Ruins (Partials Sequence)

Wow. This book was really good. Lot's of action, multiple story lines, great characters with their own personality, and events happen where you think - naw that's not going to happen, someone will 'save the day', but no .. it happens.

The ending fight scene was really good and a kick-ass character is lost, but it was so fitting .. and just worked so well into the story.

Good job Dan!!

M.

What happened to this series? The first book in this trilogy was great! The second book was pretty good. And this one was plain awful.

I don’t understand how this happened. I really don’t.

I suppose I’ll just catalogue all my issues in order of when I noticed them.

First off, there were way too many POVs in this story. WAY too many. There were so many POVs that by the time I got back around to one person after going through them all, I had forgotten what that person was doing. And there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the POV usage. Some characters had more prominent roles than others, sure, but seemingly random characters we had never met before ended up with POV roles, and they didn’t even do anything substantial to progress the plot. They were there solely to show the reader what was happening in places the reader wouldn’t otherwise see.

And this was a mistake, in my opinion, because frankly, most of the information from those POVs wasn’t necessary. Cutting it out wouldn’t have resulted in any confusion. Adding it, in fact, created confusion because I wasn’t sure why all these characters were suddenly tossed into the mix, and they didn’t contribute to my overall understanding of the plot.

The POV issue also created a terrible timeline problem. Because there were so many POVs, it was impossible to follow one character’s story through and through, so there were large time gaps between a lot of scenes…that were totally unannounced. Sometimes, it mentioned that “such and such event was so many days ago” somewhere in the middle of the chapter. Sometimes, you just had to figure it out yourself. And I was plain lost on occasion. I got back around to some characters and was completely confused because the makeup of so-and-so’s group had changed and they were in a different place than when I’d left them…and it turns out the last chapter they were in took place WEEKS ago.

Add these problems in to the actual plot of the story, and…

I had so many problems with the plot of this story.

First off, I find it so hard to believe that Kira can figure things out that many, many people who should be way smarter than her can’t. Also, the solution to the main problem in this story is so OBVIOUS, and Kira is the only one who “gets it.” I just…my belief in the plausibility of Kira’s abilities versus everyone else’s just eroded to almost zero over the course of this book.

Secondly, random last-minute antagonist alert! I’m not going to spoil it, but it annoyed me so bad that the ending of this book literally came down an eleventh-hour antagonist who came out of NOWHERE and stuck around just long enough for the protagonists to reach a resolution. What a freaking cop out!

Third, underdeveloped plot threads that dropped out of the sky. There were at least two important ones I can think of off the top of my head. One of them was a deus ex machina, that, of course, was involved in the battle against the last-minute antagonist.

Fourth, the plot of this book was just plain dense, and it felt like half the material in this book should have been in Fragments, to replace all that drawn-out journey stuff I had issues with.

Fifth, the heap of helpful contrived coincidences. I mean, really? Everybody shows up at the exact right moment? Back to back to back to keep the ball rolling? And it happened so many times in the final 100 pages that I wanted to chuck the book out the window.

Sixth, and finally, the ending sucked. It just…plain sucked. There’s a climax, and then the book ends a few pages later. There’s no real resolution. The battle ends and it just…stops. It read like there were three or four chapters missing from the end of the book, and I was not happy that I didn’t get to see how ANY of the issues that this entire trilogy was about were resolved. Not a single one.

I’m rarely angry when I finish a book. Content? Most of the time. Disappointed? Sometimes. But angry? Almost never.

But this time, I’m angry. The setup of this series promised the answers to huge questions, and never answered them. And there is nothing that riles me up more than when a book doesn’t deliver on its promises.

I started Ruins 4!!!! years ago. I read 10% and put it down. I'd finished Fragments over a year before that. The more time that went by between finishing Fragments and starting Ruins the harder it was to pick back up. The series is heavy on details, but my favorite part (the relationships) aren't driving the story.

That leads me to my first point about Ruins...Samm and Kira are separated for the majority of the book. As a matter of fact, I felt like there were really too many narrators because of the separation between all of the major characters.

Speaking of the characters, I had a harder time keeping up with all of the characters in Ruins. Considering there really aren't a large number of new characters in this book that haven't been in the prior books I'd say this is probably my own fault for letting nearly 5 years go by since finishing book 2. And the number of narrators was a bit distracting even though they all served a purpose. Marcus wasn't quite as funny in Ruins to me as he has been in the prior books.

I think this series likely has some "hidden" commentary on racism (or more how things should be) and how we all need each other no matter our background. But I'll save that for the reader to get out of it what they will. Even though this normally really bugs me, the commentary wasn't obnoxious so I didn't feel as if the author was trying so hard to preach at me or push an agenda which can often happen.

Truthfully I'm disappointed in myself for not doing a better job on this review. I feel like this book and the series ending deserved better from me as far as my attention goes. I truly blame myself for letting so much time go by between books. Unfortunately this definitely affected my overall feelings and enjoyment of Ruins.

I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this quote. I'll share it with you while I ponder on it a little longer:
-You don’t apologize for this, Samm. It’s love, and love doesn’t weigh its options and pick the best one—love just wants things, and it doesn’t know why, and it doesn’t matter why, because love is the only explanation love needs."

Ruins gets 3.5 Stars. I feel like it deserves better but the length of time between books caused me to forget too much of the prior story and thus lessened my experience of the story. That isn't Ruins fault, but it also doesn't change how I enjoyed the book. I was overall happy with the ending of the series, and I'm glad to finally be able to mark this series as complete. Have you read Ruins? What did you think? Let me know!

I had to wait a couple of weeks for Ruins to be available for download, and during this time I spent a lot of time speculating on how the series could end, and what would seem like a great ending for a series that I’ve really enjoyed. Ruins did not disappoint.

