Final Battle (In Her Name: Redemption, #3) by Michael R. Hicks

Final Battle (In Her Name: Redemption, #3) Reviews

• 
  Joe Russomanno

  As I mentioned in my previous review of Mr. Hicks' work and opinion of him, I believe he is the modern-day American Homer. I can't say enough how I felt this story sent me back to my reading of the literary work depicting the Trojan war and 10 year journey afterwards of Odysseus.
  
  The plot is almost flawless except for the lack of foresight on Military technology. For example we use robotics now to explore underground caves, in a thousand years are we really sending live humans into god-knows-what? I had an issue reading of the Marine company rushing into a perceived alien stronghold, when we have drones that can do that now.
  
  *SPOILER ALERT*
  The real fundamental issue I personally had with this story at it's conclusion was, it didn't seem as though all the villains got their just desserts. Not just the Kreelans, whom I perceived as nothing more than Blue-skinned alien nazi-women, but the megalomaniac human antagonist also. Thorella got off easy if you ask me. For now I will concentrate on the Kreelans as to me they represented a futuristic version of one of Mankind's greatest enemies, the Nazis from World War II.
  
  To make my case, I came up with this analogy. It was as if a futuristic male Anne Frank was captured by the futuristic Nazis. The Nazis decide to allow him to prove his worth. So under the cruel tutelage of let's say the futuristic version of Gille, for those of you that don't know was a SS commander, proves that he's not a dog.
  
  Now keep in mind this SS commander equivalent is the same being that killed Reza's (Futuristic Anne Frank) family. Not only did this individual do it once but years later when he has a surrogate mother and father type does it again.
  
  So years later Anne Frank's male equivalent proves to the Nazis he's human or not an animal thus having a soul and is released by Hitler because he refuses to kill his own kind. He (Frank) returns to the allies and enlists in the Marines. Is years later branded as a traitor, finds out he has a child with the female version of Joseph Goebels, who is laying on her death bed and if dies ends the existence of this self-righteous but genocidal empire. Note also it mentions in the story how this empire extinguished countless numbers of sentient races. So Reza (Anne Frank counterpart) saves the Kreelans (nazis) from doom because he fell in love with the niece of the Woman who butchered his mother, father, surrogate mother and surrogate father. In saving the Kreelans (alien Nazis) they are ascended into another dimension or heaven itself, the author never elaborates, as the best I can interpret, Angels.
  
  That about summarizes my fundamental discrepancy with the outcome of this story. However it is the author's prerogative to write what he wants and write it pretty damn well, I might add. I just came away from this story feeling like the lowly humans fighting for their right to exist against a superior, brutal and really there's no tap-dancing around it evil empire, didn't get real justice. Real justice would have been the Kreelans actually getting wiped out because they were murderous, genocidal maniacs in their own right not receiving what is interpreted as eternal salvation. To say they, not the humans deserved some sort of "ascension" into heaven or somewhere glorious goes against a lot more than what I consider right or wrong. Not only that but the main character having a serious case of Stockholm syndrome, with not just captors but murderers of billions, especially his family. Also I'd like to add, at anytime writing this did the author maybe think that to put the Kreelans in a better light, have the Kreelans offer aid to the humans whom they utterly decimated worlds upon end? He had Reza and the empress appear to Nicole, could they not offer something more than a necklace for her to remember them by. I guess it was too much to ask of an advanced race to at least admit they were wrong and offer some atonement. It wasn't like they broke a trade agreement and embezzled money from the humans. They waged a century long holocaust against them. But I guess even an apology was below them as well.
  
  I will continue to read and follow Hicks as even though I disagree with what he did, I believe there was no agenda in his work just that, it left me empty and confused. As a father and veteran I couldn't accept this as right. Then again, what is right isn't always how things go I get that. Just in my personal beliefs, if we're going to toy with the notion of there being a supreme being, then I have to believe no matter what denomination you are, that there is a special place in hell for what these Kreelans represent. However I was enthralled for the majority of the ride and if anything, the ending was at least somewhat original even if I didn't agree.
• 
  Deborah Hughes

  I truly enjoyed this series though it isn't typical of my reading choices. I got caught up in the story and had to finish it out. I loved the first book, really liked the second one but found myself a little disappointed with the third. After all it took for our hero to reunite with his love, it happened so fast and then we didn't even get to revel in the reunion. And really, controversy in a book is good to keep a story going but my word, did the bad guys have to be that bad and did they have to get away with so danged much? I thought they were never going to freakin die! And then when they did die, it was like...so that's it? I found myself thirsting for more blood and gore (something I don't like in books and yet I was eager for the stuff in this series). I just didn't think the series was wrapped up well, that this last book seemed hurried as if the author was getting tired of it all and wanted it to just end already. The emotional investment wasn't there for me. I ended up doing a lot of skimming. Even so, I stayed with it to the end and was glad that it ended well for most of the characters.
• 
  Cass

  2.5 stars
  
  While I have enjoyed this sci-fi trilogy I found this final novel both boring and predictable.
  
