Molly Fyde and the Fight for Peace (The Bern Saga Book 4)

The Bern Saga became an addiction for me right from the first chapter of the Parsona Rescue. I couldn't read them fast enough and at the same time I wanted to read slower so I could savor them. It was hours of joy, torture, nail biting, and long nights when I should have been sleeping promising myself "just one more chapter".

So when I started reading the Fight for Peace it seemed bittersweet. The final installment in the Bern Saga, I couldn't wait to find out how it ended, I never wanted to finish reading. And then...

A seemingly endless 'prologue', four chapters from the Wadi's perspective? Okay, I shook it off. It was mildly interesting though I didn't really see the need for it. Thinking I was about to get back into the real meat of the story I gobbled up the next five chapters...and almost groaned out loud when I got to MORE back story.

Six chapters of Cole's back story. I started skimming. Then we're back on track...well for at least a few more chapters before the back story hell continues.

Want to know what was going on in my mind at this point? WHAT THE FLANK HOWEY, WHAT THE FLANK???

The saga that had previously kept me up at night turning pages now had me wishing for a nap. When I got 70% of the way through the book and was still reading "flanking" back story I wanted to cry in frustration. I was flipping pages (without actually reading them) on the Kindle so fast I'm surprised my index finger wasn't smoking. So why didn't I give this book one star? Well, the back story was interesting, but seemed unnecessary. Or at the very least it could have better been incorporated into the previous books of the series. You could probably start reading at chapter 40 and not feel like you've missed anything.

I hate to give a bad review for a author whom I admire but even the ending felt anti-climatic. Did I miss something? Was I just punked? I will say this: Don't let this review keep you from reading the series. I will still suggest The Bern Saga to anyone who will listen to me. Howey is an amazing author with superb skill. Before I start ranting and make this review unbearably long I'll wrap it up. Start reading at chapter 40.

Hugh Howey's books are incredibly inventive. There's no way to anticipate what's going to happen next in any of his books unless you pay attention to his poetic foreshadowing. I also love that the Molly Fyde series shows women as strong capable heroes rather than damsels in distress.

The series continues and a lot of loose ends tied up. I recommend the book for sure. Seems like a good place to end it but some stuff introduced near the end that could lead to more. Like the Wool books, Hugh can keep going and we'll keep reading.

Overall, a pretty good story. Just had problems connecting all the dots. For instance, how did the wadi queen feed her eggs, and how did her babies turn into dragons? And how did humans get to be a watered down version of the Bern?

Overall, a pretty good story. Just had problems connecting all the dots. For instance, how did the wadi queen feed her eggs, and how did her babies turn into dragons? And how did humans get to be a watered down version of the Bern?

I simply love the stories, theres always a wonderful plot in each of the series. you are a truly giftet inventer of stories, characters and building up a flow. you have raised my expectations of what a book should contain and how its being told.

The first two books of this series were masterfully written, and memories of them kept me going through the last two.

The character arcs did all come to (mostly) satisfying conclusions, and were very well done. They felt coherent and realistic.

The most glaring problem with this book was the one other reviewers have commented on: the backstory. It felt out-of-place, and seriously derived from the tension and pacing of the book. I was full of excitement to see how the grand threat that had been built up for three books was going to be resolved. And then impatient and disappointed when the story kept slamming on the brakes and wasting half of the book's precious pages that should have been taken up with the climax. And most frustrating of all was the way you'd get a few chapters of current action, and just when you were getting back into the flow of things, you'd slam into another section of backstory.

So the pacing and backstory were far from flawless, but overall, this is still a decent book. If you brace yourself for the backstory and don't set your expectations too high, you can still enjoy a satisfying end to the series. Had I not spent so much of the book being frustrated, I would have given it four stars.

