Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book via NetGalley. This has not influenced my review.*
This book was an emotional punch to the stomach—and I mean that in the best, most complimentary way possible!
Parts of this book were so depressing and harsh and terrible that they were downright hard to read. Other parts of this book were so hopeful and wholesome that I actually teared up. All of this book was gripping and filled with intensity. And it was unpredictable in that I had no idea what might actually happen.
*Warning: The next four paragraphs contain SPOILERS for previous books in the series. Also just a note, I’m going to talk about all the characters and events in past tense because I can never figure out what tense to use when reviewing ongoing series.*
The story alternated between two timelines and multiple POVs, and one of the timelines was about X and his time on the surface over the previous ten years. I spent the whole book with my heart breaking for X. With each new passage showing us a glimpse into his life on the surface, another piece of my heart cracked off. He was a great character and an imperfect but good-hearted man with so much inner strength and determination, and he deserved so much better than being abandoned the way he was.
Then there was Michael and his team on the Deliverance, heading to the location of X’s last transmission in order to try and find him. It was interesting seeing things from various POVs, seeing what this mission meant to each of them, seeing what was important to them. I felt for each of those characters too.
There was also a new team of hell divers training and going down to the surface on a mission. For that we had what I believe was a new POV character, but it allowed us to see more of the goings-on in the Hive.
Last but certainly not least, there was Captain Jordan, who was running the Hive. I hated Captain Jordan just as much this time as I did in Book 2, and yet, I found myself almost feeling sorry for him (which, let me tell you, is some damn good writing because he was an awful person). He honestly believed that he was doing the right thing. He wasn’t, but he convinced himself that everything he was doing was necessary and worth it in order to do what he deemed right. It was ironic in this amazingly circular kind of way. The man with no humanity within himself was trying to save humanity, but in doing so, he was destroying it. In his unwavering focus on his goal to keep the Hive in the air, he lost sight of the real goal and failed to realize that to be human means more than simply to survive. The way the Sirens evolved is, in a way, proof of that. But anyway, I found myself liking his POV a lot more this time because it was just so well-written.
*END SPOILERS*
Another thing about the characters, normally I don’t like when books have too many POVs, but it worked well here. It gave a well-rounded view of everything going on, and each character was so well-written and developed that I enjoyed getting to see through their various perspectives. I also like how, throughout the series so far, we’ve gotten to see such a wide range of ages, from children to characters 50+.
And of course there was all sorts of action, what between the Sirens and giant swamp creatures and man-eating plants and lightning storms and whatnot. (Ok, the beginning was a little slow, but don’t worry, it picked up.) And if you’re reading this review but haven’t read the previous books yet, be warned—the series is graphic and gruesome and does not shy away from the violence or horrors of the post-apocalyptic world these characters live in.
So overall, this book was amazing, intense, and packed full of emotion, and I’m once again looking forward to continuing the series!
Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1 & 2 in Nicholas Sanbury Smith's Hell Divers Series. Anyone looking for a crazy, intense, gritty, gripping, unique post-apocalyptic story and gruff, flawed, but still likeable characters.
More Books in the Series:
Book Review: Hell Divers (Hell Divers Book 1) by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Book Review: Ghosts (Hell Divers Book 2) by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Book Review: Deliverance (Hell Divers Book 3) by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Book Review: Wolves (Hell Divers Book 4) by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Book Review: Captives (Hell Divers Book 5) by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Book Review: Allegiance (Hell Divers Book 6) by Nicholas Sansbury Smith [Audiobook]
Book Review: Warriors (Hell Divers Book 7) by Nicholas Sansbury Smith [Audiobook]
Nice review, I never got past book 1 with this series, unfortunately. A little too much cheesy dialogue and I found the characters to be a little too stereotypical 🙁
Bummer, sorry you didn’t like it! I guess we can’t all like every book though.
Post-apocalyptic hasn’t been my cup of tea,, but my goodness your GLEE is just leaping off the screen! Thrilled for you that it was such a good read!
Thank you!
O
M
G
I gasped. Held my breath. Let out the breath I knew I was holding when I came to visit and saw this one as the post on top!
I jumped directly to comment! don’t want to see anything yet! LOL
ok… don;t get mad at me but confession.. I haven’t started it yet. I was going to Friday but I haven’t been in the mood. It was not a fun weekend bookish stuff related as you know 🙂 I’ll try again tonight 😉 SO I can come back and fangirl with you 🙂 xoxo <3
Lmao about the breath you knew you were holding.
Girl, I’d be more surprised if you had read it. I know how it goes when you say you’re going to read something soon ;-P I hope you get to it soon though, and then we can chat about it!
I have the first book on my Kindle so I’ll have to give it a go soon!
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
I hope you like it!
I have the first two books and the ARC of this, so I’m ready to start! I can’t wait.
You’re braver than me. I never request ARCs for later books without being sure I like the previous ones lol. I hope you love them all!
Woah I don’t know how I haven’t heard of this series because I love science fiction, post apocalyptic especially. Great Review I will be checking it out!
Then you might love this one! At least I hope you do!
I’m not reading this review because I haven’t started the series yet, but I had to come by and tell you that you and Daniela totally convinced me that I need this in my life. I have the first book on audiobook from the library and am eager to start!
Don’t worry, I always avoid or mark spoilers for previous books in series 🙂 But I still understand not wanting to read reviews if you’re planning to start a series! I hope you love this one!
I think I’ve seen both you and Daniela speak highly of this series, nice to see it’s still going strong! Although it does sound intense this time around! I do like a good rescue mission. 🙂
I don’t usually mind a book with a lot of POV’s as long as it’s done well. I’ve read some that people hated because of POV overload and it didn’t really bother me. But I do think it’s risky of an author to do it since a lot CAN go wrong. Glad it worked here! Man eating plants, sirens, lightning storms- sounds fun!!
Daniela was the one who got me started on it! It’s been intense every time, tbh lol.
I’m one of those people who complains about POV overload lol. There are few cases where I think all the POVs are necessary and done well and make me feel more immersed, and this is one of those cases.
I skimmed this review because I was really intrigued by this series after you reviewed the first book so I don’t want to spoil things for myself if I do get around to reading (I live in eternal hope of these things). I’m glad you enjoyed it, it seems like this is just a really well-written series with such an original idea. I don’t usually want to read post-apocalyptic reads but I think this would change my mind on that front.
It’s an amazingly well-written series! It’s definitely different from the zombie post-apoc reads since they’ve got airships and everything. I hope you like it if you give it a try!
Wow… when books kind of take you through the really big highs and lows of emotions, you can tell it is good and the author knows how to write in a way that strings you along from beginning to end! I am glad you could love this third book so much. The characters sound so amazing and like you really can connect with them.
Yes, he definitely knows how to write! Thanks!
The dudes on the cover remind me of these teensy little toys my brother and I used to play with – I have no idea what they were supposed to be, honestly, but they were like toy soldiers but from space… I should probably point out that my brother was 4 years older than me so probably got them in the 90s! (I realise I went off on one. But you’re probably used to it by now!)
I am used to it lol 😛 The suits these characters wear are pretty intense, I guess they could be kind of like action figures or whatever they were!