For the first time, again

At the close of Until the Last of Me (2022), the last Tracker activated an ancient beacon that will bring hostile aliens to Earth and now seeks to make amends for the death of an old foe by finding a way to stop the coming invasion. Twelve-year-old Aster is completely unaware she is the 102nd of her genetic line, having been put up for adoption as a baby by her mother, the 101st. When a violent attack leaves her orphaned, homeless, and on the run from the United States military, the FBI, the police, and a giant, homicidal alien, Aster is rescued by someone who should be her enemy, Samael, the last Tracker. The action-packed finale of the Take Them to the Stars trilogy alternates between the arrival on Earth of the original DNA-altered aliens 3,000 years ago and the last two adversaries. The symmetry between these story arcs, centered around actual historical places and events, offers a satisfying, full-circle denouement. Fans of Neuvel's Themis Files trilogy will be delighted with Epilogue II.

Neuvel concludes his alternate history Take Them to the Stars trilogy (after Until the Last of Me) with this exciting race against time. In 1999, 12-year-old Aster wakes up in a Mississippi hospital after witnessing her adoptive father's death. Her unusual blood tests draw attention from U.S. Col. Benjamin Veilleux, who attempts to bring her against her will with him to D.C. Aster sneaks away and narrowly evades recapture with the help of Samael, who claims to be a friend of the mother she never met. Aster initially rejects Samael's story that they are both descended from a pair of alien scouts, but submits to his combat training to protect herself from both the government and a different species of invading aliens lured to Earth by a mysterious beacon. The pair hide out from their enemies in a remote Philippine village--until Aster comes up with an audacious plan to send the beacon into space on a probe and so misdirect the incoming aliens. Neuvel keeps the frantically paced plot tight and effectively counterbalances all the action with nuanced character work. Series fans will not be disappointed. (Apr.)