy”. “Alive” was published in 2015 and was a very good page turner, I gave it to a number of kids in my library and got pretty good feedback from it. Without giving too much away: a group of teenagers awaken in coffins with no memories. What follows is a science fiction thriller which has lots of decent twists and reveals its secrets pretty slowly. It sits nicely on the shelf with the likes of “The Hunger Games”, “The Maze Runner” and lots of other cross-over dystopian science fiction which are trendy these days. Memories slowly come back, the children realise they have been ‘created’ rather than born to serve a particular purpose which is revealed as the novel develops. It finishes on a cliff-hanger, which I don’t always like, as I feel a novel should have a proper standalone ending.

Book two of the “Generations Trilogy”, I think “Alight” suffered from being the middle book in a trilogy and by Sigler’s high standards it lacks the high octane intensity his novels always deliver. As the teenagers of book one find themselves stranded on an alien planet they bicker amongst themselves about how to survive once their food source becomes contaminated. In the first 200 pages of a fairly lengthy book just not enough happens and it could have had a further edit. Although we slowly find out more about where the teenagers and their creators come from it lacks the level of action and punch you would expect from a Sigler novel. Some of the characters begin to grate, the religious fanatic becomes repetitive and as we enter “The Lord of the Flies” territory of a bunch of kids stranded on their own with no adults begin to fight amongst themselves and their circumstances go downhill fast. It just lacks major ummph and some of the characters were pretty one dimensional and they get pretty tiresome as they seem to go around in circles as they solve the odd clue along the way.

This new planet itself it not particularly interesting either. All we get in the first 200 pages action wise (apart from bickering amongst themselves) is a hoard of giant spiders roaming around in ruins which partially resemble the ancient Mayan civilisation. All this is standard fare in modern teen fiction and “Alight” fails to distinguish itself from the YA pack. As the book heads into its second half you realise their creators who come to be called “The Grown Ups” will soon be returning. But all this will be revealed in book three.

So the final book continues in the same thread as the second. I don’t think it would work as a standalone novel, so readers would have to have read the first two books to get the most of the story. The same characters follow the story as it delves into the origins of where it all began, the beginnings of the leading character Em and where she came from and her importance. It’s also about the battle for the planet as the teens become under severe threat from both the Grown Ups and their own internal bickerings. Although it was a decent ending to the series, Sigler just does not convince 100% as a writer when he leads with female characters, he’s more of a man’s man and by the end of the book I had just about enough of Em.

As I said I devour Scott Sigler novels, but by his own very high standards this series fell a little flat for me. But hopefully his intended audience will enjoy it and I was very pleased to hear that earlier in the year book 1 of the series hit the top of the YA ebook bestseller charts in the USA, proving the book has real legs. I cannot wait for the mighty Sigler to return to the world of adult horror, that’s where he belongs.

As with the second book in this trilogy, the final installment largely lacks the big Surprise! elements of the first, but makes up for it in other ways. Where the second was an adventure story, this is more of a war novel cum space opera. However, there is a Surprise! element that ties in nicely with some of the underlying themes that Sigler has built up in regards to free will, religion, and POV character Em's established leadership role.

As before, I wish the writing was a little more lush and a little less workmanlike. It's difficult to connect with the characters -- especially as the cast changes, growing and shrinking as the plot moves ahead and full steam. It's also hard to envision the setting(s) beyond a videogamey sense of the most important structures, the jungle, and outer space.

I enjoyed the final outcomes on may levels, though I didn't always get a real sense of the new person that Em becomes, the person to which the title of the book obviously refers (among other things), being different from the Em that we've gotten to know. I think that's a fault with Sigler's writing, in that as I said the characters are difficult to connect with in the first place. This is a problem whenever hints of romance are (awkwardly) inserted in Em's story, too, except for the very end, which takes place a number of years later.

I was also very disappointed in the troublingly pat answer we got as to why Matilda was such an awful person: I mean, really, 1000+ years of being a destructive bitch because of one childhood bad-touch from grandpa? Really?

That aside, I would recommend this trilogy to fans of YA sci-fi, and I'm happy I was given the opportunity to read it.