#Friday Review - Disruptor by Arwen Elys Dayton (Young Adult, Science Fiction) @arwenelysdayton @DelacortePress

Series: Seeker # 3
Format: Hardcover, 352 PAGES 
Release Date: FEBRUARY 7, 2017
Publisher: DELACORTE PRESS
Source: LIBRARY
Genre: YOUNG ADULT, FANTASY

One house will rise.

Quin has spent her life as her father’s pawn. She was trained to kill and manipulated to guarantee her family’s power. And now that she’s broken free of that life, she’s found herself trapped again, hostage to a plot that has been centuries in the making.

It’s taken generations for the pieces to come together, and finally all is in place. Shinobu’s mind has been corrupted, the Young Dread has aligned with John, and Watchers are being awakened and gathered. Now there is nothing that can stop the force of time.

But Quin will no longer be a pawn. Quin is a Seeker. She stands for light in a shadowy world. She will face the vengeance of the past and its enemies and save herself and the ones she loves, or she will die trying.

Disruptor is the third and final installment in author Arwen Elys Dayton's Seeker trilogy. If you've read the previous installments Seeker and Traveler, do go on. If not, I'll do my best not to spoil anything in my review. If I happen to put something in my review that is spoiler-y, please let me know.

For this story, the author weaves her story through the narratives of Quin Kincaid, John Hart, Shinobu MacBain, and a fourth person who gets plenty of storyline, Nott, one of the Middle Dreads watchers. Disruptor picks up right where Traveler left off. As a summary. Quin was left in a place called There. A place in-between reality. It was a betrayal of epic proportions since she trusted the person who did it. Meanwhile, Shinobu has fall fallen out of control because of the focal he wears, and finds an even dangerous person to pull his strings. 

For John, things have come a very long way. He's not the person readers met in the first book who nearly killed Quin, and was so obsessed with her, that he went to diabolical lengths to make life a living hell for her and Shinobu. That was until he met Maud, aka the Young Dread who has taken him under her wing. I have to say that I've actually come to like John, and especially Maud, for what they do over the course of this story. Maud may not fully understand John, but she knows that there is a bigger picture that still hasn't been revealed that needs to be exposed.

As Disruptor picks up, we are introduced to a new character, Dex. Dex is the one who finds Quin There and takes her on an interesting path. Dex is the one who spins quite a tale that has lasting impressions on the reader as well as Quin. Dex even also calls Quin the name of a girl he once knew. As for Quin, she has some puzzles to solve before she can find a way to help Shinobu, or even forgive John for his past aggression's against her. Those puzzles mean that readers get some pretty important insights to the beginnings of the Seekers, and those who came first. She gets more background on who developed the Seeker weapons, how the Dreads came to being as well.  

Because of Dex, and his history lessons and tours of various places Quin never knew existed, they spend a great portion of this story separated from the others. Quin previously discovered some really bad things about the Middle Dread, as well as her own father. Quin, as a seeker, has been trying hard to put the pieces together, and now with Dex, she may finally have what she needs. Quin is a fascinating character. She's a Seeker and a healer who can see the lines of electrical flow. She can manipulate the flow as well which helps save people like Dex.

I am going to say this to my followers, and authors, and everyone else. If you want to get an example of how to wrap up a series, please follow the direction that author Arwen Elys Dayton gives you. She creates a fantastic background, vivid characters, and a world that is pretty damn scary unless you understand what is happening. The questions are answered and the story wraps up with one amazing piece of action and adventure where everyone, villains, heroes, and everyone else is involved gets an opportunity at a happy ending if they choose the right path. The Epilogue is perfect. I can't tell you how awesome I felt after reading the final chapter of this book. I want to encourage others to pick up this series and hope they get the same enjoyment out of the series that I did.

