Marie Lu returns to the world of Skyhunter with Steelstriker, the explosive finale to the YA dystopian series. After the crushing loss of Skyhunter, the Strikers are left battered and defeated: Mara fallen to the Federation, Red and the others scattered, and Talin transformed into a deadly Skyhunter, forced to serve her sworn enemy as personal guard of the Federation’s leader. Even with their weakened link, Red is determined to make things right: free Talin, reunite the Strikers, and loosen the Federation’s iron grip on Mara. But with her mother’s life in the hands of the Federation’s leader, Talin has given up hope – that is, until she hears the whispers of a growing rebellion within the Federation, one whose allies reach further than she could imagine. Steelstriker will be a hit with YA dystopian fans who enjoy the gory details, like a touch of romance, and aren’t too picky about quality of writing.

Despite this eye-catching premise, Steelstriker suffers greatly from its weak writing. Imprecise, clunky, and often unimaginative, the sentences themselves weigh down the story in prose that make it difficult to focus on what the characters are even doing. This was especially true of the writer’s attempts at intense emotions, where the lack of showing instead of telling resulted in a reader disconnect that left me rolling my eyes at the page on more than one overdramatized occasion. The style itself has an undeniably juvenile feel, which in and of itself would not be a problem were it not paired with such dark subject matter. With the writing of a mediocre middle-grade novel applied to descriptions of gruesome injury, torture, and death, it was unclear who the author’s target audience was.

The characters fared somewhat better, if with great inconsistency. Some of the main cast were quite well fleshed out, with my surprise favorite being the Federation’s leader, Constantine. Despite being undisputedly vicious and amoral, his realistic complexity was enough to garner the reader’s understanding and earn him a place as one of the better-written characters. Others, however, suffered from the results of an overinflated cast. Tomm, Pira, and even the Chief Architect fell onto a long list of characters about whom the reader learns little more than a name.

Steelstriker certainly taps into a tried-and-true YA dystopian blueprint, and many subplots piqued my interest as I read. Even so, the dry writing and sluggish pacing made it difficult to keep my eyes from wandering. The latter worsened considerably with the book’s end, which reached a satisfying conclusion and then continued for three more pointless chapters. The author’s puzzling ratio of action to internal monologue, unsurprisingly, did not ameliorate this problem.

With an interesting main cast and strong premise, Steelstriker is decent entertainment for readers in search of a quick YA dystopian story. Anyone looking for characters to fall in love with, a plot to keep them up past midnight, or masterful writing that will leave them in tears, though, is better off skipping this one.