And so I have finally finished this series I started ages ago, and what I have to say is: Well shit.

It has been brutal and intense from the start, and the finale does not disappoint. I was literally, physically, on the edge of my seat towards the end.

Ik was serieus vergeten dat de boeken van Michael Grant zo smerig waren...

My rating is based on the following:
If you're going to not only end a trilogy, but title it Apocalypse, then it needs to live up to its name.
It was BANANAS.

Michael Grant continues to slay. Pun intended. He was not joking using the word "apocalypse" in his title, and for that I am grateful. So gory. So messed up. So wonderful. Sad to see this series end.

The BZRK series has always been full of action, and Apocalypse certainly didn't disappoint. Right from the start, it was fast-paced and apocalyptic. It starts with outbreaks of madness among people and you start to wonder how non-BZRKers are also going crazy. Madness or death was the motto of BZRK - but now suddenly all over the world people are seeing biot visions and going crazy the next minute when those biots are destroyed. Meanwhile, the New York cell of BZRK is dealing with how to get rid of the Armstrong Twins who survive the sinking of the Doll Ship and how to then stop this overall madness that has started to spread. Bug Man gets recruited by an unlikely person, and it is then you realize that in the BZRK universe, there is no definite good or evil. There were quite many surprises, but the most shocking one was the identity of Lear and Caligula. A lot of plot threads, in this book as well as the last, were being tied up throughout the book, so it was a gradual completion of the character arcs.

What I probably love (other than oodles of action), is the fact that even with a fast paced plot, Grant manages to give each character importance, be it by POV or just a statement. Sadie in particular, was so much delved into, as a character. Her evolution from a rich teen girl to leader of an army to a battle-hardened girl was so heart-breaking. I thought Vincent losing his biot in the last book was tragic, but Apocalypse made that seem like an ouchie moment. It is brutal, both in prose as well as in feelings - I will warn you. The amount of manipulation and brain-washing, and the paltry HEA that is offered in the epilogue - this book hits you right in the feels. But it also takes you on a nail-bitingly anxious ride, so that just enhances it. I'm not exactly happy, because this book is painful, but more content that this was a brilliant ending to the series. The nanobots, blue goo, and the biots - between all of them, Earth was in danger quite a few times. Even the world-saving came at a great cost, and the death toll of the book was certainly high.

In conclusion, amazing book and brilliant finale, complemented by well-defined character arcs, lush descriptions of the scenario down in the meat, and fast-paced action. Must-read.

Received an ARC from Egmont USA via Netgalley and Edelweiss, which in no way affects my opinons or review