Catalyst Gate (The Protectorate, #3)
by Megan E. O'Keefe
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Bradley's reviewJul 04, 2021
SPOILER ALERT
A somewhat unsatisfying ending to this trilogy. The first book was very good, the second, pretty good and this one is just, well, ok.
The manifold story lines are interesting. The characters are what I'd expect from such a large developed universe: some are very well fleshed out and others, less so. The character arcs are somewhat muddy, as the Sanda and Biran don't really have one, in spite of all that has happened to them. At the end of the third book they are essentially exactly the same people, albeit a little more experienced and cynical, that they were at the beginning of the first book. Jules had more of an arc than any of the other characters, and the rest of the secondary players are essentially one-dimensional and static throughout three books. The text started out somewhat clunky, as if the author was having difficulty finding the pace and voice of story. Ultimately this improved, and the last 3/4 of the book flowed much better.
The main problems I had with this story are:
1. The 'surprise twist' regarding the make up of the main character, plus she gets a 'pass' from the alien mind she encountered and stays enhanced when most everyone else is just back to being a boring old Human meat bag. Yes, I know it was foreshadowed in all three books, but I still think it's out of place and takes a great deal away from an otherwise excellent character. It is an example of the 'god-in-human-form' cliche that is very tiring. Can a simple, normal human ever accomplish any great and terrible feat without having to become some sort of enhanced or god-like persona? With a disappointing 'happy ending' to boot?
2. The 'deus-ex-machina' solution to the mammoth threat to humanity. This is also a tired cliche, perhaps even more so than the first I mentioned, even for science fiction, and I'm sad to see it used here in an otherwise solid trilogy. Is Humanity ever going to be able to pull together and defeat a massive enemy on their own, no matter that the enemy is so overwhelming and the chances of success are almost zero? Does an advanced alien intelligence or two, no matter how ambivalent or hostile they are to Humanity, always have to do the heavy lifting?
The muddled conclusion to the Icarion problem is a huge letdown to an interesting, if not fully explored, enemy. It is too fast, too easy and not believable that they would fall apart and be overwhelmed that easily after the decompression event.
Overall I'm slightly disappointed in this third book. Many other reviews have been more positive, and people genuinely seemed to like it, so perhaps it is a matter of my personal taste in story telling. I will continue to read this author and look forward to her future works.
