Review: Only Human (Themis Files #3)

4 stars. Full of surprises! I think I originally thought this series was going to have a sort of fun, light, superficial, popcorn sci-fi flavor, and while it's pretty casual in tone, thematically it's quite heavy and dark. The big questions: are we alone in the universe? What if we are not? Are darkly answered in ways that made me think. (At one point I remember thinking - was this published pre-2016 or after? Boom. 2018. That explains a lot, TBH.)

After the devastating destruction in Waking Gods, Vincent (I loved, by the way, how snarky Vincent became by the end - Kara really rubbed off on him. I know the love triangle existed narratively for the purpose of his legs being broken/transformed, but that whole thing still felt... so weird to me), Eva, Dr. Rose, and Eugene land on the planet from which their beloved Themis originated. And they can't return home. But don't worry! Politics exist fucking everywhere! There's plenty of intrigue and culture to explore.

Meanwhile, humans have made a real mess of things (shock), and it all goes from bad to worse when our heroes are finally able to return after nine years. Suddenly it's country versus country, robot versus robot, human versus human with alien DNA. Jokes aside, this depiction of humanity's worst instincts - it's innate racism and willful ignorance - was really sobering, but not surprising. Like I said, this is a post-2016 world, and I'm a millennial. I think I know how things would go.

As a trilogy, The Themis Files is completely successful. Each book is fast-paced and creative, with compelling characters and epic twists. I can't emphasize enough how, whether due to the constrictions of the format or intentional choice, the story is simply not weighed down. Time moves quickly, characters move on and evolve, situations and circumstances shift without too much attention paid to the details. I loved this aspect. It felt fresh and springy and I felt swept along for the ride, in a great way.

But I will say I was hoping for a few things to happen that didn't. Primarily, the return of our nameless friend. I fucking loved him, and his presence was missed. If you have a device that can bring back the dead, why not use it on him?! Man, he was the best. He anchored the story down in ways I really appreciated. Plus, he was funny. I was hoping - really, truly hoping - right down to the very last page that his grey text would appear out of nowhere. I would've cheered. Sigh. Oh well. Can't have them all.

ANYWAY. I am so, so, so excited that I was able to close out another series. And it was such a fantastic one! Highly, highly recommend these books for the beach, or for a plane ride, or for anyone who just wants to slip into exciting sci-fi for a while. TEAM THEMIS!!

Only Human on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads