I bought this set for granddaughter

Like the first two, this third book in the series leaves you wanting more, wanting to know what happens and totally invested in the main characters as well as newcomers. I can’t wait til the next comes out!

Like the first two, this third book in the series leaves you wanting more, wanting to know what happens and totally invested in the main characters as well as newcomers. I can’t wait til the next comes out!

This might be the best entry so far. Several new characters are introduced and the world continues to get even bigger. Although the majority of this entry takes place mostly outside of civilization, the new characters give insight to both the world and the mythology behind the brothers’ animal mask technology. Unfortunately there is no encounter with the crown just yet, but there is so much else that’s introduced here that there’s plenty to chew on till then.After the events in The Fall Gauntlet RAT, estranged brothers Benji and Soren find themselves struggling to stay alive in a desert wasteland outside the city of New Phasia after narrowly escaping death in the sewer tunnels underneath it. After a welcome new character (and potential love interest?) helps them catch a ride onto a speeding train as stowaways, they meet even more colorful characters. Lyaza and Miki are sisters who own a spa. Benji empathizes with them as they also lost her parents to the crown. Lyaza seems to be the more level headed one and Miki is by far more of a zealot when it comes to the belief system surrounding to gauntlet tournaments.There is some exposition about how the animal masks the characters use to fight one another in the tournament aren’t just technology that gives them enhanced abilities, but there is a entire mythology about how each animal’s spirit (the Dei) chooses the wearer and can even use them to do their bidding. Thankfully none of this exposition is simply dropped in a way that stops the momentum as there is so much going on. Benji worries over his brother Soren who is poisoned and mostly unconscious. Benji also hears an ominous voice in his head that makes him worry about using his own mask. The sisters seem to be trustworthy, but it becomes clear that they aren’t saying everything they know. Merkel feeds the reader crumbs of exposition as all this is happening so the story’s momentum keeps going. The characterization is well done with multiple heartfelt and surprising character arcs. The plot in this entry is still as unpredictable as the first. This is mostly because these short entries cover so much of such a fully realized world while introducing new and puzzling characters that readers don’t have much time to even make predictions, but it also seems that Merkel is actively avoiding overused tropes in order to create a more inventive, meaningful and personal story. Also, the action-packed finale seemed like it came out of left field when it happened, but the denouement did a great job recalling the seeds of the story that Merkel planted earlier, revealing that it was all heading to that outcome no matter what. It was unexpected and yet the only logical ending for the third entry in this series.I was surprised to find by the end of CHRISIX that this is not a trilogy. Things might have wrapped up for our heroes in this entry but so much more needs to happen before readers can turn the final page and close the (final) book on this franchise with satisfaction. I look forward to seeing the next chapter of this series.

This might be the best entry so far. Several new characters are introduced and the world continues to get even bigger. Although the majority of this entry takes place mostly outside of civilization, the new characters give insight to both the world and the mythology behind the brothers’ animal mask technology. Unfortunately there is no encounter with the crown just yet, but there is so much else that’s introduced here that there’s plenty to chew on till then.After the events in The Fall Gauntlet RAT, estranged brothers Benji and Soren find themselves struggling to stay alive in a desert wasteland outside the city of New Phasia after narrowly escaping death in the sewer tunnels underneath it. After a welcome new character (and potential love interest?) helps them catch a ride onto a speeding train as stowaways, they meet even more colorful characters. Lyaza and Miki are sisters who own a spa. Benji empathizes with them as they also lost her parents to the crown. Lyaza seems to be the more level headed one and Miki is by far more of a zealot when it comes to the belief system surrounding to gauntlet tournaments.There is some exposition about how the animal masks the characters use to fight one another in the tournament aren’t just technology that gives them enhanced abilities, but there is a entire mythology about how each animal’s spirit (the Dei) chooses the wearer and can even use them to do their bidding. Thankfully none of this exposition is simply dropped in a way that stops the momentum as there is so much going on. Benji worries over his brother Soren who is poisoned and mostly unconscious. Benji also hears an ominous voice in his head that makes him worry about using his own mask. The sisters seem to be trustworthy, but it becomes clear that they aren’t saying everything they know. Merkel feeds the reader crumbs of exposition as all this is happening so the story’s momentum keeps going. The characterization is well done with multiple heartfelt and surprising character arcs. The plot in this entry is still as unpredictable as the first. This is mostly because these short entries cover so much of such a fully realized world while introducing new and puzzling characters that readers don’t have much time to even make predictions, but it also seems that Merkel is actively avoiding overused tropes in order to create a more inventive, meaningful and personal story. Also, the action-packed finale seemed like it came out of left field when it happened, but the denouement did a great job recalling the seeds of the story that Merkel planted earlier, revealing that it was all heading to that outcome no matter what. It was unexpected and yet the only logical ending for the third entry in this series.I was surprised to find by the end of CHRISIX that this is not a trilogy. Things might have wrapped up for our heroes in this entry but so much more needs to happen before readers can turn the final page and close the (final) book on this franchise with satisfaction. I look forward to seeing the next chapter of this series.