A review by mrtvavrana
Posol by Neal Shusterman

adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

 
I have read this book in Slovak. 

I did not bother tagging spoilers so read at your own risk
 
I am not sure why I did this to myself, but I managed to get through the entire trilogy. While the first book was somewhat coherent, the second one was quite ridiculous. They were both riddled with plot holes, contradictions, and nonsense. 
 
Does it get better in the last book? No. But it surely gets much worse. At first I did not know if I would even finish the book, and then I was not sure whether I would be able to finish this review. But here we are! 
 
The book takes off pretty much where the last one finished. The Cliffhanger. During the first 250 pages, nothing happens. It´s just filler. There is basically no Rowan or Citra (thank lord), but somehow that makes it worse. We get a lot of explaining of what happened during their absence; we get to see Goddard getting into power and nobody opposing him. All while Rowan and Citra are taking a silly little nap at the bottom of the sea. Once they are freed, they do not really see each other until the very end of the book. Citra works on building a resistance, and Rowan is busy being in jail. Also, let us not forget how special, incredible, and talented amazing star Citra is. 
 
We, however, get to see more of Greyson. As you would expect, his storyline just keeps getting downhill. He is now a prophet. Basically a Jesus Christ of this book series. 
 
As I have mentioned in the previous two reviews, this series lacks any consistency. Plot holes are filled with ridiculous ideas. At some point you just stop trying to make sense of things and try to let the vibes lead the way. Unfortunately, everything still stinks extremely. First of all, there are so many POVs you do not even know who some of those characters are. They disappear after a chapter. 
 
The absolute worst part of this book for me was the introduction of a non-binary character, Jerico. I am not a transphobe; I am not cisgender myself. But. This character changes their gender according to the weather. They are not the regular they/them. They are a woman when the skies are clean and a man when it is cloudy outside (or the other way around?). So, sometimes, their gender changes within seconds when a cloud passes the sun or the moon. 
 
I am genuinely not sure whether Shusterman was trying to be extra phobic or he was trying to be supportive, and I am genuinely afraid to ask. Either way, this was the most disrespectful way to write a queer character I have ever encountered. And I did not even mention how Thunderhead used them as their own personal broadcasting system. Without their consent, of course. He just invaded their body to know what it felt like to be human! 
 
And then Thunderhead decided to make copies of himself. 
 
Okay, perhaps I lied. The ending is probably worse than a weird gender. The Big Battle happens, Thunderhead finishes his super secret project, and... It is a space fleet ready to colonise other planets! Basically nobody questions him, and they decide to blast off to the space, mid-battle. No last showdown with Goddard (who is killed and then replaced with Tiger´s consciousness), no satisfying finale, no nothing. 
 
Well, Citra does get mortally wounded, so that was nice. But she will be revived on their brand new planet, 117 years into the future, with Rowan waiting for her all those years so they can have their nonsensical love story. 
 
But honestly, in what hell do the main characters, the biggest heroes of resistance, pack their bags and leave the fight? What is the point of writing all these long as heck books when you literally destroy everything you spent years building? 
 
Have I mentioned the Scythedom is dead and deceased? Faraday´s side quest came to an end, and he caused the destruction of Scythe rings. They released evil nanobots that are now terrorising humanity every few years, killing millions of people. And there is literally no way to stop them. Ever. 
 
The end. Thankfully. 
 
That being said, the way this book ends literally means there was no point in any of this. It singlehandedly defeated the entire purpose of Scythedom, and essentially everything that ever happened was useless and pointless. 
 
Thank you, Neal Shusterman, for writing the single worst piece of literature I have read with my own eyes in the year of our Lord 2024.