Eight years in the making, the adventures of Xavier "X" Rodriguez finally come to a close, and despite the fact that this moment is clearly overdue, it is still bittersweet. Nicholas Sansbury Smith writes a lot of post apocalyptic fiction, and if you described each of his series to me, this is the one I would be the least interested in. When I reviewed the first book in this series I wrote "I found that I was able to put aside the improbability of it all and just enjoy the thrill ride. The characters were interesting, the scenario was unique, and I thought it had a good mix of grit, heroism, and despair. So if you want something different, but not too deep, then put on your radiation suit get ready to dive - The Hive needs you." So, now that we have reached the end of this thrill ride, does the finale deliver the ending this series so richly deserves?

It is hard to believe that this series has reached book eleven already, but here we are. Xavier has finally stepped down and is no longer King of the Vanguard Islands, so he heads off with Magnolia in search of Michael, who is missing. Michael is out there somewhere trying to find a home for his family after they managed to escape the islands in the last book. Since they took the last remaining airship with them, Kade Long, who has taken over as king, has inherited an impossible situation. The Knights of the Coral Castle are coming for them, and they have no remaining air power of any kind. His master plan is to send out Gran Jefe, of all people, along with a few Barracudas to bring back two helicopters from an ancient facility. X, Michael, Kade and Gran Jefe means there are four separate story lines going on at the same time in four different locations. Has this series finally lost its way or does it all come together into something coherent?

I've felt for a while now that this series has gone on for too long, but after the shocking events of the last book I must admit that I have been eagerly waiting for this one. Fallout is also an excellent title because fans of the series know that Rolo's shocking betrayal is going to result in King Xavier becoming an unstoppable force bent of revenge. X is old, and he is losing the support of many of those around him, but he is called The Immortal for a reason. Rolo thinks X is dead so he has no clue what his actions have initiated. Of course Rolo's betrayal was the most devastating event of the last book but it wasn't the only thing that went sideways. Michael has also been deposed as leader of the Vanguard Islands by Charmer and Roger is MIA after the fall of Outpost Gateway. It all adds up to humanity being on the brink of extinction but I don't really care about any of that, Rolo needs to die.

The newest installment in the Hell Divers series has the action spread across multiple locations: the Vanguard Islands, Panama, and Australia. Since King Xavier decided in the last book that the Vanguard Islands were dying, he has been dispersing his people to try to find a solution. He is hoping they will either find resources to help in the short term or a potential new home for the long term. The legend of the Coral Castle is mocked by many, but X thinks it is real and he plans to find the mythical sanctuary. In his mind, the only way to save humanity is the find a new home before the scarcity of life in the Vanguard Islands triggers a war, and the Coral Castle is the best lead he has for finding such a place. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with him, and the various human factions are set to start that war as soon as he leaves to search for his fantasy home.

Much like King Xavier, aka The Immortal, this series just keeps plugging along despite the fact that the plot has reached multiple points where it could have been wrapped up nicely. I can't help but feel that this series is going to keep going until it ends in ruin, but luckily for us that point still hasn't arrived. Book 8, King of the Wastes, centers around the fact that the King has come to the conclusion that the Vanguard Islands are not sustainable. He knows that their recent victories have resulted in a population size that they can no longer provide for, not to mention that the structures that compose the Vanguard Islands are desperately in need of replacement parts that can't be manufactured. They need to expand their reach and a supply chain will need to be set up to allow for scavenging of resources from a much wider area. King Xavier has his eye on establishing an outpost near the Panama Canal in order to provide a means to scavenge both coasts of the Americas, but that idea is not new. It was also tried by his predecessor and it resulted in failure. The difference this time around is that King Xavier has the ability to once again call upon the Hell Divers to risk their lives so humanity can survive

The previous book was a total cliffhanger so it is up to this series finale to wrap up all the open storylines. The war in Europe went FUBAR when the dirty bombs did not wipe out the Variants as intended so Team Ghost is now up against a whole new level of enemy. The radiation from the bombs has caused the monsters to accelerate their rate of mutation and it has resulted in the evolution of a Queen mutant capable of controlling the others. Back in the US there is a full blown civil war underway and President Ringgold is on the run since many believe she ordered attacks on the very safe zones that she created. Horne is doing his best to keep Dr. Novato alive while Beckham is lost and presumed dead. Is it finally time for the human race to go extinct or will the remaining humans give all they have to prevail?

The fight for Earth has been lost. With the failure of Operation Redemption in the last book the human race now finds itself on the brink of extinction. The few humans still alive on Earth can barely recognize their own planet. All the freshwater gone and the oceans down to 21% of their former volume, and still the aliens continue to drain away the remaining water. Earth is now a barren planet and this is the world that the former crew of the grounded submarine, Ghost of Atlantis, is trying to survive in. Of course, things are not much better for their former commander, Captain Noble, who finds himself caged in some kind of alien zoo spaceship and headed to an unknown destination. Perhaps humanity's best hope of survival is Dr Winston's team who are on their way to Mars aboard the NTC Sunspot in a desperate attempt to find a new home - too bad for them the aliens are already there too.

What made this series unique at the start was the concept of trying to survive an apocalypse by living in the sky aboard airships. Once the focus moved down to the planet for the last two books there were times when the series felt like it had gone on a bit too long. The same storm related issues continue to arise over and over and the fights with the sirens have gotten old, but each time the story starts to drag a bit it is the characters that save the day. After a slow start to this one I was once again heavily invested in the outcome before it was over due to the characters and my desire to see them succeed. King Xavier has more enemies to fight than ever before, and that is saying something, and that means that humanity's future is as bleak as it has ever been. Certain Cazadores still resist his rule and cause internal strife while even larger external threats are organizing to come and take the Vanguard Islands for themselves. Once more we get a chance to find out if X, aka The Immortal, can live up to his nickname, or if time has finally run out for the dream of living on the surface.

All the freshwater on Earth is gone. Now the alien invaders are working on the oceans and they are down to about half their volume. If humanity is going to fight back, then the time is now. In the last book, the Cheyenne Mountain biosphere team proved that their new weapon was capable of disabling the alien shields so they shared that technology with the Ghosts of Atlantis, the last remaining military submarine. Now they have discovered a potential new alien vulnerability which could allow an attack to disable all of the aliens planet-wide. They shared this knowledge with the GoA as well and Captain Noble has decided it is worth the risk to launch such an attack. While his team works on a longer range version of the weapon to make this possible Noble notices that biosphere goes dark. He must now decide between his attack plan and investigating what happened to the scientists who made it all possible - the scientists he promised to protect.

Dr. Sophie Winston and her small band of survivors now understand how dire their circumstances are, but unfortunately they are not aligned on how best to move forward. The aliens have already removed all of the fresh water from the planet and now they are working on the oceans where they are sucking the water into the toward their orbiting ships. Back on land the aliens have set up a number of  "human farms" where they mount people onto poles and slowly drain the water from their bodies. The human farm that has been discovered in Colorado Springs has Sgt Overton adamant about mounting a rescue mission to save as many people as possible, but Sophie believes that such a mission would put them all at risk and she refuses to authorize it. The strain of this disagreement has them both at their breaking points.