I finished this book awhile ago. Between then and now I've been letting it settle into my bones, this surprising and satisfying third in the Nexus Trilogy. I am not sure I have ever read any tale this complex in which the ending was so thick with surprise, loss, and, despite that, also happiness.

The series is a wildly complex world-spanning, mind-expanding multi-roller-coaster ride and count yourself lucky that now all three are there for you. I had to WAIT! ( )

A solid conclusion to the Nexus trilogy. Some things go exactly as I expected them to, but there are still a fair few surprises thrown in for good measure. For the most part, a lot of loose ends are tied up, making it a good way to end a series.

The stakes go up with most of the world in turmoil, the US and China in particular. The Chinese part was interesting (particularly since I've spent some time studying how the Chinese censorship systems work in the modern day), but felt tonally rather different from the previous books. It vaguely fits, but it felt almost like half a sequel and half something entirely new.

Speaking of a different focus, this book does turn a bit of the focus away from Nexus towards the post-human thoughts. Shu in particular. That particular storyline had already come about in the second book, but it really comes to the fore here. Again, it feels like the general story was drifting a bit, even if the drifting was interesting.

Overall, I think this Apex is weaker than Nexus and about as strong as the middle book. Apex is crazy huge and drags at time, but by this point I've invested enough time that I really want to see it through. I'm glad I did.

Random side note: The blurb says "They call them the Apex - humanity's replacement.". Did they actually mention this term at all in this book? I don't remember that overmuch. ( )

His is a very ambitious final book in the trilogy and I think it is wonderfully insightful and nuanced in its look at enhanced humans. I really enjoyed this series a lot and feel like I got to think about many ideas I had not previously considered. Bravo! ( )

This third novel is a serious departure from the first two. Global politics and truly high stakes action is involved, including several full-featured revolutions, the machinations of an evil world-mind, and a nuclear war. Sound pretty epic? It is.

And there was enough action and solid pace to make the introduction of many new characters worth continuing.

Don't worry, though! If you're worried that those surviving main characters don't carry over into this novel, rest assured. All of them have central roles, and it was satisfying enough to be a retelling of Siddhartha. (Although, to be perfectly honest, I much prefer this version. It's as accessible as only a transhumanist revolution featuring love and hate can make it.)

I always thought my idea of throwing thousands of poisonous snakes into a locked congress was a good idea, but Mr. Naam had a better idea. Read this novel and tell me if I'm wrong!

Did I think the novel surpass the first? Hard to tell. It's very different. The first novel was full of sympathetic and idealistic characters that I really latched on to. The second novel really departed from that, and so I was stuck in the pov's of morally ambiguous people who eventually redeemed themselves with their choices, or not. The third novel focused on anger and revenge versus redemption, but on a nicely grounded but still global scale, jumping from China to India, to the US, and back again.

One thing I really loved was the huge homage to Gibson's Idoru, made to serve an awesome purpose. I found myself cheering. :)

I still want to be a part of Nexus. I'd down the drug in a heartbeat. Maybe I have a lot of faith in humanity.
( )

In the last volume of the trilogy we finally observe the first full-scale showdown between a [crazy] post-human intelligence and humans. The global battlefield with highlights in China, India and the US. The grand finale of the series. Recommended as a good example of modern ‘hard’-ish sci-fi set in near future. ( )