“Your lack of ‘purpose’ is the single best thing about you, because it means you be whatever you want.”
(Marcus to Kira)
Ruins by Dan Wells, chapter 41, page 370
The remaining Partials and humans are on the brink of war as Ruins by Dan Wells opens. Ruins is the third book in the Partial Sequence trilogy. Kira and Samm are still in the middle of it all, except this time they’re separated by miles of toxic wasteland. There’s still no stable cure for RM, the virus killing human babies, or a solution to beating the expiration date that threatens the Partials. Both sides are desperate for survival, but neither is willing to trust each other.
Kira and Samm are determined to save everyone and the fragile world that is experiencing its first real winter since the Break.
The final book of The Partials Sequence sweeps across a world ravaged by an apocalypse and now facing another set of extinction events. However, at the heart of it all are small bands of resistance fighters—both Partials and humans, hell-bent on stopping the end of the world.
There’s a lot I liked about this series and about the last installment of the story. It’s more than just a dystopian saga. The Partials Sequence combines sci-fi with a medical thriller, action-adventure, and drama all tied together in a YA package. And for me, it works.
I’ve found the world-building in the Partials Sequence—all the way through Ruins and its conclusion, to be strong and immersive. His descriptions drew me in, from the colonized “civilization” on Long Island to the barren and crumbling city of Chicago, the toxic midwest plains, and the oasis in Colorado that only exists because of bio-tech. Wells has created a world decimated by humanity. It’s not a place I’d want to live, but the survivors have hope.
Character-wise, everyone has an agenda, even the heroes. I really liked how author Wells manages to bring the different factions together without it feeling contrived or unrealistic. Told primarily from Kira’s perspective, Wells does offer readers insight into the minds and motivations of Samm, Kira’s sisters, and even Heron. I’ll admit in book one, Partials, I wasn’t fond of Marcus. By book two, Fragments, he began to grow on me, and by Ruins, I really liked him. His wit and unwavering determination to do the right thing won me over.
If you’re looking for an action-packed dystopian series filled with twists and turns and just the right balance of thriller and romance, The Partials Sequence by Dan Wells is a good choice. Overall, I think Ruins is my favorite of the main trilogy.