  The main character, Reza, seemed largely absent throughout this book. Not just because he spent so much of it locked up, but also he seemed to lose the interesting personality that had featured throughout the previous books.
  
  In an effort to ensure Thorella was thoroughly painted as a demon character he was depicted in many unnessecary sexual scenes... Stroking an erect cock after murdering a man seemed vulgar and added nothing to his character, neither did his instigation of a gang rape prove anything. I dislike when author resort to cheap "make him watch" style rape scenes in order to liven a book up.
• 
  Serge Boivin

  The last book in this trilogy left me with a sense that something was missing, and a bit annoyed.
  I loved the story in Empire, I liked Confederation very much, but something didn't quite work in this last installment.
  
  I had problems with most characters being either 100% good and pure, or either 100% evil and rotten. More conflict and shading would have made them more real and engaging.
  
  I have to say that I really liked that character of Jodi, but was very annoyed at her treatment. It was nice of Mr. Hicks to introduce a gay character in his novel, but why does she get the worst treatment of all good main characters? Hopefully this was just coincidence...
  I am not gay myself, but still found myself wondering why it all had to happen to her. Let's recap.
  - she is hopelessly in love with another character who is not gay and therefore doesn't love her the same way. Poor Jodi will never find someone...
  - Jodi is the only one who has sex in the book, but she has sex with Reza (a man). And she likes it.
  - Jodi gets raped... repeatedly. The only character to have this happen to her. Others were hurt and tortured, but not raped.
  - Jodi dies, the only main good character to die in the book. Another character even gets resurrected...
  
  You could say that Jodi eventually found Tanya... Oh wait, that was after they both died...
  
  I really wanted to love this story to end the trilogy on a high. The story itself was good, but there were enough annoying aspects to it that it brought my overall enjoyment of it down a couple of notches.
  
• 
  Lesley

  This entire series has kept me enthralled from the very beginning - and yes, I've read all six books chronologically starting with First Contact - and I expected to finish this book with a resounding sense of satisfaction. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened and instead, I feel a bit let down.
  
  The conclusion was just a little bit too pat for my liking. All the baddies conveniently blown up, the Kreelans whisked away to another dimension, the lesbian killed - why does the lesbian always die? And why did she have to die such a horrible death? As another reviewer has mentioned, too much sexual violence that just wasn't present in the earlier books. Added nothing to the story.
  
  Given Reza's unique situation, I was expecting that he would be central to finding a solution to the ongoing conflict, a bridge perhaps between the two civilisations. But that didn't happen.
  
  Overall, though a great series and I look forward to read more of Michael Hicks' work
• 
  Gordon Tucker

  The ending felt forced and didn't explain enough for me. That plus no character development (all good guys are perfect and all bad guys have no redeeming qualities. They are just out to do evil)
• 
  Phoenix Reads

  It had been a long time since I read science fiction, but I decided to expand my reading to new genres and picked up Empire (In Her Name: Redemption, #1) by Michael R. Hicks. I found it to be a wonderful blend of epic fantasy and sci fi.
  
  So read it, loved it, and immediately bought Confederation, and Final Battle.
  
  Michael Hicks created the world of Earth after it had taken to space, having built far-flung, loose colonies that behaved similar to our own nations here on Earth - mistrusting, not necessarily ready to help or support one another, and having fierce differences of opinion.
  
  Humans were not sure they were the only sentient species in the universe and had not given up looking.
  
  I love the characters, which Michael Hicks is a master at creating, a massive number of them as the series progressed, and some wonderful key players such Ichiro Sato.
  
  But the best characters in the series were among the Kreelans, a society whose ideals were so foreign that it was easy to hate them. And yet, the author managed, at a point, to gain my understanding for them and even empathy. Imagine a society of female warriors, whose lives were totally dedicated to battle. And they were so skilled at war that there was no one left anywhere to conquer - they have taken on every sentient society they found and annihilated them.
  
  To die in battle was the ultimate glory to the Empress. So they fought and were happy to die in her name. Until they found the humans, they had the problem of having no more wars to win. So this war-like society was excited to have a new game of war to play with what they felt were somewhat worthy opponents. Even though the humans were Neanderthals when it came to technology. Nor did they have their powerful magical skills. So the Kreelans had to use ancient technology to even the odds. Because if the win was easy, it was not honorable.
  
  You ask, were there only females in this strange society? Well, no. But to tell you about that would be a spoiler.
  
