Promises Stronger Than Darkness

, #3

368 pages

English language

Published April 10, 2023 by Tor Teen.

ISBN:
978-1-250-31750-6
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4 stars (2 reviews)

Promises Stronger Than Darkness marks the final installment of the international bestselling author Charlie Jane Anders's absolutely heart-stopping YA series, Unstoppable.

They're the galaxy's most wanted—and our only hope.**

When Elza became a space princess, she thought she'd be spending her time at the palace, wearing gorgeous couture and soaking up everything there is to know—but instead, she's on the run, with everyone hunting for her and her friends.

Rachael followed her best friend Tina on the adventure of a lifetime—but now Tina's gone, and Rachael's the only one keeping her friends together, as they go on a desperate quest to save everyone from an ancient curse.

Rachael, Elza and their friends have found one clue, one shining mysterious chance to stop the end of the world. And that takes them back to the second-to-last place they'd want to be: enlisting the aid of Captain Thaoh Argentian, the woman …

1 edition

“GIVE ME YOUR FUR! WE’LL BE FURLESS TOGETHER!”

4 stars

I expected to be lost—it’s been a while since I read the prior two books—but nope! And we get to spend more time with the Grattna, a species whose bodies, language, and worldview is based on threes, not binaries. Fascinating!

Overall, the series has too many species, cultures, etc. to fully track, but the way they solve problems and work through their shit is how more people should be in the universe.

reviewed Promises Stronger Than Darkness by Charlie Jane Anders (Unstoppable, #3)

Promises Stronger Than Darkness

4 stars

This is the final book in Charlie Jane Anders' Unstoppable trilogy. There's heists, swamp planets, space battles, trauma, processing, and so many feelings. It's got a satisfying payoff, expected-but-still-awful escalated stakes from previous books, and a lot of character growth packed into an action-filled book. I have read a bunch of her previous novels and I think these are my favorite.

To get back at what I mentioned earlier about violence, I think this book ends up with a more nuanced view than I was expecting. (Also, a surprising [quantity, not existence given the subject matter] of trauma for a YA book). This book says "It’s easy to convince yourself that you’re hurting people for the ‘greater good’—and that can mean anything you want it to mean" and also says "Killing is the clumsiest, cruelest solution to any problem". There's definitely trolley problems and Stanislav Petrov-esque issues that the characters …