Rating: 
Summary: A disappointing finale
Review: Green had me totally pumped up for this book. I had been entranced by the previous works in his series. Sadly this resulted in my being extraordinarily disappointed in the end. I concur with what several of the other reviewers said, Green set a bunch of interesting sub-plots in motion, only to conclude them in a very disappointing fashion. This is above and beyond the rotten ending for young Owen Deathstalker. In fairness to Green, he lets you know right from the get go how the ending is going to turn out. Having said that, though, I can think of several alternate ways of rewriting this to avoid the flatness of the ending.Either the Editor didn't read the whole work, or Green had to meet a deadline and just knocked it out. He is capable of much better work, and I hope to see it in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: The book was actually pretty good, even though Owen died.
Review: I don't know why so many people were so surprised when Owen died. His death had all ready been foretold. And while the repetition of the whole as greater than it's sum did occasionally work a nerve, the story was satisfying and true to the writer's previous works. Owen died like he lived with honor & integrity, and aside from Hazel that's all he really wanted.
Rating: 
Summary: I hated the story towards the end and the ending.
Review: I hated the way the story ended it left me depressed and mad. it did not have to end the series like that how do we know whats to happen to hazel and with the terror and the hostilities with her alternate self's was he mad when he wrote this story that's the only explaination i could come up with i won't read anything else by him.
Rating: 
Summary: I'd give the set 4 Stars, this book should only get a half.
Review: I remember sitting and thinking "My God Green's a good writer!" when "Deathstalker" first came out. Since then the books have begun a slow decline. I'm sorely tired of the phrase "A whole much greater than the sum of its parts" which Green is apparently under contract to use a minimum of fifteen times in every book. I'm also frustrated with the simple endings to complex subplots (See the history of the Grendel aliens, as explained in "Deathstalker Destiny".) Green really cheats his readers with this book. Why bother to lay the groundwork for every little thing that happens if the resolution will only be four lines long (See the explanation of the shape changing alien from book one, finally resolved on page 398.) Why bother trying to create dread in the reader when the action doesn't threaten the characters? (See Owen and Hazel's escape from the Blood Runners; but don't expect to be thrilled by the suspense, because there isn't any. Owen walks in, grabs Hazel, and strolls out. Oh yeah, he kills some people too.) The characters who were killed were snuffed in boring, anti-climactic ways that detracted from the storyline instead of adding to it. The death of a major player in a storyline should accomplish a purpose. These were meaningless, just more blood and entrails. As far as I am concerned, the Deathstalker series ended one book ago. Hopefully Green will fix this series with a GOOD book... but to be on the safe side I think I'll check his next one out from the library before I shell out another seven bucks. I recommend that everyone else do the same.
Rating:
Summary: What the ... ?
Review: I think I just might be the first person to write a review who has actually read the fifth and final installment of this series. And may I just say, I have never, EVER been more disappointed. I love the Deathstalker series. The first three books were fantastic. I've read them over and over. If you gave me a line, I could tell you exactly where it came from in the book. The fourth one was still good, although not nearly as well done as the first three. I feel that this fifth book goes into the same catagory at the fourth one. I didn't think it was as well written, or well thought out as the first three. Green set subplots in motion (ie: Constance and Owen's upcoming marriage) and then resolved them with one or two lines in the fifth book. Stories that had been building steam (ie: Diana's search about the Mater Mundi) were resolved in short, anti-climactic scenes. Then, the absolute, final insult to loyal readers is the ending. I have never, ever felt so cheated by a book. It's quite possibly the most un-satisfying that I've ever read. The great battle scene was anything but great. And then, what he does with Owen and Hazel ... Green should turn back time, and write a sixth book which resolves everything in a more satisfactory manner.
Rating: 
Summary: Fine end to a great series.
Review: I thought it was a great series. I can't help but wonder if the people complaining about the end of the last book actually read the first book ? Green tells you right at the start about Owen destiny. I think the author should be applauded for carrying through a plot line to the bitter end.
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable story !
Review: I waited so long for the fifth installment to come out. The book left me feeling numb and maybe a little peeved at the way Owen exits our lives.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty much awful
Review: If it hadn't been for the fact that normally Simon Green is such a great author, I would have given this one 1 star. This is the worst piece of writing I have seen him churn out. And I mean churn. The feeling just wasn't there anymore. I know this series is supposed to be a "space opera", and Simon Green "makes a virtue of taking things to extremes", but this was too much. One too many climactic moments, and you lose the drama. I think the biggest problem, though, was that Green seemed to lose interest in the characters. There was just no feeling in it. The whole story seemed rushed, as if Green was sick of this series and just wanted to finish it. His normally very smooth and fluid writing style slipped, and in numerous places the story was awkward, stilted, or just plain repetitive. Even the characters were bored. The Deathstalker series had been going downhill since the third book, and this book just cemented that slide. An unsatisfying and frankly badly written ending to an otherwise good series.
Rating:
Summary: Ended in true Deathstaklker style
Review: In the last book of this wonderful series, Green gives it his all in my opinion. Every charactor has their moment of glory and each follows through that development that was slated from the beginning. It may be argued that the series was intended to be over after the third, but I say the story would have been nowhere near over. Each charactor has something to learn, something to do. Each one has their desitiny to find. This book ended with a turn of plot so right, yet so frustrating, that I have been forcing people to read the series just so I could discuss it with them. In short, this is Green's best since Blue Moon Rising, maybe even better, when taken as a series.
Rating:
Summary: Worth reading to finish up the series, but...
Review: Just finished this. It's a good read in the sense that it wraps things up, and Green "keeps his promises" with the prophecies and so on. At the same time, though, I'm disappointed that a series that started strong kept weakening through the end. Characters: The characters, with a few exceptions, just didn't change much throughout the series--didn't grow as they should have through their experiences. One of the most interesting pairs, Silence and Frost, was broken up earlier in the series--and from then on, Silence's ability to change seems almost frozen. Considering the shattering events that go on, I would have expected much, much more dynamic characters. 2. Shattering events: Too many of them. At first the Empire was a decently well-detailed setting sociologically and historically (*especially* for space opera, which isn't really known for detailed backgrounds). After a while, though, all the new and suddenly-revealed-without-foreshadowing plot elements became almost repetitious. It's as if Green was wracking his brains for something new to happen. I would rather have seen new twists in the existing situation than adding more crises. The human brain can only take in so much death, destruction and chaos before feeling almost blasé about it. This is probably my biggest complaint with the way the series concludes, ESPECIALLY the "last threat" (it involves the Maze's purpose). 3. The ending. Without giving too much away, a lot of the answers and solutions seem too pat. In some cases the salvation seems undeserved--despite all the characters have gone through, they don't quite seem to have earned it (Related to point #1). OTOH, the tragedy of the ending was interesting, but I've seen similar situations better handled elsewhere (Alfred Bester's _The Stars My Destination_, among others) and seemed, again, to be an act of desperation on Green's part: how do I end this by keeping the prophecy (recapitulated for the reader's convenience at the beginning of the book) intact? === All in all, though, I have to give credit to Green for even *trying* to handle a scenario of this scope. It was probably too late to salvage more of the ending after book 3 or so: bigger problems require bigger guns, etc. (when negotiation just isn't an option). And given that, I will say I enjoyed the series. I just wish that it had lived up to its promise better, since I *know* Green is a darn fine writer when he gets everything working.
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