Apex

A lovely end (which isn't an end) to the story. The surge that was showing up in Elite continues and worsens; Joy actually manages to get some answers (most of which create more questions, of course) out of "her" Folk Mage; the business with the Psimons, and particularly with Josh, comes to a climax...or several climaxes, each one on top of the previous. Plus there's some excellent action, including one battle where Joy (and quite a few others) is seriously injured (like, several weeks in bed injured) - and at least one real, final death. Then a final, climactic battle, where Bya helps Joy pull a very big rabbit out of a hat - and it still ends up with a one-on-one battle (more or less). And a beautiful ending, in which Joy goes back to show more work because that's what Hunters do...but Apex is permanently changed, I think, not the least because humans are now actually talking to the Folk (again, more or less). There could, certainly, be more stories; I hope Joy's story is done, though, because it would be really really hard to top this. I'd love to read more in this universe - maybe another trilogy, about someone else? Lackey is good at that.
Reread - only my second read, that's the problem with series! I read and reread the first ones as each new one comes out... Some things I was wondering about from the first two books were explained here - I don't know if I missed it on the first read, or just forgot in the last two years. Very good, very rich. I'll try not to wait another two years before reading this series again.
I didn't wait all that long - but I think this is a fourth reread. Excellent. Very rich, with some... Slightly unnecessary doubt over who's an ally and who isn't. There's good reason for the doubt but I think they push it a little far - on the other hand, I haven't been fighting these folks for years. A great climax, with a serious deus ex machina - I didn't remember it, either, so it hit just right. The help I expected to turn up didn't come until later. I would love to read more in this world, but this story is nicely rounded off (though there _could_ be more, one or two of the bad guys got away...). Oddly, for once, I don't want to start it again - I'm satisfied for now. On to other things. show less

Finally!!! I’ve been waiting way too long for Apex to come out and I bought it as soon as it did, because things were heating up for Joy in book 2. Now, the Hunters are in an all-out war against the Othersiders, and it doesn’t look as though those magical creatures are ever going to give up. Combine that with heated tension growing between the PsiCorps and the Hunters, and there’s lots of drama and intrigue to be had by all.

As I’ve mentioned in reviews for the previous books: I really appreciate Lackey’s ability to seamlessly weave together science fiction and fantasy. I love both genres and having them perfectly incorporated into one story is heaven. Apex differs from its predecessors in that it has a lot more action and a show more lot less character development. Because of this, I thought the first bits of the book were slow-going, but once intrigue started happening with PsiCorps and the Folk Mage, it starts to get good.

Joy realizes that the Othersiders are being controlled by Folk Mages and feels as though there’s something she’s missing about the Othersiders’ intentions. She feels as though there’s a bigger game being played, but has no idea what exactly it is, so she enlists the help of a couple of trusted friends and puts her life on the line to trust the lavender Folk Mage to get to the bottom of whatever is going on. Again, Joy proves to be an amazing main character; she struggles and nothing is super easy for her, but she also takes charge of situations and goes all-out to protect her friends and do her job as a Hunter. I love that she isn’t a perfect badass character who never gets hurt or faces challenges, but she also isn’t helpless either.

The resolution of Apex is impossibly perfect, and I felt such a rush reading it — definitely makes it worth your while to pick up the series. It has SUCH A GOOD ENDING! I’m not sure if any books are planned for the future, but I definitely can see Lackey writing a spinoff trilogy set in the same world (which is a common move for her). It has enough of a finale that I feel as though Joy’s story has ended nicely, but leaves enough open that future spinoffs would be appreciated, which is a nice way to end a fantasy book, I think.

Also posted on Purple People Readers. show less

This was a fun read. Third in the Hunter series, it was quite easy to sink back into the world and the lies of the characters. There were interesting touches from Celtic mythology that thoroughly satisfied me.

Without any spoilers, I can safely say that the book ends at a perfect spot. I am satisfied if the series ends here; I would snap up others in the series in a heartbeat were more to come. The world is deeply interesting to me.

You will need to start with [Hunter] should you want to read the series. It is well worth it.

Nice installment to this YA series, but Lackey is really treading the line on the protaganist. We'll see with Book #4, but one more 'save' and she'll have turn into a full-blown Mary Sue.

Long time fan of Mercedes Lackey. Third book of a triology, Not her best work, but very enjoyable.

FROM AMAZON: Being a member of the Elite Hunter Command imperils Joy in more ways than one. In their latest clash with Othersiders, the army of monsters nearly wiped them out. Apex City is safe for now. But within the city barriers, Joy must wage a different kind of war.

The corrupt and powerful PsiCorps is determined to usurp the Hunters as chief defenders of Apex City, and Joy is now squarely in their crosshairs. Unused to playing political games, she has very few people she can truly trust - not even Josh, her first friend in Apex City, who broke up with her when it became too dangerous for a Psimon to be dating a Hunter.

Then Josh comes show more to Joy for help. He fears that Abigail Drift, the head of PsiCorps, will soon use him in her twisted experiments designed to empower PsiCorps and render Hunters superfluous - a scheme that's already killed off dozens of Psimons. Joy manages to smuggle Josh to safety, but he cannot evade Drift forever.

As Joy faces ever more powerful Othersiders, she is helped by the most surprising ally imaginable - the same Folk Mage she once met in battle on the train to Apex City. But can Joy trust the most cunning and treacherous of all Othersiders?

In the thrilling finale to Mercedes Lackey's New York Times best-selling trilogy, Joy must risk everything to end a brutal war before she loses all she's ever loved. show less

What Plot was remaining after book 2 was completely shot in the butt in book 3. The grand reveal feels more like a bare explanation and not actually a real idea, like it was just sewing together the massacred remains of the over all story line because there wasn't enough time or plot to do much else with it. Everyone is too OP except for when the plot needed them to be something else, the character deaths in any of the books was more about explaining the severity of the situation. Idk this was a great idea that was under utilized in the end. The whole Elf Mage not being such a bad guy after all and its reason were bare bones and just really didn't cut it for me.

Dystopia