After all that creativity, he should be ashamed . What the flank? Since when did the books stop being Molly fyde and become alyn hoop gets married. Such disappointing corny cliche ending to such a fun creative and exciting story

I was introduced to Hugh Howey through the Wool Series and fell in love with his work! I was Jonesing for more after I finished Dust, so I turned to the Molly Fyde series to scratch my itch. I was rewarded with another great read!

Very Imaginative SF, It would compare favorably with many Asimov, or Heinlein for shear imagination and scope! This series is classical "Space Opera" material, similar to E.E. Doc. Smith's "Lensman" series, if anyone recognizes the reference!

I enjoy this one along with the others. The only part that drags a little for me is all the back ground on the indiviual people in the book. I personally could have done with out it. Other wise I love it!

Molly Fyde, the entire series, is a faced-paced, beautifully written, interesting and utterly new story, peopled with rich characters and superb settings. These books were a joy to read and I missed them when they were over. Mr. Howey is a great observer of human nature, and his protagonists, whether male or female, young or old, all rang incredibly true as did their dialogue. I eagerly await more stories and new worlds from Hugh Howie.

i love books. i love it all, fantasy, historical, biography, dramas, young adult, classics, mystery, coming of age stories, the occasional romance but scifi is hit or miss for me. i often find myself intrigued with the creativity and imagination of scifi but often its too technical and the elaborate worlds and complicated inventions get to wordy for me. i feel many scifi authors focus to much on the technical side instead of character development and dialogue.

let me say though... Hugh Howey knocked this out of the park! Great writing. I was hooked from the first paragraph of the first book. this last book of the series wrapped up all my questions and gave great insight to characters backgrounds and individual stories. The only character I'm left wondering about is Bodi. I loved hearing Walter's story about what made him the sneaky ass he is. Anlyn's story of captivity was action packed and brought more depth to the series overall. Molly and Cole's love is an amazing story that makes guys and girls alike feel sappy.

The best part of the book though is the Queen Wadi's story. What an amazing talent to write several chapters from the viewpoint of a lizard and have me totally hooked the whole time. The wadi is my new favorite character.

This is a great read no matter what your usual genre is. I highly recommend it ???

Howey hooked me on the Silo series - original, compelling, and thought provoking. I then moved on to Beacon 23, which I also enjoyed quite a bit. So, when I kept seeing "by the author of Molly Fyde", I figured that I should check out the series. The first three books, even though they are obviously targeted at young adult readers (which is fine, I teach middle school and I like to have knowledge of good reads to recommend to kids), are pretty good. Not award winners, in my opinion, but enjoyable, mindless reads. Some of the characters were well written (Molly, Cole), others were terrible (Walter). However, when I got to the fourth book, I was really disappointed. The flashbacks served no real purpose, at least in my opinion. None of them really allowed me to connect any further or in any great way with the characters that the flashbacks focused on; all they really did for me was make the books tedious - especially the far too long flashback on Walter.

At any rate, don't allow these books to steer you away from the Silo or Beacon books, which really are pretty good. Don't feel bad giving the Molly Fyde series a miss, though.

This last book in the Bern series was interesting. The series wrapped up well with Molly and her friends overcoming insurmountable odds to save the day. It reminds me of the old Saturday matinee adventures, but I digress. I really enjoyed the back story on the wadi, but felt some of the other flashbacks broke the story up in a way that wasn't necessarily conducive to a smooth reading experience. There was some interesting information, but some character backgrounds were more interesting than others. I loved the little reveal at the end regarding the Bern Seer. I enjoyed watching the bad guys get what was coming to them, etc. Altogether it was a fun sci-fi action adventure series and I enjoyed it. The characters throughout the series were well done and easy to relate to. I especially loved Cat, Molly's parent's friend from long ago. In fact, I generally like what Hugh Howey does with characters for the most part. He creates characters with flaws. Sometimes those flaws are significant, but that doesn't necessarily keep you from feeling for them. Walter is a good example of this for the Bern series. He's a character you would love to hate for the many things he does, but he's so socially challenged that you almost can't help feeling sorry for him and pulling for him to do the right thing. If you enjoy a good action adventure chase across the universe, then you may very well enjoy these book. That's going to wrap it up on this series. So many books to read and so little time recently...

