The End

"I don't want to just fade away."

Writer: Simon Guerrier
Format: Audio
Released: November 2010
Series: Graceless 1.03

Featuring: Abby, Zara

Synopsis

"The Grace don't know everything. We have to do what's right!"

Abby and Zara's past is catching up with them. A man they did wrong by has hunted them down across all of time and space, just to sell them out.

The space pirate Kreekpolt knows the sisters can save his daughter's life – even if it burns Abby and Zara completely away.

After that, ten thousand dead souls – hungry and empty and furious – want whatever is left...

Verdict

The End was a very good conclusion to what has been a great first series of Graceless! This tied things up nicely for the first volume of the spinoff and I liked how it followed straight on from The Fog. The continuous narrative of the series has definitely worked well and there were a lot of familiar elements during this adventure. We had Abby and Zara trapped in a faraday cage after Marek essentially kidnapped them after we discovered he'd made a bargain with a time-travelling pirate. I loved the reference to The Prisoner's Dilemma with Zara recalling Ace, albeit not by name, as the woman who could open any lock. I thoroughly enjoyed the fast-paced background music at the start of the story as it really pumped me up for what I was about to listen to. Marek blaming the sisters for the events of The Sphere was not too surprising, and Abby wanting to hear of the damage she'd caused accompanying the little flashback sequence was very good. The whole world being annihilated with just 19 of 100,000 surviving was incredible damage. I was intrigued with how differently the sisters reacted to that revelation. Kreekpolt knowing of Abby and Zara was interesting and he knew of their power and had bargained with Marek to attain their services. There was a frantic action packed sequence as Marek tried to get out of the deal. We had a quick birth of Zara's baby who Marek took off with in an escape pod, leaving the sisters to Kreekpolt's mercy. It turned out that he was a desperate man and wanted nothing more than to save his daughter's life who had been terribly burned. She looked horrific by all accounts. Abby was prepared to die to save Persephone and didn't want anything for it. She gave her life freely. I thought that was a really nice touch. Their powers were waining though and Abby and Zara were unable to reach Persephone and in their efforts they lost the time rings! As if they weren't stranded enough. Zara recalling Zink giving that to her was excellent. Their idea of going to the planet of rain to feel something of the Grace and restore some of their powers was terrific and very exciting. Kreekpolt was willing to do anything to save his daughter. The issues of trying to actually get onto the planet were fantastic and I liked how it was protected through both space and time. Then the series as a whole all came together unexpectedly as we were taken back to Daniel and the mysterious fog. The pub had 19 customers, those that survived the Sphere, and the sisters could only drink tasteless beer whilst being looked on sternly by the fellow customers. Lindsey then showing up was very good and I thought it was admirable of Abby to willingly offer her life to save Persephone and those she had killed on the Sphere. Marek thinking he was dreaming and it being his guilty conscience was quite fun and I liked finding out that they'd had a baby girl. That just seemed right. Marek wanting Zara to want him was a good element to throw in and show that he's not quite as boisterous as he makes out. But he couldn't choose between the sisters which quite surprised me! Daniel merging in with the conversation and claiming that Marek was terrified was also quite intriguing. Zara experiencing all of the places she has been and caused wreckage whilst accepting that she couldn't put anything right was a very good development and it was good to acknowledge that she knew her wrongdoing. She has definitely developed as a character considerably since The Judgement of Isskar. Zara thinking that Daniel was a way of him helping them passover into death was great and the connection there with Marek as an anchor to hold onto was also very good. Finding out that everything was just part of the disruption field of the planet of rain was terrific. It had overloaded their senses and everyone was seeing nightmares. But the rain would help free up the thoughts. Abby and Zara were back at the Chaos Pool which I thought was fantastic to bring full circle. They had restored some of their powers, but they could only ask the Grace when it came to saving Persephone. They denied saving her outright as they'd learned that everything came at a price. Kreekpolt had to give up his life to save his daughter's which was a powerful moment. He gave it willingly though which was admirable! The Grace talking through Daniel was good and foreshadowing future events with the pain that was to come for the sisters was excellent and I'm excited to hear where things move from here. Zara having a child had upset the balance and there was now a powerful connection between them and Marek. They were granted life eternal and would only die when they wished it which I would be extremely envious of! I somehow think one of them will wish it without the other in the future. I suspect Persephone will play a role in the future after the warning of the more they helped her, the more they might suffer. The Grace saw how things ended and it didn't seem good! Zara getting to see her baby as the story finished was wonderful and I liked how she was named Joy. I'm still not a huge fan of Marek and his reaction when he thought he might get a threesome was pretty funny. But now for Abby and Zara, it was time to do the right thing. They couldn't undo what they'd done, but they could start helping others. Overall, a great end to a very good first series!

Rating: 8/10