  So we had a clash of two completely different societies - the Kreelans who had terrible powers, and who did not find killing immoral, and the humans who found killing abhorrent but a necessary evil of war - a war in which they were powerless to win.
  
  I was riveted to the entire exciting series.
• 
  Jp

  a little disappointed by the final book of the trilogy. It's not that the ending itself is bad, it just wasn't as well written. Seems like the author ran out of steam and just wanted to get it done.
  
  ** spoilers follow **
  
  For instance, Jodi and Eustus are more than willing to defy authority to rescue Reza, but when they are facing execution and asks them to help save humanity, they are all duty bound not to help? And then they get raped and beaten, which kinda seems like their punishment? Also the big reunion of Reza and Esah-Zhurah, yawn.... seriously, couldn't he have put a little more effort into it. I could see the pages counting down and kept wondering how he was going to fit the ending in, turns out he just barely did. The first two books are excellent and most of this one but the ending could really use some work. And one other thing, he's created a pretty moral universe so when a really nasty villain like Thorella appears, you kinda think he's gonna meet some kinda especially nasty end, and there were certainly ways it could have happened, maybe even let poor Jodi do it. His death was unsatisfying, to say the least.
• 
  Solace Winter

  Herein lies the third, and final, part for the In Her Name series. The first two books were written brilliantly and I could not wait to dive into the next novel. Reza, Nicole, Jodi, and Eustus have stories that need to be heard and need to find an ending.
  
  Unfortunately the ending seems to drag compared to part one and part two. Every detail is important while at the same time I think I could have skimmed and never been lost. My attention was caught again towards the end when the brutality came crashing down.
  
  It ties everything up nicely and doesn’t leave a huge cliff hanger at the end, but at the same time I felt rushed through the ending while the rest of the book fell to a slower pace. Yes, I still gave this four stars, because Hicks’ story telling is immaculate and the characters are still very much themselves. Yes, this is still worth the read, especially if you long to know what happened to the love story that forced the first two forward and tugged at your heart strings.
  
  Reasons to Read:
  
  - Incredible storytelling
  
  - A satisfying ending
  
  - A reason to want the next series
  
  Reasons Not to Read:
  
  - Slowly pacing
  
  - Lacking in the emotion that pulled at the first two
  
• 
  C.p. Bialois

  After the ending of the second book in the trilogy, Confederation, I couldn't wait to start reading Final Battle and I wasn't disappointed. As the final chapter of Resa Gard's tale begins we're treated to the possible conclusion of the hundred year war between the Confederation and Kreelan Empire. At the moment where history is about to be made Resa must face his greatest foe to date and save both of his peoples.
  
  As I said in the beginning, I wasn't disappointed in Final battle as the consistency of the storytelling remained while incorporating the growth of the characters. The imaginative storytelling led me on several twists I didn't see coming (That's saying something since I specialize in predicting what's going to happen). The one thing I do feel compelled to say about the work is the weight of the words. What I mean is, Michael Hicks packs an enormous amount of words into each page which added a depth to his tale that's rare and fully enjoyable to me. It's that weight and the richness that made the work so enjoyable for me.
• 
  Tim

  An awesome capstone to the trilogy. This book picks up where the others left off and continues the story though the climatic battle between the Kreelans and Humans. Hicks' characters become even richer (if that's possible) in this book and many of the unanswered questions are answered, including the motivations of the "bad guys" that came to light in book 2.
  
  I will definitely be looking for and getting the books from the other "In Her Name" trilogies. I would highly recommend this series to others, even if they don't like sci-fi or fantasy. These are simply too good as thrillers to pigeon hole them with sci-fi and fantasy.
• 
  Greg

  This was a great wrap up of the trilogy.
  
  As I was reading this book though I found it interesting that the space battles and travel didn't bug me as it has in other books. That the science behind the battles/science didn't seem "real" (i.e. dealing with delta-v, distances, communication issues over solar distances, etc, etc, "David Weber" like real...). In other books this bugged me, but in this series it didn't. Talk about an example of "suspending disbelief" in action!
  
  Going to take a break from this series for a bit and then will read the next three... :)
• 
  Marianne Barron

  This last book of the trilogy is wonderful, and the trilogy as a total - a masterpiece! The ending is very well done bringing together all the threads of the novel and the seemingly insoluble problem of co-existence finds a fitting resolution. It is so beautifully done - and you end up sitting there smiling, feeling that you really have been part of something truly exceptional. If possible, I would give this a 6! No review can truly describe the feeling this trilogy gives you. A must-read !!!
• 
  Daniel Swensen

  It pains me to rate this book so low, because I quite enjoyed the first two. But the third volume just went off the rails for me. Gave up on the story at the graphic gang-rape of one of my favorite characters. Skipped to the end, found it very unsatisfying, called it quits. I won't be returning to this series. I still enjoyed the first book, but now I wish I'd stopped there.
• 
  Cameluta