Knowing that the story was coming to a close, the important part to me was that no matter what happened, the ending felt like an actual ending, and the loose ends were tied up. Again, I don’t want to spoil anything for those looking to make a decision to read the series, so I’ll try and keep things abstract.

Even though it seems like all the small pieces of the story could not possibly tie up into a nice package, Ruins gives us that. While it was not a very happy ending for all in the story, the alternatives being that the planet is completely destroyed due to Partials expiring, and humans slowly dying out, I feel that the series was finished nicely.

The story begins shortly after Fragments ended. Samm stayed at the Preserved, and Kira is back with Dr. Morgan, being experimented on, this time by choice. As the answer to both races survival becomes more apparent, Samm begins the journey back to Long Island through Colorado. In Long Island, a new threat has come, and it is predicting a winter like never before. Humans and Partials must finally learn to work together to save each other.

As a stand alone, other than missing the other elements of the story, I think I would have been disappointed, but after two other books, I was glad that I finished it, and even happier that it had the ending that it deserved.

Like my review? You can read all my reviews at <a href="http://the-pink-moose.com/">the-pink-moose.com</a>.

Dan Wells brings his Partials series to a close with a literal and metaphorical bang in Ruins, the title of which gives a fairly good summation of the state of his imagined world at the start of the novel.

At the close of the last volume our heroes were scattered: Kira surrendered herself to Dr. Morgan's experiments in the hopes of finding a cure for the bioengineered failsafe killing off the Partials, Samm remained in Denver to ensure the survival of the human community there, and Marcus worked to protect the remaining people of New York. Their narratives remain split for the majority of Ruins, which is really the novel's only true fault. Wells continues to deliver moral ambiguity in spades, but the heart of any story is its characters and keeping them apart for as long as he does here makes their final reunion seem forced and slapdash, more of a "Oh, hi, nice to see you again, must be time for the climactic action!" than a real synthesis of his multiple storylines and a solid emotional resolution.

Again, I quibble. Would I have liked to see about fifty more pages to round out the finale's emotional impact and the believability of Kira's final romantic choice? Sure. But taking a moment once more to appreciate the fact that our heroine has got bigger problems that who's taking her to the End of Days Prom soothes most of my cranky on this point, as does the reflection that Wells is really too busy writing issues-heavy sci-fi here to bother with teen fiction tropes.

While a little on the light on plot segues and feels, Ruins remains a satisfying conclusion to a kickass series featuring a kickass heroine and enough philosophical issues to keep your brain busy for days. Here's hoping that whatever Wells does next is nothing but more of the same.

I really enjoyed Ruins, but not as a finale. It just kind of ends without a full resolution. It's not the kind of open ending where you can easily imagine what may come next for the characters. Everything is left wide open, and more could have been unfolded, or even an epilogue that takes place a short way into the future. I was really invested in Kira's struggle and I wanted her to save the world! Did she? I have no clue. Maybe.

Ruins is where all of the characters who have been scattered across the country finally come back together and share what they've learned. They combine their knowledge, try to understand it all, and come up with a way to put it to good use. The biggest issue being curing humans from RM and the partials from expiration. I had my suspicions that it was something that simple, but then Kira confirms it with science. Then it becomes a race against the clock and a matter of anyone believing her and putting it into practice.

There are a few new complications and several more characters added in Ruins. While I did enjoy all of this on its own, it was a bit much for a finale. Nothing got its page worth, since this was the end. I really would have liked at least one more book so each of these things could be explored fully. We finally got to see what the real Partials failsafe was suppose to be, but that's really all it was: a reveal. It didn't do much, since everything was already wrapping up. Then there's a mysterious monster warning people that winter is coming! This was the addition I was most interesting in, because more science! Alas, there are no details. Finally, there's the Blood Man, who was super creepy and weird, but I figured him out!

As for the end of Ruins, I was left hanging! I wanted to know more! The final villain is removed, and that was that. There's no follow up at all. Are humans and Partials going to work and live together? How long will the cure for both of them take to kick in? What about the Partials' virus? Will the New York survivors and the Denver survivors merge? Is there anyone else out there? Were there some humans or Partials who decided to keep fighting? Is the cure permanent? What is going on here?!

Clearly I had a lot of questions upon finishing Ruins, which sucks. I suppose it could also be a good thing, since I was invested enough to care about the answers to these questions. But it still sucks that I'll never know!

I fell in love with Kira and Samm during the first two books. I wanted more of them here. At least Samm. I was disappointed that I had to read through 4 other people's viewpoints before I would hear from Samm or Kira again. They were the ones we fell in love with not Ariel or Shon. I found myself flipping pages trying to get to something better and exciting.

There was so much going on at once I found it difficult to keep up with everything with 5-6 different viewpoints going on. It was pretty boring when one character would find out new information and then another character would find out the same info later on and we would have to recap.

I just thought it could have been better.

It took me a while to get into this book. A lot of that is due, I think, to the long stretch of time between my reading of the previous book and this one; I had to bring myself back up to speed about the events in the previous books, which is always the downside to reading a series as it's coming out. I'm starting to think I might hold off on starting any new series until all the books are out, as this drives me nuts every time.

Some spoilers ahead.

Anyway, that's neither here nor there with this novel. The one downside to this series that I can think of is that it sometimes gets so technical that it slows the narrative and makes some sections a chore to get through. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to read a YA post-apocalyptic novel where the characters actually use some form of science, but sometimes I think it's used to excess in these books, getting more technical than it needs to and at times getting repetitive.

