Author: Claudia Gray
Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Published on: November 1, 2016 by Harper Teen
The fate of the multiverse rests in Marguerite Caine’s hands. Marguerite has been at the center of a cross-dimensional feud since she first traveled to another universe using her parents’ invention, the Firebird. Only now has she learned the true plans of the evil Triad Corporation—and that those plans could spell doom for dozens or hundreds of universes, each facing total annihilation.
Paul Markov has always been at Marguerite’s side, but Triad’s last attack has left him a changed man—angry and shadowed by tragedy. He struggles to overcome the damage done to him, but despite Marguerite’s efforts to help, Paul may never be the same again.
So it’s up to Marguerite alone to stop the destruction of the multiverse. Billions of lives are at stake. The risks have never been higher. And Triad has unleashed its ultimate weapon: another dimension’s Marguerite—wicked, psychologically twisted, and always one step ahead.
In the conclusion to Claudia Gray’s Firebird trilogy, fate and family will be questioned, loves will be won and lost, and the multiverse will be forever changed. It’s a battle of the Marguerites…and only one can win.
The Firebird trilogy ends with this entry, A Million Worlds With You. It takes place not long from where the previous book ended. The main character is Marguerite Caine. She’s a teenager and the daughter of two brilliant physicists. Dr. Lera Kovalenka and Dr. Henry Caine invented the Firebird, the device from which this series gets its name. The Firebird is a high-tech pendant capable of transporting the wearer into parallel universes. This power is obviously invaluable, which inevitably means that nefarious entities seek to control it.
In Ten Thousand Skies Above You, Marguerite saved her friend/love interest Paul Markov. The series main antagonist, tech magnate Wyatt Conley, scattered pieces of his soul throughout the multiverse. Conley is from a parallel reality dubbed the Triadverse. The Triad is his evil group. They helped the Caines create the Firebird, and now are after something else. This book opens right into the action. Marguerite is inside one of the universes she’s visited previously. Only, she’s in grave danger...and there's nothing she can do about it.
At the last second, Marguerite exits the universe (the Firebird transfers a traveler’s mind, not their body). This cuts her off from that particular reality forever. In this series, travelers cannot visit a parallel world where they don’t exist or are already dead. And there is urgency: Marguerite has found out that Triad is killing off her doppelgängers. She’s not sure why they’re doing it. Marguerite and her friends, Theo and Paul, will have to rush across the multiverse to save as many of her counterparts as she can.
To fulfill their goal, Triad has unleashed a new enemy. She’s a doppelgänger of Marguerite whose universe is dubbed the Home Office. This Marguerite is so heartless that the main Marguerite calls her Wicked. It’s kind of a silly nickname, but I’m not complaining about a minor thing. Wicked also continues a trend in this trilogy. Every book has had an “evil” version of one of the three main characters. Evil Theo showed up in book one, and Evil Paul showed up in book two. Now it’s Marguerite’s turn to confront a dark version of herself. And this one may be the toughest of the three.
This book also touches on the consequences of multiverse travel. In the previous two books, Marguerite went from world through world with barely a thought. The reality is that travelers inhabit someone else’s body when they travel. Marguerite is not her doppelgängers; they have different personalities and lives of their own. In book one, Marguerite made a big decision while she was in the Russiaverse. Now, one of the new worlds provides a way for Marguerite to answer for her actions. I won’t spoil exactly how this happens, but it’s great. This scene was my favorite in the Firebird trilogy.
A Million Worlds With You was a satisfying finale to the Firebird trilogy. This is one of the most entertaining multiverse fiction series I’ve ever read. The main characters visit a lot of parallel universes throughout the books. These worlds are different enough that even in prose you can tell them apart. And these are all real worlds, not like the Framework from Agents of SHIELD. All the inhabitants matter, which means Triad’s willingness to destroy their worlds greatly raises the stakes. The entire multiverse is threatened, so Marguerite and her friends will have to use all their smarts and resources to stop Triad.
My rating: ★★★★ 1/2
4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!
No comments:
Post a Comment