Jean Johnson - Damnation

The fifth book in the Theirs Not to Reason Why series, published November 25, 2014.
Genre: science fiction
Cover: love it.



It began with a terrible vision of the future. Compelled by her precognitive abilities, Ia must somehow save her home galaxy long after she's gone. Now Jean Johnson presents the long-awaited epic conclusion to her national bestselling military science fiction series…
With their new ship claimed and new crewmembers being collected, Ia's Damned are ready and willing to re-enter the fight against the vicious, hungry forces of their Salik foes. But shortly after they board the Damnation to return to battle, a new threat emerges. After several centuries of silence, the Greys are back, and the Alliance must now combat both a rapacious, sadistic enemy, and a terrifying, technologically superior foe.
Ia has asked nothing of her crew that she herself has not been willing to give. But with two wars to bring to an end—and time running out—Ia must make and execute the most terrible choice of all…


Those of you who have followed my blog for a while, know that I am totally irrevocably in love with this series. So when this last part in the series fell on my doormat yesterday, I picked it up, and started reading. And I did not stop until it was 02.30 a.m. and I had finished. What a book, what an ending. I still don’t know if I think this a good ending, or a bad ending. I am overwhelmed.

So yes, I loved it, adored it, but at the same time, I really wanted more details. The book has to deal with a lot of battle scenes to win both wars, but to my feeling, there are just a lot of short chapters, with some descriptions and then it goes on to the next scene. I just want more details. What happened on Sanctuary, when she saved Rabbit. What did she do with the crysium, and how did the Feyori help her with it. How the plague reached the Salik, how they suffered, and well, it is just not detailed enough. It is a lot of looking back and telling what happened, but not in great detail, only the big lines. And I want to feel it happening, not being told afterwards.

Ia is really struggling to get everything done that needs to be doing, she suffers from the sacrifices she has to make, and she can’t keep ahead of everything she needs to keep following. She is very hard on herself, but one determined soldier to save the galaxy.

And then the ending. Wow. I cried a few times during this book, and with the ending, I just could not believe at first that was the end. Did I miss something? So I read it again. And today again. It sure leaves an impact.

It is undoubtedly a good book, but it could have been more. But of course that is just my opinion. I love the characters, and Ia especially. I hope there will be more books about what will happen in the future, when the enemies of the Grey appear, and the Fire Girl prophecy will come true. A book about what happens on Sanctuary, when it is left alone behind enemy lines, how the rebels fight the Church fanatics.

9 stars.

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian