Review: Rebellion

Second in a trilogy
By Stephanie Diaz
Available now from
Review copy
Read my review of Extraction

REBELLION starts a week after EXTRACTION ends.  Clementine keeps flashing back to Oliver's death and the other terrible things she's been through.  Her mind is still sharp, but she's not exactly up to taking part in space battles. 

But time is ticking down for the rebels to foil Commander Charlie's plans, and she and her boyfriend Logan go undercover in a work camp while the other rebels infiltrate other places.  Clementine's mission: sow dissent and prevent the workers from being injected with a mind-control serum.  (It all makes sense if you've read the first book.)

Clementine and Logan's relationship was a highlight of REBELLION for me, so I liked getting to see them interact more.  They each make the other feel more safe, but their dedication to each other can be used against them.  However, much of the cast is new as Clementine is sent to a new location.  There are some reoccurring characters, including an antagonist from Clementine's childhood who proves to be more than a senseless bully.

Unfortunately, REBELLION did feel like the middle book in a trilogy.  EXTRACTION promised aliens, but they aren't quite there during the time period of REBELLION.  There's a new setting, but it's pretty similar to the Surface of the first book, and the differences aren't explored in depth.  There's a greater focus on internal conflict until the antagonist shows up.  (Oddly, the conflict remains mostly internal, but for a very external cause.)

I'm excited to see how Stephanie Diaz will finish her debut trilogy.  She knows how to write a fun sci-fi yarn, and she ended REBELLION with one hell of a hook.