by V. E. Schwab
First sentence: “Victor stood before the metal door.”
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Release date: October 6, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher
Others in the series: Vicious, Victorious
Content: It is very violent, with a super high body count, and some of the deaths are quite violent. It’s also swearing, with multiple f-bombs. It will be in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Spoilers for the other two, obviously.

EON is still after Victor, though the solution he found isn’t working as well. Sydney and Mitch went on the run from them, separate from Victor, and EON has (yet) to track them down. It’s been three years since the night in Merit when everything went down, and they still don’t feel safe. And now, there’s a new director of EON, an ExtraOrdinary with a pretty scary ability, and whose single-minded focus will probably bring destruction on them all. How is it going to play out?

I am still surprised how much I like this series, even with the morally gray characters – no one is “good” in this universe – and the super-high body count. So many dead people, so little regret. And yet, I find myself captivated by this world of Schwab’s making, pulled into the questions it asks about what is good, and who gets to make decisions, and about grief and loss and vengeance. It’s a remarkably thoughtful series, for all its violence, and this is an absolutely perfect ending for it.

If you haven’t read the series, now is a good time to start.