My fondness for the characters is unsurpassed. I have a fierce love for Samm, which certainly didn't go away while reading this book. I'm impressed by the nuances with which Wells paints him. It certainly helps that we get to be inside his head at times, but I like how Samm's behavior sometimes alienates him from others--Kira chief amongst them--and how the books have always explored that drawback. The idea of having emotions but not being able to express them is an interesting one, and I like the nuanced portrait of Samm and of the Partials as a whole. Even as humans and Partials are killing one another, I could feel my sympathies swinging back and forth between them.

That's one of the most impressive things about this series, really. In so many ways, it's an allegory for the conflicts that affect the world on a daily basis. Fear and a need for vengeance lead to so many of the conflicts in these books, just as they do in the real world. Wells's exploration of this is interesting to read, and through the use of his large cast of characters, he's able to explore the various degrees of people's need to control, to exact revenge, and to strive for peace. The inclusion of the Blood Man in this book added another nuance to this aspect of the book, as did the conflict between Ariel and Nandita.

What ultimately made me well up about this book was Heron. I didn't much like her at first because she seemed like a one-dimensional psychopath--and then I read Isolation, Wells's novella that explores Heron's background. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. It gave me a whole new perspective on Heron that influenced how I saw her for the rest of the series, including with this book. She's a complex character whose motivations are sometimes unknowable. I don't want to give anything away, so suffice it to say that I found the completion of her story arc to be one of the most satisfying in the series.

The only real downside for me, aside from sometimes finding the technical aspects of the novel tedious, was Marcus. That guy drives me nuts. He starts off with a spectacularly boneheaded move in this book and just goes on from there. I found myself wondering if I'd disliked him so strongly in the previous books, but I'm not sure. I know I didn't care for him much, but there were many times when he did things in this book that made me think he was the biggest moron of all the survivors. I like snark, but Marcus is so over the top that he delves into the realm of idiocy. I remember wondering earlier in the series what Kira saw in him, and that question definitely wasn't resolved by his behavior in this book.

In all, I was very satisfied with the ending of this book and of the series as a whole. Many of the lingering questions are answered in this book, and the plot is tied up pretty nicely while resisting the urge to spell out everything that comes next, which is something I appreciate. I will miss this series, and finishing this book feels something like the end of an era.

A great ending to a great series! The last 20% or so was really intense, and I had no idea how Dan Wells was going to wrap it all up. But he really delivered, I think. And I liked that there was actually some closure; it often feels like, in post-apocalyptic or dystopian books, there's no closure at the end in terms of how the world is going to continue. But I thought Ruins ended in a way that lets us know the plan for the future but also leaves it open enough that it feels realistic.

The characters were great again. Marcus is hilarious, and I love how he makes you laugh even in the darkest scenes. Also, I loved Haran's development throughout this series; she was one of the most interesting characters, I think.

Okay, and I love that Wells is commenting on racism, prejudice, and apartheid in here, making it about humans and partials, rather than different races or cultures. It was a fascinating parallel, and I loved the hopeful message at the end.

If you're like me and can't get enough post-apocalyptic novels, this is definitely a series to check out. It's heavy on the action and science, but there's also romance, solid characterization, and great worldbuilding. Loved it!

While I enjoyed this book the most out of the trilogy, it still has glaring flaws that make me reluctant to recommend it to anyone who asks me for a new great read. This book deals with serious moral questions you don't often see in YA novels, which is refreshing and probably my favorite aspect of the series, but the delivery should have been more polished.

The pacing and grammatical problems continued in this book, though both were better than in the previous volumes. Other readers have complained, but I found the changing POVs essential to keep the story moving and, consequently, retain my interest in the book. I found I didn't skim as much of this book as I did the previous two for that reason.

I have mixed feelings about the ending. I loved the tremendous character growth it brought about in one character, but otherwise the ending was predictable and rushed. There was all this build up about the challenges of getting Partials and humans to co-exist (three books of it!) and then the issue is resolved in a matter of paragraphs. There are also a handful of questions left unanswered at the end. I like a certain amount of ambiguity in books like this, because after a massive war you just aren't going to know what happened to everyone, but some of the issues that were left open totally could have been resolved. It was more like the author forgot about them when he no longer needed them to create conflict.

Which brings me to the major issue I had with this book. I got the distinct feeling that some things existed not because they arose organically out of the plot, but because they were inserted simply to create more drama. For example, I'm cool with weather interfering with characters trying to do what they need to do, but not weather that seems to come out of nowhere just for that purpose. I'm also OK with super smart and resourceful characters, but it's irritating when they turn around and act uncharacteristically stupid to suit the needs of the plot.

At the end of the day, none of these things made me set down the series and never finish it. I love books that make me consider deep issues such as what it means to be human, and how to make huge decisions (and live with the consequences) in tough ethical situations. That is what saved this book, and the series, for me.

This the third book in the Partials Sequence. I absolutely LOVED it!

I downloaded this book in audio format, as I wanted to read it but because it hadn't been released in Kindle format in the UK yet, I was dying to know what happened next! Getting this book in audio allowed me to be able to listen to it whilst doing household chores, or focus on the story from the comfort of a chair or my bed. The narrator, Julia Whelan, did another fantastic job in bringing the characters to life by giving them their own accent and voice. Her narration was well paced and even, and was concise and exciting.

Kira Walker is a fantastic character. She may be a Partial, but she has more compassion than some humans. I really liked her a lot. She is brave, determined and, even though she is a medic, can kick ass when she needs to.

Samm is another fantastic character. He is a Partial too, but a soldier with a dream - to find how to stop the expiration of the Partials. I liked him a lot too. He is a soldier used to following orders, but his love for Kira and his desire to live sees him following his heart.

