Series: The Dominion Trilogy # 3
Format: E-Galley, 444 pages
Release Date: March 28, 2017
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia
In the thrilling conclusion to Joe Hart’s Dominion Trilogy, Zoey discovers who she truly is—and who she must become.
Zoey has only ever known a world with few women and a society capable of unimaginable evil. Now she’s about to learn she may be the only hope it has for salvation.
After she and her companions flee a vicious attack, barely escaping with their lives, Zoey finds herself faced with a new threat: video evidence suggesting she is the mother of an unborn baby girl—and the key to mankind’s survival. Knowing that her former captors will stop at nothing to control the power that lies within her, Zoey sets out on her own for the last American city, Seattle, in search of answers. But a new enemy awaits her there, and the truth she seeks may lead to her destruction as well as that of all humankind.
This stunning finale, hailed by bestselling author Blake Crouch as a “rapturous, thought-provoking, [and] impossible-to-put-down thriller,” begs us all to consider what we would do when asked to choose between humanity’s survival—and our own.
The First City is the third and final installment in author Joe Hart' The Dominion Trilogy. The story begins pretty much right where The Final Trade left off. Zoey has been on one emotional rollercoaster ride after the other since escaping from from a government (NOA) run camp for women. None as emotional as what happened at the end of the last book. Now, Zoey must once again put herself on the road to discovering whether or not that information is real, or just another way for Vivian to grab Zoey and keep her under her thumb.
One of the more curious scenes in the book, actually takes place as the story opens. It is a scene that goes back to when 3 month old Zoey was first brought to the NOA, where she is placed under Cleric Simon's care. But, what's most intriguing is that Lee, the boy that Zoey fell in love with, has been there from the start. This curiosity makes you wonder if Vivian was actually telling the truth about Zoey, and also about Lee for that matter. Can Zoey really be the KEY? Sorry to be vague, but keeping spoilers out of this book is pretty important.
Zoey's journey brings her to Seattle. Seattle is where the story is picked up by Lee, oh yes, Lee is still alive, and finding that keeping his actual identity a secret, is becoming even more important when the city is attacked by a character named Hiraku Hashimoto. Hiraku truly gave me the creeps because of the story that he tells Lee and the way he focuses on Zoey. On one hand, there are some good things about him, and then there's the part where he wants to destroy NOA for his own personal goals, and keep Zoey for himself because of a twisted encounter with fate.
His determination to collect any and all surviving women in the states, including Zoey, is rather creepy, and ends up with Lee and Zoey reuniting with Merrill and his group. At this point we understand that Zoey may be the most important person in the world, which is why Vivian is so insistent on getting her back. Zoey, who left her friends & allies behind after Merrill told her not to in order to discover truths on her own. Zoey, who eventually unravels truths about her parents, and whether or not they actually survived or not.
Author Hart puts a hurt on this story in a huge way. I can't tell you how emotionally drained this book made me before the final scene was revealed. There is plenty of action, plenty of cruel twists and turns, and a shocking revelation that I never thought I'd be right about.
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