Book Review: The Extinction Trials-Rebel by SM Wilson (Extinction Trials #3)

Betrayal. Sacrifice. Survival. Welcome to The Extinction Trials

Storm and Lincoln's city is burning. The people are starving. The only place left to run is Piloria, the continent of monsters. It's up to Storm and Lincoln to keep their people alive as they colonize this lethal paradise. But will the biggest threat to their survival be the monsters in the jungle...or the ones inside the encampment with them?

The Hunger Games meets Jurassic Park in this wildly popular series filled with action, survival and betrayal.

My Review: 
I was excited for reading the third part of this excellent trilogy especially when this gorgeous cover was revealed. All three book covers are beautiful and I'm glad to say that the book certainly delivered on content as well. 

Lincoln has returned to the city with all that is needed for the cure that his sister is waiting for and he feels that his mission is complete when it starts to be produced. He never expected that by finding a cure for the plague, more people who would have died are surviving, putting a strain on the authorities ability to keep everyone fed with the limited resources available. As food and the cure are rationed, angry people are taking to the streets to vent their fury at their government and society is gradually starting to break down around them. An emergency plan to launch two boats for Piloria begins and everyone has to fight for a place. With the city in chaos, the rest of the people are left to their own fates.

Storm and Reban Don are facing their own problems. The raptors seem to be getting much smarter and they know they will have to move their home to a new location out of their feeding grounds, which is no easy task. Storm is concerned that it was the virus they delivered that has mutated some of the creatures they tried to destroy and she feels guilt. But the sudden unexpected arrival of two boats full of people means that their new home base is now overrun with people who have no idea how to look after themselves in this new world. Being reunited with old friends is good but Storm feels a new sense of duty to try and protect those she loves and teach them how to survive.

The arrival of Silas reignites the fued between him and Reban Don and Storm worries about her father's safety, aware that Silas is always up to no good. Silas has more plans for electric fences and a new virus to kill the dinosaurs but Lincoln fears that the scientists are unaware of the damage they have caused with the first virus but getting word to them proves to be difficult. With a power play for leadership going on, a dangerous environment around them and the usual mistrust and betrayal, life on Piloria is proving to be a great challenge for everyone.

This book was a little slower to get going than the previous books as we follow events in the city with Lincoln and the setting up of the new camp on Piloria for the new arrivals. It is not boring though and still has a few good action scenes with the dinosaurs to enjoy and the addition of deadly mutant spiders to give the reader a good scare! The raptors were really quite scary in this book and I liked how much smarter they had become. I also liked that there was a side plot where Storm was educating the new people about the peaceful dinosaurs and protecting themselves and the new environment so that Piloria thrives rather than be destroyed like their old continent.  

The human relations are very much explored in this book. We have the outright hostility between Silas and Reban Don which was always going to bubble into something dangerous and that made me pretty nervous for Reban. Storm finds that her friendship with Dell is under strain as he makes it clear that he doesn't want to be there, and his hostility bothers her. She also has a complicated emotional relationship with Lincoln and I liked the fact that it was such a slow burning relationship that has barely gone beyond a kiss through the entire series. I found their emotional bond more interesting than any romantic one would be. The very complex relationship between Octavius, Storm and Reban Don is also interesting to watch develop.  

Piloria is one of those places that just fascinates me as it has that danger from the dangerous dinosaurs but it is also full of beauty, peace, open space and freedom. Part of me really wants to go and see it, to marvel at those dinosaurs-as long as the compound was very safe of course! I was a little sad that the series had ended but it was a pretty satisfying conclusion. The story just reaches a natural end but at the same time there is a starting point should the author decide to write a bit more. I'm very glad that I discovered this series.

Read February 2019
5 stars