The story continues from the end of the second book. War is inevitable, but Kira, Samm and Marcus are determined to try to stop it if they can. As this story is told through various points of view, but mostly through Kira's Samm's and Marcus's eyes, I felt like I was actually watching a movie; the descriptions of the people and the environs were extremely vivid. There are several twists and turns in this tale that surprised me. None more so than the identity of the "Blood Man". What made him the way he was, was more shocking to me than the actual brutality of his actions (which were decidedly gross). There are some scenes that are extremely violent and disturbing, but there are also some scenes that are touching and made me cry. It was nice to meet up with most of Kira's friends, Nandita Merchant, Isolde Romer, Ariel McAdams, Xochi Kessler, and Yoon Ji-Bak again. However, things are not what they seem and new alliances are formed and enemies made. Heron is an enigma, and I wasn't sure what team she was on, but her actions near the end of the story made her a hero in my book. I was a little disappointed at how the story concluded, as I felt there were a few questions of my own that remained unanswered. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the exciting roller coaster ride of action and romance that took me on an amazing journey through a post-apocalyptic world. I would love to see this trilogy made into a movie, as I think it would definitely give The Hunger Games and Divergent a run for their money.

Dan Wells has written a fast paced, action packed post-apocalyptic YA novel that kept me riveted from the first page. I love his writing style, which kept me highly entertained, and the story flowed wonderfully. I have added this author to my Favourite Author's list, and will be looking out for more of his work in the future.

I highly recommend this book (and series) if you love books like The Hunger Games and Divergent, or if you love to read YA, Science Fiction, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic genres. - Lynn Worton

I did enjoy this book and had invested enough in the story and characters to keep reading, even though some of the plot devices annoyed me. (Fair warning, my review may have a few spoilers!)

Good things about this book: It resolves the series long dilemma about how to cure RM and how to cure the Partial expiration. The love triangle between Kira-Marcus-Samm has an ending. The characters who haven't died meet up at the end. We find out about Kira's father. Personally, I was less annoyed with the character of Marcus in this book than the previous two. The "jokes" and dry humor was not as grating, cheesy and condescending as it was in the first two. LOTS of action! The plot is generally always moving and doesn't feel too stagnant. We get answers concerning Khan's disease and how he got it, and also what Ariel and Isolde were built for.

Bad/Annoying things: A few editorial errors. I got sick of everyone "snarling" all the time. Saying someone "snarled" just makes me think of a dog, but this could be my own personal hatred of that word in literary uses. :) The author never has the characters have a conversation about how there are thousands of other humans living in the Preserve. For some reason, that bothered me. There are several POV's and it can be a bit jarring. I felt the connection between Samm and Kira more in the other books than in this one. I wish the characters could have been more developed...I guess I just didn't feel a connection with many of them. When Samm and Kira finally see each other again and share their feelings, I just thought, "Eh." Also, Kira's arrogant attitude annoyed me in this book. There's a line at the end of the book where she declared herself "the closest thing the human race has to a leader." Um...really? I also wish that the author had done even a LITTLE bit of a recap of the previous book since it had been so long since I read it and I was having trouble remembering where everything had left off. Also, the ending did not have the resolution and aftermath I wanted to see! I feel like if the author had added an epilogue this would have helped my general feelings of dissatisfaction with the ending.

SPOILERS BELOW!!

To help you understand, here is a brief summary of the ending:
Samm: I love you Kira.
Kira: I love you Samm!
Marcus: Well shucks. Oh hey random girl, want to go out on a date?
Humans: We'll be cured if we live with Partials?! Say what?!
Partials: We'll be cured if we live with humans? How in the world can we do that? We were built for WAR! Oh well, we want to live, let's do it.
(No explanation or example of how they would practically get over the history hunting and killing each other for over a decade. I'm sure there would be some tension. But oh well! Happy ending!)
Kira: Yeah, so my dad was a psycho who wanted people's blood and chopped off fingers. Pretty convenient for me to move on, right? Oh look, my other family is sailing on a boat into the harbor! I'm not alone anymore! Now we can go live wherever we want!! Yay! *Except near the radiation from the nuclear bomb. Or in the Badlands. Or really anywhere because some crazy Trust guy who looks like a giant bear "fixed" the climate and it's been snowing for weeks now. And how did he fix the climate? And how would any plant and animal life live if it was going to snow for a year to balance things out? Oh well. Not important!*

Suffice it to say I felt a little cheated by the ending. But it wasn't the worst book I've ever read, and I finished it, so that's saying something I guess! :)

Overall, I enjoyed the series as something to pass the time with, but I'm glad I borrowed them from the library and didn't purchase them. (And I buy almost everything that's remotely good.)

This is the final book in the Partials series. It was a decent ending, for the most part I enjoyed it. Things do start off a bit slow though.

I listened to this on audiobook, the audiobook is well done. The narrator does an excellent job with all the different character voices and conveys emotion well. I enjoyed listening to this.

There are spoilers ahead from previous books for those who haven’t read those.

Kira is working with Dr. Morgan to try and find out if her DNA holds the secret to cure Expiration Date. Meanwhile Samm is across the country doing what he can to awaken the Partials that were put in a coma and used save the humans from RM. Everyone comes together in this book in a struggle to prevent another all out war between the Partials and Humans and to save both species from extinction.

For the most part this book is very well done. My biggest complaint is that things start out very slow. Kira is hanging out with Dr. Morgan and obviously not finding any answers there...time passes and passes. Samm is helping rehabilitate some of the Partials that were in a coma for 10 years, he wants to leave and find Kira but also wants to fulfill his promise to stay and help the humans cure RM. Both Kira and Samm seem to be in a bit of a holding pattern.

We spend a lot less time with Kira and Samm as the story continues. There are many different POVs throughout the story. We hear a lot from Marcus and also from Ariel. I didn’t really like how having so many POVs broke up the story. However, I understand why it was written that way. All the multiple POVs do an excellent job of portraying the chaos that this world is going through. They help to broaden the story and let the reader see what is going on at multiple locations at once.

