“One is a blessing. Two is a curse.”

Marcus Battle is back for the 7th book in the Traveler series – and this one is the finale (part one). And what a part it was. Long-time readers of the series will be thrilled that Lou is back in this book – along with some other familiar faces.

We’re also introduced to a completely new world post-Scourge and post-Wall. Abrahams introduces us to the Population Guard. A government force that assures that the population “doesn’t get out of hand” by enforcing a one-child limit to every family (including a fantastic quote from the book “One is a blessing. Two is a curse.“)

Now, this new plot point deserves a lot of extra focus here because of the final two books in this series (this one, Hero, and the final book Harbor). We’re also introduced to the new underground railroad. This time is to smuggle families with multiple kids to a safe place (I won’t fully ruin the plot points around this here, but know that it’s easily one of the most interesting plot points this deep into a series I’ve read in quite some time).

Hero itself is such a bittersweet book. I know that the Traveler and with it Battle are coming to an end and I’m meeting that with both happiness and sadness. There are scenes in this book that tore me up. A specific scene with Lou’s son’s drawing really got to me. (Trying not to spoil anything, just be prepared to be angry at the ninjas chopping onions).

I also respect that Abrahams can poke fun at himself and his novels while inside of one of his novels. This back and forth got me a bit:

““Sounds like some dude in a dime-store novel, doesn’t it?” Marcus joked. “Like some pulp fiction writer made up some unkillable soldier type, dunked him into one horrible situation after another, and the dude survives against all odds. Like the trials of Job but worse. Makes you wonder what hell I’ve got in front of me.””

Overall, I obviously loved Hero. It had everything I wanted and it really sets the stage for what is going to be a fantastic finish. I feel like I’m in Abrahams’ head a bit and I have a feeling that we’re all going to be satisfied with how that book ends.

Just be warned – this is kind of a “part 1” to the finale of the book, so it kind of abruptly ends (setting things up for book 8 in a few weeks). I can’t wait to see where Battle and Lou take us, but I know it’s going to be good. I could go on about this book for a long time but if you’ve read the books leading up to this, you’ll enjoy this one a lot.