Book Review: In The End by Demitria Lunetta

For those who don’t know, I thought very highly of the first book in this apparent duo of novels, In The After. In fact, I still stand by the fact that it is one of the best apocalypse stories I’ve ever read, even if the second half was slightly generic. When the sequel In The End was announced, I was hyped. I was really ecstatic to learn how everything would tie together in the end (hehe, that’s a terrible yet unavoidable pun by this point). Once the book was downloaded I ditched whatever book I was reading at the time and completed In The End in around two days, despite my schoolwork. So, how does it hold up in the end (I need to stop…)? Sit back, relax, and read on as I review In The End, the sequel to In The After. Keep in mind that I will be spoiling some major events and discoveries within the first book to talk about this one, so if you want to read the series please do not proceed. If you’ve already read the book or just don’t care, please continue.

Summary of In The After/The Setup:

For those who don’t remember, In The After is a book that takes place after the apocalypse caused by “Them”, creatures with a craving for human flesh. Our main character is Amy, a teenager whose parents were safety and environmental freaks. Due to this, her house is run by solar electricity, has a powerful electric fence, and well water. Once everything went to hell, she was able to survive thanks to these commodities. She inhabits her house for three years. During that time period finds a young child she names “Baby”, and the two form a strong sisterly bond with each other. Then, due to unforeseen circumstances, their house gets overrun by a gang, and then they’re picked up by a society called “New Hope”. New Hope is, well, exactly what its title suggests: offering humanity a new hope in the aftermath (sorry) of the apocalypse. There, Amy finds her mother, but then uncovers the truth about the origins of “Them”: They are actually called “Florae”, and are humans infected with a deadly virus. So basically, it’s a zombie apocalypse. And her mother was the developer of that virus. The discovery of this information puts Amy in a lot of trouble, and is quarantined in “The Ward” by Dr. Reynolds, the lead researcher of New Hope. Amy eventually escapes thanks to the help of her guardian friends, and the book ends with Amy heading to Fort Black, another citadel for humans. In The End takes place around a month or so afterwards, with Amy avoiding Fort Black. The plot takes off when her friend manages to communicate, saying that Baby was in danger and the only way to free her was to find her friend’s brother in Fort Black. The story takes off from there.

The Characters:

The characters in this book are pretty much the same as the previous book, though there are quite a few new additions. Amy is still as fantastic as ever, and there was never a moment where I wasn’t routing for her. The new characters are not as memorable, but there were a few standouts. Firstly, Jacks, the new love interest. I did think it was slightly unnecessary for a second love interest to exist within these books, especially considering how much I despise love triangles, but I did like the relationship between Jacks and Amy much more than that of Amy and Rice, probably because the former had a lot more time to develop. Needless to say, though, he was fairly generic except for his tragic backstory, which was well integrated into the story. Then there’s Brenna, who is pure awesomeness; unfortunately, I can’t say much about her without spoiling anything, but let’s just say that she’s a vital asset to the story and on top of that is the most enjoyable character in the entire series. Everyone else was fairly generic; there’s the corrupt leader of Fort Black, and there are the dangerous inhabitants of Fort Black. That’s kind of it, except for one person: Doc. Doc is one of the only characters I’ve seen whom I pitied yet wanted to die at the same time, with the only other character I can think of being the character William H. Macy played in Fargo (which, by the way, is a phenomenal movie that you should watch at some point). In other words, he committed some terrible crimes, yet he was so pathetic and desperate that I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, which is a feat by itself. It’s a weird combination, but a great one, and I’m glad this book was able to make it work.

The Story:

I can’t find much to fault the story for except for one aspect that continually bugged me. The pacing was great; the book was fast paced enough so that it wasn’t boring but wasn’t too fast, allowing me to actually comprehend what was going on. I also give the story props for having me guess at what was going to happen multiple times, and for steering away from clichés…for the most part. This one aspect that bothered me was this character who lived in Fort Black. Basically, he’s a psychopath who enjoys killing teenaged girls for whatever reason (power over the weak, misogyny, take your pick). Granted, Fort Black used to be a prison (a prison for particularly deadly criminals at that), so I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that a character like him exists, but…was he truly necessary? Fort Black is scary enough as it is, with its desperate citizens and anarchy. Oh, and if Fort Black is breached in any way, the Floare, the most savage and thoughtless threat to humanity, will eat everyone! Let’s also not forget that Baby is in danger, due to being experimented on by Dr. Reynolds, and the fact that humanity is on the verge of extinction! Is a psychopath intent on murdering Amy really needed when these other more interesting plot points completely overshadow it? All it boils down to is a complete cliché and a total waste of time. Well, except for one plot point which I won’t spoil, but let’s just say that it felt completely unnecessary too, like the book was trying too hard to make you hate the guy on top of the fact that he’s a blood hungry psychopath. Oh sure, let’s just make it personal, it’s not like we have any reason to despise this dude! I don’t even remember his name, that’s how unoriginal he is! Now, I’m not saying that people like him don’t exist, because sadly I’m sure they do, but this character just felt tacked on to try and add more tension to a story that was already tense and suspenseful without him. He could’ve been cut from the book entirely and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. Finally, there’s the ending. What happens in the end of In The End? Well…let’s just say it’s not the most satisfying. It kind of just ends. Sure, there’s the promise of a better future, but that’s all the book leaves you with. There’s not even an epilogue to make up for it. Thanks.

The Writing Style/Grammatical Errors:

The writing style and grammatical errors are the same as the last book; close to perfect. Nothing much has changed in this section.

Final Judgment:

So, while it had its faults, I still highly recommend In The End. In some ways, it improved upon the first book, and in others it fell slightly short. It’s definitely an entertaining book, and should be able to satisfy your need for a good apocalypse novel. I give In The End a 3.5 out of 5, with an overall score of the series being a 3.75 out of 5 and a recommendation to read it. But, like always, it is up to you to decide your own opinions.
ScoreCard (note: because this is a review of the sequel, this scorecard represents the scores of In The End): 

There are no further recommendations due to this being a sequel. The same recommendations from the first book apply.

The next review will be on an action anime. Here’s the hint: RAGE!

See you then!