Samm has grown quite a bit as a character throughout the series. Marcus has as well. Kira still feels the need to run headfirst into the most dangerous situation possible, no matter the consequences (even the other characters in the book make fun of this). One character we also see a lot more of is Heron, she has always been kind of mysterious so it was very interesting to learn more about her.

I also enjoyed the inclusion of a new fish-like type of Partial and the crazy Blood Man. Both added a lot of mystery and interesting twists and turns to the plotline. Most of the story is wrapped up well, although there are some questions that remain unanswered.

Overall this was a decent end to this series. This was another end to a dystopian/post-apocalyptic series that made me feel like "eh, well I am glad that series is over with". I didn't really love the ending, I didn't hate it either. I enjoyed some of the new plot elements, but thought the pacing varied a lot throughout. This is definitely a decent post-apocalyptic series, so I would recommend this series as a whole if you are a fan of those kind of books.

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: The third book of the Partials Sequence is all that we hoped for, continuing the action and the suspense but with even more urgency, and just enough romance and humor to lighten it up just a little.

Opening Sentence: “This is a general message to the residents of Long Island.”

The Review:

Ruins would stand alone better in the series than Fragments would, and there is enough background given to read it individually, but as with most series, it is a much better read as a whole. The background of the plot seems less important even than the background with the characters. Kira and Samm had developed so much of a friendship in the first two books, that we hope to see that continue, maybe even into something more as it has been hinted at with the cliffhanger ending of Fragments. There is the slight inconvenience that they start out on different sides of the continent with a toxic wasteland between them. Unfortunately, saving the world is first priority, and just as that came between Marcus and Kira before, we really don’t know if Kira and Samm will even see each other again. Marcus is still an important and endearing character and we have yet to find out if he and Kira might develop into something more as well. If they even live through what is hinted at as the second ending of the world by some new (and frightening) characters. There are several characters we haven’t met before, mostly Partials, and several characters that we get to know much better, including Heron and Ariel.

Wells manages to just reveal one mystery at a time, which keeps his audience on the edge of their seat throughout the book, even down to the last chapters. There is a point in Part 3 of this book that was drawn out just a little too much for me when I just couldn’t stand it any more and I had to peek at the end, but other than that the pacing was much better in this book than it was in Fragments, the second book of the Partials sequence. This is mostly due to the fact that the Partials are nearing their expiration dates. The human predicament doesn’t seem as urgent, until we are again reminded that the humans must have live Partials to save their babies. Something about suffering babies just creates its own sense of urgency, and that particular aspect is magnified again in the third book.

The focus is still mostly on Kira, but not as much in this book. We switch perspective much more often to incorporate all the different groups and physical locations, passing the narrative almost every chapter. This is an important part of the plot because communication is all but impossible, creating chaos, suspense, and difficulty in decision-making, and, of course, immediate survival. Everyone is basically running every which way trying to save themselves, and they have lived in survival mode for so long that their first instinct is still to kill everyone else instead of stopping and listening to each other. Our few characters are doing their utmost to change that but they are met with resistance at every attempt.

The best part of this book is the deeper discussion about human nature and even war. Much could be written on that subject using this book as an example, and it would make an excellent base for a term paper or book club discussion. It is fascinating how we start out at the beginning of the series on the human side and fearing the Partials, and by the second book we don’t even know whose side to take anymore, and now we are hoping that both sides can find their “cure”. In Ruins, it becomes very obvious that the dilemma comes from having good guys and bad guys on both sides.

This book, and its ending, are satisfying, but as with any good series, there are still some unanswered questions, and, of course, we still want more! It almost made me wish that Wells would have shortened some of the substance in the three books in order to add a little more to the ending. It seems that most dystopian novels are that way, when you reach the ending of the hardcore action, we don’t get much beyond that. But alas, that is just a consequence of reading a creative and well-written series by a talented author.

Notable Scene:

Samm looked at the Partials. “Lemon or mint?”

Dwain shook his head in disbelief. “You’re bribing us with candy?”

“We’ll take mint,” said Gorman. Calix nodded and closed the door, and Gorman scowled at Dwain. “That wasn’t a bribe, it was a demonstration.” He shot a hard glance at Samm. “He’s showing us they’re equals.”

“We’re working together,” said Samm. “Partners, friends, whatever you want to call it.”

“What do you want to call it?” asked Heron. Samm gave her a quick glance but didn’t answer.

“But why?” asked Gorman. “After everything that’s happened, after everything you’ve told us about the humans and the world and all the million things wrong with it…Why?”

Samm was still looking at Heron when he answered. “If you want to survive in this world, you need to stop asking why people work together, and just start working together.

FTC Advisory: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins provided me with a copy of Ruins. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

For me, the conclusion to a series is always a bittersweet moment. I’m excited to see how the plot unfolds, but at the same time I’m left to use my imagination to fill in when the story has passed. A conclusion can also lead frustration when an author and reader seemingly don’t see eye to eye; for example look at Allegiant. To me though what makes a great conclusion to a series, is a story that satisfies the questions that arise from the previous novels and also leave a little bit to the imagination of the reader. In Ruins, we find a powerful end to the Partials trilogy. For a series that hasn’t got a lot of recognition, Dan Wells still creates a great novel with his usual suspenseful storytelling. He also creates characters that really grow through out the novel and he conveys the emotions of each character very well.

Now in Ruins, the humans and partials are on the brink of war and the partials are close to there expiration date. Our main character Kira is hard at work trying to bring together the two people, but comes across a secret that changes everything. With time running out for everyone, the plot thickens to an exhilarating climax. With plentiful plot twists, action packed scenes, and of course a love interest the story is a complete package. Another thing that I like about this novel is that lessons can be learned from this story. By looking at it differently you can perhaps see a deeper message of peace and equality that Dan Wells tries to convey. Once again though Dan Wells creates a novel that is simply enjoyable and creates an ending that will satisfy all.