  This is the final chapter of the first trilogy of "In Her name" series. Michael Hicks found the perfect conclusion for the trilogy. It is so emotional, still with a strong action and plots. This is a great trilogy, a highly recommended read not only for science fiction lovers.
• 
  Darsie

  Final Battle: For me this was the final book in the 9 book series. Having read the third trilogy second (out of sequence according to the author but then he admits he wrote them out of sequence going back in time to write books 7,8 and 9. So this order make more sense to me: 123- 789- 456).
  In any case, reading the third trilogy before the second answered so many of my questions about the Kreela, and their Empress, the way they think what they believe and making it possible for me to thouroughly enjoy and understand the second trilogy which tells the end of the story.
  
  Michael Hicks has created something truly amazing in this entire series. The characters just jump off the pages, both human and Kreela. The world building is incredible and the attention to detail, truly satisfying without getting so bogged down you lose the thread of the story. And WHAT a story! You root for the humans, of course but omg you cannot stop yourself from empathising with the Kreela too!
  I have enjoyed every word and each moment I have spent embroiled in this massive saga that sweeps through milennia, vast outreaches of space and beautiful worlds that exist now in my mind as real places, crowded with characters that have impressed me with their soul and integrity.
  
  I want to give a million stars for each book!
  But goodreads only lets me give five.
  Highly recommended. Must read for anyone who enjoys this genre and for anyone else who is looking for something different.. this is it!
• 
  Allison All Books Are Not 5 Stars

  I am glad i reread the series. It was just as enjoyable the 2nd time around. I have to say this was my least favorite book of it though. It feels a little forced to me. The plot feels forced. There are things that happen that you have to accept as it goes along but if you think about them you should have some doubts about them, like, "Hmm, shouldn't he have been able to get out of that? He has greater powers than that." But for the sake of advancement of the direction of the plot, you have to accept it. So, it's the weakest of the books to me and felt like the author just needed to finish it out. I still love this series though. I know there are more books after that explore the Kreelan beginnings but I am content this time around to end here.
• 
  Philip Staten

  Absolutely outstanding
  
  Absolutely outstanding start at the beginning with the first book in the series, then continue to read the whole series. Keep going absolutely great science fiction. Guaranteed you won't be able to put it down.
• 
  Jeff Wombold

  Sci-fi
  
  Like all the rest of the series it was non stop entertainment, I was disappointed with one part of the ending, but I await the rest of the series.
• 
  Lisa Hapney

  Altogether this has been a great series and I was thoroughly disappointed when I reached the end of Final Battle, the last book in Michael R. Hicks' In her Name: Redemption trilogy because I truly didn't want the story to end. Reza is a fantastic character who is incredibly interesting and easy to empathize with while reading. There's a lot going on in this book and I think Mr. Hicks did a great job of wrapping it all up, though I can only hope that there's another book after this one that will delve into other issues that would lead to a spoiler alert if I were to discuss them here. Once again there's lots of action, intriguing characters and a gritty feel to the portions of the story that need it. These stories are filled with so much that it has become more difficult to review them for those who have not read the others in the series as I truly don't want to give away too much and take away from the reader's enjoyment of their own discoveries and realizations. This is great science fiction / fantasy (as there are some elements that could be considered fantasy by some) and I thoroughly recommend it. Mr. Hicks is a very good writer and I greatly enjoyed this book and the series as a whole. So 5 stars for Final Battle and 5 stars for the In Her Name Redemption trilogy as a whole. If you're looking for something fresh and well thought out that will whisk you away to another place and time this may well be a story for you.
  
  This review originally posted at
  http://tjsbookblog.blogspot.com/
• 
  Kirkus MacGowan

  I gave the first two books in the In Her Name series four out of five stars because I wasn’t quite sure what to think. I enjoyed the stories immensely. They were epic in many ways and well written, yet I couldn’t decide what I thought about the series in its entirety.
  
  Book three, In Her Name: Final Battle, sealed the deal. Hicks brought everything together neatly. Though there wasn’t as much action as in the other two, the political intrigues really pulled the story together. I took my time reading the previous two but I didn’t have that option this time. I finished it in two days. Here’s a big sorry to my family! I couldn’t pull my nose from my Kindle the whole time.
  
  The two protagonists finagled their way into positions of power and use that power to bring Reza Gard and the Kreelan Empire to their knees. Gard’s friends, both known and unknown, fight to make things right but fear for their lives, and for good reason.
  
  Things don’t end the way the reader expects, or the characters for that matter. We’re left hanging until almost the very end when everything comes together in a meaningful and epic ending, a perfect way to bring the In Her Name story to an end.
  
  I’m all about the baseball metaphors, and Hicks hit the ball out of the park with his first series.