You know I am always sad to finish a series and this particular series was pretty good with the final book having the perfect title. Terminal by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs is the final book in the Virals series. Having found out at the end of the previous book, Exposure, that Chance Claybourne is now a viral the pack works on figuring out who else might also have become a viral. However, they also find out that due to a combination of their own activities and Chance’s recent actions there is a mysterious government organization after them as well. Trying to outwit both the rival virals pack and the government agents will take everything they have, especially to do so safely. Things get even trickier when Chance reveals that the viral mutation may continue indefinitely and there is a good chance it may kill them eventually. Now they are also faced with the decision of what to do about being viral and what it means to be viral, both individually and as a pack. This has all of them on edge as they try to figure out what are their options and who they might be able to trust.
When I said that the book had the perfect title I really wasn’t kidding. Terminal is the end of the series which makes sense but the book also deals with the concept of being viral potentially being deadly which also relates back to the title. There are also several other themes present in the book that also tie in to the title and the concept of this being the end that I can’t really go into without providing massive spoilers. All I can really say is that the title was so fitting in so many ways that I didn’t even realize until I was almost done with the book. I also found it interesting how this particular book also deals with them having to face the consequences for their actions, so to speak. This is the only book in the series where everything they are dealing with is a direct consequence of what they have already done in the previous books. If they hadn’t used their powers the way that they had then they would not have attracted the attention that they did, either from Chance or from this mysterious government agency. It really goes to show how even trying to do the right thing can still have some rather major unintended consequences and that even being careful, you are never careful enough. Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes those mistakes can have bad outcomes farther down the road. The book did a good job of utilizing all of this as it navigated an incredibly tricky and delicate plot that had so many moving parts. It really felt like it was trying to wrap up as many dangling threads as possible, even while introducing a few new previously unknown ones in the process. I can confidently walk away from this book and be relatively satisfied with the ending and feel like the series is really over. Don’t get me wrong I am sad it is over but I felt like just about everything that needed to be resolved was by the end of it. Overall, an incredible book and an incredible end to the series so I am happy to give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
This is a pretty good example of young adult or teen science fiction. If you happen to fall into that age range and enjoy that genre than I suggest you consider trying this book. However, I would also suggest that you actually read the entire series in order or you will be confused about a lot of what is going on in this one. If you happen to be an adult who enjoys science fiction than I don’t see why it wouldn’t also hold some appeal for you as well if you would be willing to try it. I would not suggest it for younger readers though as it does occasionally reference semi-mature content. If you don’t enjoy science fiction than I am not sure how much this would appeal to you so my suggestion is to read what the information I have provided on the series and make up your own mind. As always feel free to share your thoughts on the series in the comments.