In the final installment in the Partials trilogy, we follow several story lines: Kira works to find a cure for expiration and RM, Marcus tries to find the resistance and talk some sense into them, and Samm tries to keep his promises and keep the Denver community alive. Plus, there are subplots involving other characters, such as Nandita and Heron. The author ably moves from one storyline to another deftly weaving the strands together until the big climax at the end when they all collide. The general theme of the story is that it’s impossible for partials and humans to live together, but they have to find a way if either is to survive, and the only person who seem capable of finding a way to make it work is Kira.

Ruins is a decent, satisfying finale to the series and an enjoyable read. I liked Partials a lot, was less impressed with Fragments, and I was generally pleased with Ruins. The book tackles some tough issues head on and has some profound scenes. The author doesn’t pull any punches. Overall, I think I enjoyed the Marcus character the most. Samm, whom I found to be quite bland in Fragments, bounces back nicely in this book. The only issue for me with this book, and the entire series—and it’s a minor one, is that there are a lot of characters and subplots running around, making it challenging to do full justice to all of them.

This was a pretty good ending. It had a clear message - we all just have to get along *cue song 'I'd like to teach the world to sing....'*. There were a couple of things that happened that I think were supposed to be big surprises but I saw them coming a mile away and if I could, everyone will. I also would have liked an epilogue. Just a glimpse into the future and how they were doing. The whole story, right from Partials was fighting, fighting and more fighting. Seeing them actually working and living together would have been a good thing. I had many more questions as well. One, which is my main one, is that if the partials were all created sterile, what is the point of them needing to live longer? They will all be gone in 60 years, give or take, and then it will be just humans again, right? I know I need to stop overthinking these YA sci-fi books, but it's a legitimate question.

I know I sound like I'm picking it apart. I don't mean to - it just shows how 'into' this book I was. It was a good story and one of the better YA sci-fi series I can think of...with a female heroine no less. And I think Kudzu was only mentioned once in this one (see Partials review for explanation).

5 stars! The third in the Partials series is just as engrossing as the first two. Kira is now joined by a few of the few Partials left in a last ditch effort to save them, the humans and the world. The characters are fascinating, the settings detailed and the plot never stops-tightly written and believable on just about every level. More details emerge about Kira and what she is and why she is. It is a bit more bloody/violent but the characters are developing along with the plot and it all makes sense and fits in with the storyline. I did think there were a couple of places where new weird characters showed up that I thought we would continue into book four but Wells wrapped it all up pretty neatly with no loose threads dangling, all is explained and the end! This entire trilogy is such a unique take on the usual end of the world story, I do wish it had gone for 4 MORE books. Really a great read and well worth settling in for a long weekend to read the whole thing at once!

This has been a great series. The members of the Trust each took a different route after the Partial War. However, the only one to survive was the one who decided not to use her power. The one who started the whole thing ended up being the one to bring Partials and humans together. Heron remained a mystery throughout the series. Only at the end was she able to redeem herself. Heron and Ariel are similar and different. Heron is all about survival of the partials. Her ultimate sacrifice allows that. Ariel, emotionally damaged, wants to survive, but she also wants to kill Nandita. When the time comes, Ariel does not kill, but Heron does.
There are unanswered questions about Ariel, Kira and Isolde. Will living in a mixture of humans and partials allow them to have children who will survive, or will all of their children be bioweapons?
I am disappointed that the remaining story about the Isolation War is only available on Kindle.

I think my title is perfect because this was a very satisfying conclusion to an epic tale and because, in the tradition of epic trilogies, it's is vast in scope and action.

I've really enjoyed the science fiction aspect of this series and was not off put by the deeper fantasy turn taken in this installment.

Kira remained true to herself and I appreciated that, despite her doubts throughout, she followed her gut until the end.

Fans of Marcus' completely in appropriate prattle will be pleased (as I was) to have his comic relief against an ever more bleak future.

My only "huh?" was around the next stages in the virus. I have questions around why Mohammed would not be a repeating problem. That's all I am going to say bc I don't want to spoil it...

If you liked the series, I think you'll enjoy this finale.

The end to Kira and Samm's journey has come and while I'm not one to nitpick, I found the way this trilogy ended incredibly unsatisfying. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the trilogy, and this book wasn't bad (it was pretty good actually), but I just couldn't find the ending to be a good one. *MINOR SPOILER* I'm not one for happy endings, and Heron's action's towards the end baffled me a bit, but I just don't like the way things ended after everything that occurred, all the hardships and damage that was done by these characters. It just didn't fit for me, hence the lack of a five-star rating. Though, even with all that said, I enjoyed this trilogy, and most of this final piece of it. Wells did a great job telling this compelling story. I'll be checking out his others work(s).

This is the third and presumably final book in the Partials series by Dan Wells. I’ve been reading this series from the beginning and have mostly enjoyed the books. This book picks up where the previous one, Fragments, left off. Kira is back on the East Coast, Samm is in Denver, and Marcus is still or around East Meadow. Unfortunately, these three main characters spend much time apart in this book, which I found disappointing, as I liked Kira and Marcus together. Kira is generally spunky, as always, although I am a bit skeptical that even a bright 17 yr old would be smarter than two experienced adult scientists/geneticists (because Kira is the one who discovers the solution to Partial expiration).

The ending to this was abrupt. I read the Kindle version, and at about 92-93% of way through, the situation still hadn’t been resolved. Then...OK, everyone’s convinced and wham, bam, the book’s over. This series almost needs another book--or at least a novella--to really wrap up all the loose ends and give the reader a sense of closure for many of the characters.

