LAST CHANCE

After an alien invasion, the survival of humanity depends on teenage brothers.

At the close of series opener The Rains (2016), Chance and his older brother, Patrick, were separated, and Chance encountered an alien rebel who told him that humanity’s fate depends on his staying out of the aliens’ clutches. As this book opens, he’s been caught, and an alien scan identifies him. Although readers are tossed quickly into the action, a brief synopsis reminds them of the spores that turned those over 18 into mindless workers who prepared Earth for the arrival of the alien Drones and Queens who, with assistance from the already-turned Hosts, round up kids and teens and make them into Husks that incubate the alien Hatchlings. Patrick and his girlfriend—whom Chance also loves—arrive and rescue him, and the three flee to their high school, where survivors have established a base of operations and where a thinly developed bully character represents the man-is-the-true-danger figure that all post-apocalyptic books seem to need these days (this storyline is exceptionally forced). Alien rebels reveal how to stop the invasion and its required cost—which has been telegraphed in the novel’s epigraph, leaving no surprises. The novel’s conceit—that it’s been written by Chance as journal entries—distracts, but the endless action is solid. The narrative defaults to white, with exceptions identified by ethnicity (a Tongan ranch hand) or name (Dr. Chatterjee).

Predictable and plot-driven