Note: This review was originally posted on my blog and is worded as such.

I am reluctant to compare Howey to Asimov, Herbert or Tolkein, and that is the highest praise I can offer at this point in his career. I mean that with the utmost respect, and with the hopeful expectation that he might one day join those legendary architects of other worlds. His work is immersive and transformative, and I can't believe I was reading of an alien wedding with rapt attention. Each setting he creates and each character he fills them with are fascinating and a pleasure to explore.

Like many reviewers, I was initially introduced to Hugh Howey via the Silo series (a.maze.ing) so I decided to gobble up Molly Fyde. I agree that Howey has excelled at his craft since this series, but I still thoroughly enjoyed romping through his crazy imagination and am sad to close this journey. While I love backstory, there were moments of bittersweet frustration as it interrupted the action. And I don't know about anyone else, but I'm jonseing for a Wadi and would have loved a little more on the Wadi dragons at the end. I hope Howey resurrects and continues where he left off (felt like he left enough "rift" open for that possibility). I give 4 stars simply because book 4 left me scratching my head a few times. And honestly, Silo was so awesome that even Molly Fyde's awesomeness couldn't quite match it. Thank you Howey for sharing your gift! I enjoy your writing, love your characters, and never thought I would join the ranks of sci-fi readers until you came along. Feed me, Seymour!

I thoroughly enjoyed this entire series. The series writes like a good sci-fy tv series. The characters are likable and the stories keep you wanting more. I do need to say that I preferred The Silo Series because they caused the reader to think more. The Molly Fyde series is pure action!

The series did get too graphic, as other readers mentioned. I prefer not to read gory details and feel that Howey could portray the fights/battles just as well without the gore.

The other thing I did not particularly like about book 4 is the flashbacks of each of the main characters. Having all the flashbacks in the same book deviated too much from the main story. I do appreciate Howey filling in the background of his characters, but it would have been nice to have flashbacks of just one character per book rather than all of them in the last book. I ended up skipping the flashback of Walter because I just wanted to get back to the battle with the Bern.

With all that said, the ending was perfect!

I am glad to have Hugh Howey as a new sci-fy writer and am looking forward to continue reading his books!

This book is what happens when what should have been a 3 book series becomes 4 books. We have to rehash all the main characters pasts. It is also hard to read a book that bounces back and forth between science and total fantasy. After 4 books of complete struggle, the good guys mop up the bad guys in a few pages. Just hard to read.

I read Howey's first solo series and was hooked. Many writers seem to follow a certain algorithm of story and plot...This series was just as addicting as the solo series, yet the stories and fictional worlds completely alien towards the other. Howey created a magical world for me to fly into, and I loved the ride.

i enjoyed all 4 books in this series, reading word-for-word, back-to-back. full immersion like this sustained over thousands of pages is a treat i will not forget. full character development and scene descriptions put my imagination right alongside the storyline every step of the way. a fun ride, with emotional rollercoaster and scientific disbelief suspension welcomed throughout. if you've got a week to devote, i most strongly encourage you to commit yourself to this unique universe. i will read it again someday, vividly and fondly smiling and even crying occasionally. thanks again Hugh!

Even though this series is written for young adults, its appeal is to all ages. Yes, I wanted to smack Walter; then I wanted to smack Molly for not dumping him out the airlock or at least onto a remote planet. But keeping him around did allow for interesting plot twists, and I really liked Walter's "last act."

The flashbacks were interesting to me, but I do agree they might have been introduced earlier in the series.

Flaws aside (and who doesn't have them), the books were well-written and kept me reading. I think my favorite (this week - it changes) was the Bern Seer, her sayings at the beginning of each chapter and the ultimate revelation of her true identity (pay attention and you can probably guess earlier). :-)