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#Wednesday Review - Traveler by Arwen Elys Dayton (Young Adult, Science Fiction)

Series: Seeker # 2
Format: Hardcover, 448 pages
Release Date: January 12, 2016
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Quin Kincaid is a Seeker. Her legacy is an honor, an ancient role passed down for generations. But what she learned on her oath night changed her world forever.

Quin pledged her life to deception. Her legacy as a Seeker is not noble but savage. She was trained to be an assassin. And the boy she once loved is out for vengeance, with her family in his sights.  

Yet Quin is not alone. Shinobu, her oldest companion, might now be the only person she can trust. The only one who wants answers as desperately as she does.

But the deeper they dig into the past, the darker things become. There are long-vanished Seeker families, shadowy alliances, and something else: a sinister plan begun generations ago with the power to end the legacy forever.

And it might destroy them all. 

Traveler is the second installment in Arwen Elys Dayton's Seeker series. It has been several weeks since Quin Kincaid, Shinobu MacBain, and John Hart survived the crash of the air ship Traveler in London. For Quin, her entire outlook of what being a Seeker is, has been fundamentally changed since she took the oath and became what was once a proud tradition. No longer does she feel that a Seekers job is honorable. In fact, it is anything but that thanks to her own father Briac Kincaid, and the Middle Dread's actions in pitting Seeker against Seeker, and strange boys who move like Seekers, but really aren't, against Seeker in a battle of wits, strategy and deceit. 

Traveler is actually told in numerous third person narratives. From Quin, Shinobu, John, Catherine Hart (her past exploits), Maud, the Youngest Dread, to a boy named Nott, who is one of the Middle Dreads pet projects.  I have to say that my favorite chapters were from Catherine's perspective. This is a woman who was a Seeker, married due to family obligations, all while digging deep into the misguided and wrongful actions of the Middle Dread which caused her life to be shortened. Her exploits include being with Shinobu's mother Mariko, who also was once a Seeker. Catherine was a brave lady in everything she did. She tried to bring honesty and integrity back to the Seekers, and now, her own son John, and Quin Kincaid, are following in her footsteps.

Traveler picks up its pace after Quin and Shinobu, who is slowly healing from his injuries, are attacked by two mysterious boys demanding that they give back the Athame that Maud, the Young Dread gave to Quin aboard the Traveler. The Athame is an ancient implement that has dials that can transport a Seeker to specific places in time. Each of the 10 original families had one, but they have slowly and mysteriously disappeared like the families themselves. This is what Catherine was searching for. This is what Quin and John are now searching for.

I have to rip the bandage off quickly before I go any further. I am pretty sure I spoke about my hatred for Shinobu due to his incessant need to lose himself in a variety of drugs. Even his own mother has washed her hands clean of his actions knowing that eventually, it will lead to his demise. So, what does Dayton do? Gives him yet another addiction to fall prey to. This time a focal which is supposed to calm the person wearing it, and give them clarity. Yeah, good luck with that! I don't mind the romance between Shinobu and Quin. After all, he never tried to kill her like John. But, I do hope that Dayton can make up for his actions in the final chapters. 

Speaking of John, he has turned into a rather decent character after his actions in Seeker. Yes, he has plenty of regrets when it comes to his actions towards Quin, who he once loved. Now, he's found a purpose and a trainer so that he can finally walk in the same footsteps as his mother. I liked these scenes the next best because there is something between John and Maud whether we get to that point or not. Maud and John are each searching for answers. Maud has become fully aware of the Middle's deceit, while teaching John the fundamentals of being a good Seeker like the one's who once stood for the weak and wronged and stood up to the shadow world.

Quin and Shinobu once again have the most action packed scenes. From Hong Kong to Scotland, to THERE, they continually face off against the Watchers who demand that Quin return the Middle's athame to them.  They, like John, are also searching for answers and a path to correct her father's misguided path. But, they also have the dastardly job of being the ones with the cliffhanger ending, and a heart breaking one thanks to Shinobu. Not going to sugar coat it. 

The final installment in the trilogy, Disruptor, will release in the Spring of 2017. 

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