The Diamond of Darkhold (2008)

It was quite like-able.
In this last (?) book of Ember we see that it's very hard to cope with winter, and how Lina and Doon look back to what they had. Then things happen and they end up needing to go to Ember so they can help the people of Sparks (and the Emberites too).
Wasn't as good as the first two books, but it was quite good and the end was a good end, so you feel closure and that the story got somewhere. ( )

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this series. Post-apocalyptic, very realistic, the ending was happy enough but didn't feel contrived. ( )

The people of Ember are now the people of Sparks, and Sparks isn't looking so hot these days--with 400 new mouths to feed, supplies are running low, and winter's only just beginning. A plot device trader comes along and gives Doon the tattered remains of a book; Doon and Lina head back to Ember to save the world.

Eh. It's better than Prophet of Yonwood, but that doesn't say much. Maybe it's the distance from when I read the first book, but this has neither the charm nor complexity of City of Ember. I remember the story being more fascinating, the characters more richly drawn, the writing more sophisticated. I'm disappointed in this. ( )

A satisfying conclusion to this series (essentially a trilogy and and out-of-sequence prequel). As in the first book, Lina and Doon take on a quest for better quality of life based on an uninterpretable document from the Builders. Though they encounter obstacles and belligerents, one can't really say they meet enemies. A hallmark of this series is that ultimately most people, even those in opposition, are rendered benign or ineffective over the course of the story, making this a good series for people who like dystopian themes but not the distress of a true dystopia. ( )

I loved The City of Ember, which presented a unique spin on a post-apocalyptic world. That love got me through the next two books in the series, both of which didn't captivate me nearly to the degree of the first. So, it's taken me a while to come around to reading The Diamond of Darkhold, the fourth and final book of the series.

Life is a challenge in the city of Sparks, and though everyone is mostly getting a long, dangers abound, from natural disasters to everyday accidents. A chance discovery of a book from a roam inspires Doon and Lina to take a chance in returning to Ember in the hopes they can make the lives of the people in their village easier.

These are short book, geared for younger audiences, which make them easy reads. I enjoyed The Diamond of Darkhold quite a bit, still not as much as book one, but the return to Ember was much more to my taste. This was a fun adventure and a satisfying conclusion to the series. ( )