After more than a decade of fighting, the end has finally arrived. The war is almost over.
Topia has been born.
A few courageous Day Soldiers have chosen to make a final stand against a world of vampires. They know it’s a battle they’ll probably lose, but they made a promise to protect the day and it’s a promise they intend to keep.
They fight because they are the Day Soldiers. They fight because nobody else can.
They fight because, if they don’t, all hope is lost.
Sometimes, redefining victory is the only way to achieve it…
Brandon Hale grew up in a small Virginia town. It was in that town that he met his first love: Horror books and movies. He wrote his first full length novel when he was 17. In the decades since, he has written nonstop, producing multiple novels and short stories.
Brandon's first published novel was The Gods and the Builders. Shortly after that, his second novel - Day Soldiers - was released. Brandon is currently finishing up the second book in the Day Soldiers trilogy (which should be released in late June). The third Day Soldiers book is expected to be released by late August.
Brandon still lives in Virginia with his wife Laura.
To follow the most up-to-date information about Brandon's books (and to just have some fun with him), be sure to check out his Facebook page:
The one thing I love about this series is the humor! It really makes you believe that these could be real people with real friendships.
So this is the 3rd book in the series. The Day Soldiers are trying to regroup and figure out what the next step needs to be. Once again the story is faced paced. There is lots of action, loss, and OMG moments. It's another great book to the series. I felt like the 3rd book was a good ending but there is a 4th which I am going to start right after this. This series has such a great plot and characters.
Each Day Soldiers book is different, and, in true trilogy fashion, each gets darker than the one before. Topia deals with an almost post apocalyptic world. Well, America at least. It's been a year since Travis bombed the country and the Day Soldiers have been hiding in their bunker, cut off from the outside world. When they emerge, they find a world who hates them, Humans and Vampires both.
Like the other two, the plot of this isn't clear from the outset, meaning much of the story is unpredictable. During the Day Soldiers last stand (which makes up the better part of a third of the book) you truly have no idea who will survive, or who will win. It is gripping stuff. And the question of whether Lily herself will survive to the end is as well handled as J K Rowling did with Harry in the Deathly Hallows. And just as exciting.
All the characters retain their individual brilliance, but my favourite part is a portion of the story where two of my favourites go on a mission together. Carl and Travis have such a chemistry, both hating the other and threatening to kill him, while still getting the job done. Travis is just brilliant in every scene he's in, but he's just wasted when he's not with Carl. If this were a TV show, those two would be most likely to get their own spin off.
There is a little niggle I have, though. From the first book, we have heard of the possibility of a 'good creature', and here, Abbie goes in search of one. While the philosophical questions raised may be interesting, what she is in search of is little more than a deus ex machina. Almost literally. But as with the destruction of the One Ring in the Lord of the Rings, it is the journey that matters. A deus ex machina is only really detrimental when not looked for.
The last book sowed seeds that come back here, especially with the concept of good and evil, and the question of whether the vampires have actually built a better world. The questions aren't fully answered by the end, and I'm glad Hale didn't try, but he has written a series which makes you think. Is humanity its own worse enemy? Do we need an outside force to enslave us to save the world?
All in all, a brilliant end to one of the best series I have read. I could mention the average writing again, but the quality of the story, the characters, the tying up of plot threads, the philosophical questions asked, all makes it irrelevant.
This book perfectly finishes the series so far, which given that I know there's another book afterwards is kind of worrying. I thoroughly enjoyed this book because all the loose ends were starting to get woven in and everything was getting straightened out, sure we had the arrival of the GCs, which if I explained what they were would seem ridiculous and far fetched, but once again the author ties them in perfectly. About half way through the book it started to feel like the last in the series and after flicking onto the last page I was so happy to see how everything ended. I'm actuyally not looking forward to reading the last story because of it though.
It's been a year since Travis launched the bombs. The Day Soldiers have been in an underground bunker but now it's time to come up. Things have changed and not everyone thinks the Day Soldiers have done them any favours. Regardless, they know they must fight for the freedom of humanity.
This is another amazing book by Brandon Hale. He has written an incredibly addictive series and I loved every minute of it.
J.r.c. Salter who reviewed this in April here described this series perfectly.
Book 4 according to Brandon Hale's website will be coming out. I am eagerly awaiting it to hit the shelves.
There is an official campaign on his website to help get Day Soldiers pick up as a mini-series. Please visit booksfromhale.com to help make this happen.
Another excellent book in the series! I'm already starting the next one. I do have to admit, for me it started slowly, but the slow part was necessary for the second half of the book to be incredible. I absolutely loved it. There is nothing I would change in the book.
I love the GC (if you don't know what the GC is, read the book, it's so worth it).
This book was awesome! Better than the 1st & 2nd; don't know how the 4th could be any better. Whole lot of action in this one, more supernatural stuff, finally get Lilly & Scott to admit their feelings. The humor gets better, too. I actually did laugh out loud. Loved the way this ended & ready for the next book.