I also thought that the plot wandered at times and followed characters and events that had no real impact in the overall story line. Some of that material could easily have been cut, and a better ending could have been included. The storyline also seemed padded by the introduction this late in the series of another villian who was killing humans and collecting body parts (saying any more would be spoiler-ish).

Overall, an OK finish to the series. If you’ve read the other two books, you should read this one to see how it all turns out.

So this book in the series was a mix of Partials and Fragments. It had action and suspense but lots of traveling and boring tactical planning, I guess you would call it. I didn't like how there were so many stories to follow. Each chapter started with a different person's story. The end finally wrapped it all up that's why I say it ended good. But I'm not a huge fan of so many plots going on at once. I'm glad I finished the series it was good to read. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good dystopian/sci-fi book. I don't think I'll read it again though.

This was a really fun finale to the Partial series. As Kiera continues her search for peace, she finds answers and makes new friends. As everything comes together and creates the perfect storm for either reconciliation or annihilation, each side will need to pick whether they'll take a chance on their future or continue with what they know and can predict.
The author has done a great job creating a world where one could root for every side yet wants to yell at both sides to just stop all the fighting and work together.

What a great story of survival, determination and struggle! Read the story of our heroine, Kira's determined effort to save the remaining world against all odds and to save both her biological people, the partials and her adopted people, the human race. Learn the secrets of the "Trust", who created the partials, perfect soldiers, and the variations of the partials. A must read for sci-fi lovers . HAPPY READING!!!!!
Tim

Reader thoughts: Too much death, just like Mockingjay or Divergent. I mean, the characters had a nuclear warhead in the first chapter (so I should have known better), but still.
Every group (human or partial) shoots first and asks questions later. They sometimes hit their own allies. The characters have about a dozen conversations that go like this:
"Humans and partials will never get along."
"They have to in order to survive!"
"It'll never work. I'm going to kill them all."
"We'll kill you first!"
(Slightly exaggerated.)
After the characters had decided peace and reconciliation were impossible, I didn't know what to expect for the end. I think it was trying to bring a common enemy to connect them, but it didn't work for me. It didn't answer all the questions I wanted it to. I wanted a happy ending (or at least one where the people alive were happy about it).
Love triangle? Really? To be fair, they handled it maturely, openly, and honestly. Still.
The characters were consistent. The tech seemed consistent (but how did the one guy fix the climate?). The ending fit the story, although it wasn't happy. There was action, a few funny lines from Marcus, a guessable twist in RM (guessable), and lots of danger and sacrifice.
Read this book if you like depressing dystopians.

Writer thoughts: Too many members of the Trust. At first I thought, I'll get them straight eventually. I never did. I know Nandida and Kira's father and the one guy who went insane and the other guy who was in Denver, and there were 3 or 4 more that died earlier I can't remember. Also, I couldn't keep their names straight each time their name was mentioned (audiobook might have something to do with that). There didn't have to be that many Trust members. Combine a few of them. As an author, I have to be very careful with how many characters I have (actually, I'm a terrible example; I have way too many), and each one has to serve a purpose.
The balance of povs felt off in this book. We switch from Kira to Samm to Khan to Marcus to the partial general and back. Each scene switch lost the reader time, and there wasn't continuous action (a bit at the end) to hold it together (discrete like the integers). Everything was chopped up and separate. Is this supposed to make it feel faster? It did, but it made it feel disconnected, too. One scene of Kira traveling, a scene of Marcus getting captured, a scene of Samm talking, and a scene of the general fighting, and then we realize it's been a week since we saw Kira traveling.

I have had the chance to read dozens of note worthy books this year, for example, Code Name Verity, Throne of Glass, Horde(enclave series), Fury and In The After and not a single book on this very distinguished list can ever compare to what Well's has managed to do. Here is just a review of a book that truly captures the final days of an extended damnation, here is my nothing else compares.

Here is a little catch up to what has happened thus far, Kira turned herself into the last Partial doctor, Dr. Morgon to find the cure for both the partial expiration and a better version of the cure for RM. Meanwhile the humans on Long Island are still being butchered by the partials, until one group gets a special something and the tables turn in a sense.

Right out of the gate I thought that I would be disappointed with this title, simply because Fragments was by comparison to Partials less amazing so I had thought that Ruins would end in a note similar to Mockingjay, boy was I way off base. Every last section of this book just shows how grand the world Wells created is. Kira's story is not her own any longer and nor should it be, a story this large in scale needs to show the reader multiple perspectives of as many important characters as possible, Kira has the reins for a majority of the story as we see what her sacrifice in Fragments meant, but we also see Samm, Ariel, Marcus, a partial named Shon and even Heron the spy model partial that has no emotions. Each of the named characters only adds to the scale of this book. While Kira, and Samm act as a moral compass characters like Ariel show exactly what this world has done. By the end of the book you will have lots of puzzle pieces that fall into place and you can truly gather how epic this tale really is.

As the story progresses we get to pill remaining strands of the Partials world together, like exactly what RM and the expiration really is.
I wish I could do a full breakdown of everything in this book, but that would make it far less meaningful when you reader finally pick it up.

As for my feelings on the book and my last impressions all I can say is wow. Like I said I had low hopes walking into this book, despite loving the world and the characters and to see a novel unfold and show me exactly why I was wrong is beyond amazing. Each character takes on an entirely new level of depth and beyond that the world feels like I can simply pick it up and look at it like a 3-D map.

My favorite part of this entire three, or rather three plus on series is the second to last chapter of this book, to see one of the best characters transcend nature itself to get what they want is both brutal and sorrowful while gracefully beautiful. This last chapter is why I love this novel so much. Nothing felt rushed or shallow each and every last second felt like it needed to exist, that every aspect of this book is executed in near perfection.
Typically I would do a basic rundown of any faults that I have found but honestly there wasn't anything that felt wrong, grammatically the book is perfect, on a deeper level this book puts an ambiguous bow an a series that revived my love of reading.

