Received: Publisher (Open Road Media)
Publication Date of Book: April 2016
Pages: 466
Stars: 4.5/5
Official Summary:
There's no such thing as escaping the Wildensterns.
It's been three years since Nathaniel Wildenstern left Ireland and his ruthless family behind. But no one turns his back on the Wildensterns, the powerful family controlling what was once the British Empire. While Nate's been gone, one of his maniacal cousins has been hard at work researching engimals, the bizarre living machines with the brains of animals, with the intent of creating the ultimate new species. When Nate learns what his cousin has been up to, he knows he must return and put a stop to it. But in his absence, his clan has become even more despised for its merciless hunger for power. For Nate to succeed, he'll have to return in secret because wherever the Wildensterns go, violence and betrayal are sure to follow.
My Thoughts:
They always say that good things must come to an end. However, I can't believe that the Wildenstern Saga has truly come to a conclusion! McGann had me hooked from the very beginning, and I don't want to let any of his amazing characters go.
Merciless Reason brought the entire saga to a thrilling finale. The story of the engimals and their existence is finally revealed in its entirety, and there were so many plot twists that utterly drew me in. I especially love the fact that the story of Nathaniel's mother and father unfolds throughout the book. I was finally able to discover what led to the terrible dissolution of their tragic relationship, and I have to add that it was extremely clever to unfold this particular arc of the story through Edgar's journal entries. I didn't have to discern what kind of human being he was based upon an outsider's perspective or through the opinions of his children and various other relatives. Instead, I was able to view the world through his very own eyes.
I know that I have mentioned this several times before, but I have to reiterate the fact that McGann is highly skilled in weaving multiple story lines and subplots so that they are capable of intersecting at just the right moment to create a spectacular chain of events. I am amazed at how well he was able to intertwine the separate events surrounding Nate, Clancy, Tatiana, Daisy, Gerald, and many other side characters. No one gets left out, and they each serve a particular purpose in McGann's grand scheme. Plus, the character development is spectacular! Nate and Gerald changed so much from how they were portrayed in Ancient Appetites. And the deep and gradual alterations in their characters aren't your typical type of character development. They truly became completley different people and I value the extensive maturation and progress that occurred.
My only disappointment was that it took almost the entire book for Nate to finally return to the Wildenstern mansion. I was almost expecting him to get there, at the very latest, in the middle of the story. However, this was rectified when the final showdown between Nate and his deranged cousin finally began. I was happy that the meaning behind the title of Ancient Appetites had a bit of a role in this battle, and its meaning was slightly bizarre, but clever. Plus, McGann is capable of elaborately illustrating any form of action that occurs. I know that I sometimes don't appreciate great details that are included during battle scenes. However, McGann's descriptions only made the scenes play out more vividly within my imagination, and I actually found myself enjoying these adept descriptions.
All-in-all, the Wildenstern Saga has become one of my favorite series! It's a gem that's not very easy to come by, and I hope countless readers will enjoy it must as much as I did!
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