_Heirs of Earth_ by Sean Williams and Shane Dix is the excellent, exciting climax to the trilogy that began with _Echoes of Earth_. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it a satisfying end to the series, though there were some unanswered questions, perhaps unavoidable given the almost unfathomable and deeply alien nature of the Spinners and the Starfish.
In fact, if I had any complaint about the book, it was at the end one never really truly understood what it was the Spinners and the Starfish - collectively known as the Ambivalence to the Yuhl - were doing. Sure, lots of theories were put out by Peter Alander, Caryl Hatzis, and the various engrams, but even at the very end (sorry if this is a spoiler) the reader doesn't know for sure. As I wrote, perhaps that is unavoidable given how vastly alien the authors made the Starfish and Spinners.
That doesn't mean the story is not otherwise excellent. The bulk of the book centered around a desperate mission by Peter, several versions of Caryl (both the original, Sol, and two other engrams of her), and one of the Frank Axford engrams to seek out the Starfish, first to do battle with them with a fleet of hole ships and probes to gain intelligence, then to infiltrate one of their massive vessels and hitch a ride to the Starfish fleet, in hopes of communicating with them, passing information to them about a star system that they have reason to believe to be the Spinner base in hopes of ending their destructive path through the stars. Unsure if they can even get aboard, survive while there, find someone to talk to in the Starfish fleet (rather than be destroyed out of hand), and get the Starfish to believe them, it is a plan with a lot of "ifs," very bold to be sure, but their last, best hope for those engrams and Yuhl who were not fleeing the Starfish front, attempting what some among the Yuhl called the "Species Dream," of finding a permanent home on a planet, hopefully having successfully neutralized or avoided the Starfish threat.
As in the second book, there were a number of surprises, particularly with regards to the Starfish themselves, the true nature of the Yuhl, and to the ultimate abilities of Frank Axford. While there was definitely an ending, the authors did leave room to explore the setting again. If they did, I would be interested in revisiting this universe.
I really enjoyed the trilogy as a whole and would definitely recommend it to anyone.
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