Its always sad when a series this good comes to an end but its been a joy & a thrill to read. The third & last book was by no means a disappointment but by no means the best of the 3. It continues to follow our main character Kira & her sidekicks to some surprising encounters. This in my opinion was by far the darkest of the 3 books but it does have a satisfying conclusion bringing things to a great end. It leaves you thinking about where these people will go & how they will hopefully make this work. Brilliantly written with strong great characters you won't want to put this down.

This series is ok but I'm glad I borrowed it and didn't' waste money on it. It was a very slow read and I did not like the ending. The character development was horrible and a lot of things were left unexplained, especially what happened in White Point. There was no emotional connections to the characters. There were too many and even the main characters had no depth.

I've read the trilogy and the "Lost Tales" - and liked them all except Ruins. Ruins doesnt have the character development and interesting ideas that the other books have. To me it was like reading one long war movie scene after another. if you like war movies you may like this book, but it's not for me. I kept considering not finishing the book ( which I've only done 2 times in my over 40 years of reading), and only finished it bcause it was the last of the trilogy.

Ending of the series well thought out and delivered. Very well written characters that one can get behind and cheer for. Building of this dystopian world makes one think about what we are doing to our earth.

As Kira tries to find a cure for the Partials’ expiration date, Samm must decide what to do with the time he has left. Meanwhile, a group of humans has a bomb they intend to use to wipe out the majority of the Partials. And if relations between humans and Partials weren’t bad enough, a mysterious killer is collecting DNA for a nefarious purpose that would affect everyone.

Ruins is the 3rd and final installment in the Partials Sequence. This dark and exciting story continues with plenty of suspense, intrigue, drama, and a bit of romance. It’s unpredictable, inventive, and engaging. The intensity builds to a stirring, climactic finale that left me satisfied and pleasantly surprised. Wells isn't afraid to address difficult and thought-provoking issues that will give readers plenty to ponder. I highly recommend this trilogy to fans of science fiction and dystopias.

*Review previously post at SciFiChick.

I enjoyed the Partials series, as I have other futuristic "destruction of the world" SF/fantasy books of a similar genre, by, for example, Terry Brooks. The one element I had difficult with, was the concept of the "link" described as providing almost instantaneous information transfer via pheromones. Though the concept was intriguing, and did try to apply reality by considering the effects of wind, the implication of essentially instantaneous transfer of information through still air was too improbable a concept. Some sort of psychic thought transfer may have been more believable.

I really enjoyed The first two books and was really looking forward to this one. Feels like the story has been complete yet I'm very excited to see where they go next. I would recommend this series to anyone who loves dystopian and fantasy series. Reviews by carrieear

I do not, as a rule, start a trilogy until I have all three books, so I can read them together. But here I got my hands on Partials, and started reading, which meant I had to wait until Ruins was finally written to finish the "Partials Sequence". When I did get the book, I finished it in two days. And I am pleased by the ending. No, it doesn't wrap up all the loose ends, but it leaves us with hope for the future, a situation not promised at the beginning. I highly recommend this series to all.

After reading book one of the series, I had high hopes for this book. Yes, the first book dragged in places, many places, but I thought the series still had the potential to be very, very good.

Book two, which I thought suffered from the middle book syndrome, was lengthy and really went no where. We visited various places looking for the answers of which there really were none to be found. The book was tedious, but I thought, hey it will get exciting in the final book.

And the final book was the worst of the lot. Kira Walker wanders around looking for help to save the world. It wasn't exciting. In an obvious fake attempt to manufacture some excitement, the humans acquire a nuclear bomb. I have been attempting to do this with minimal spoilers, but the festival of feces just cannot be understood without spoilers. So, turn away if you feel that it is necessary.

Dr. Morgan, who is looking for a cure for the partials, decides Kira is the answer. The partials take a slew of humans hostage and threaten to kill them until Kira appears. This is one of the many atrocities that lead to the nuclear party thrown by the humans. Anyway, Kira wants them cured as well, so she turns herself over. Only she isn't the cure.

They find out that partials and humans breathing the same air is the only cure.

Kira is now running around rounding up allies to end the human and partial war, so they can all live together and be cured.

The author must have realized this was boring, and he threw in a monster, who wonders around warning everyone that it will snow. This is actually a horribly mutated scientist that fixed the ecological problems. There is a lot of humdum about lost limbs. It is still boring.

In a botched attempt to add excitement, Armin AKA Blood Man AKA Kira's dad comes out of the wood work. He is the ultimate, really badly done villain. Armin, inventor of the cures, decides he will kill them and use the DNA to make a better generation to start the world over.

They all unite because obviously Armin is the really bad guy. *head desk, long suffering sigh*

The book was boring and slow. The excitement was missing. Even the freaking cure was boring.

I couldn't have asked for a better ending to this series. This book is engaging all throughout (hard to find in the third book of a trilogy) and wraps up the storyline well. Will definitely be reading more from this author!

Kira Walker and the rest of her few fellow friends Have reached the end their road.The partial army is getting restless and without their leaders to contain them,They blame the humans for a cause to their problems and their rage will unleash in a deadly bloodshed and death of the rest of the human race.

I was not impressed with the first book, but the second and third book were much much better. Ruins has a lot going on; most chapters are from the perspective of a different character because there are so many subplots happening. It was a good conclusion though I thought the love triangle was a little silly, especially how it was resolved.

I wasn't sure how Dan Wells was going to finish this series, but I can say that it was just as fast paced as the beginning. Loved each character and towards the end I hoped it would keep going and going, yet he finished it the perfect way...a most satisfying ending.