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“The Fall of Hades” is a unique continuation of the Michael Vey series. Author Richard Evan’s sixth edition to the series is likely to leave old fans wanting more but may disappoint those who expected this newest installation to live up to the expectations created by the last book in the series, “Storm of Lighting.”
In this book Michael and his friends aim to rescue the remaining Glows, a group of young teenagers born with electric powers, who still remain under the main antagonist, General Hatch’s, control. As Hatch sentences the remaining loyal Glows to death for their betrayal in the last book, time is ticking for whether or not they can still be saved. And with Michael’s powers still growing rapidly and the former leader of Hatch’s army on the run, things are more dangerous than ever.
However, the very little action that takes place in the book made every page feel like filler. There were a solid couple of chapters dedicated to Michael’s girlfriend Taylor breaking up with him for fearing that she would lose him. This drags on for a long time with very little plot action as they get back together easily once they go on the mission to save the other Glows. Not only those chapters, but several others, have little impact on the plot as a whole or the characters’ development. This can make the book a tedious read at times.
The characters are also rather one-dimensional and are not very relatable. Hatch is no longer a brilliant and deceiving scientist, but instead a deranged lunatic of pure evil. There are no longer any goals or reasoning behind his actions, he just seems to be the ultimate threat for the hero to defeat. Michael, also now has no flaws. This has become a trend in recent Michael Vey books. Characters are less relatable to the readers, making their actions seem random and unreasonable at times.
One thing that will still impress readers of the series is Evan’s ability to include many different viewpoints to the story. From Michael, to Hatch, to one of Hatch’s Glows, readers get insight on why each character is doing what they do.
Ultimately, this book is mainly used by the author to set the stage for the final installment. For most readers this will make most of the middle of the book tedious to read, but the ending is ultimately satisfying. “The Fall of Hades” will leave long time fans and readers eagerly looking forward to the final book in the series.
