Meridian by Josin McQuein

Nanobots! The Fade are nanobot people!

I did warn you yesterday that there would be Arclight spoilers. Just thought I'd get them out of the way.

Things have changed in the Arclight, some would say for the better. Those they'd thought were lost to the Dark have returned and the truth about the Fade has finally been revealed. What's more, the new discovery that not all of the Fade are bad has given room to a bit more freedom in the Arclight. But when one of their own is infected, the old fears rise again. 

It turns out there are different tribes of Fade within the Dark. Bolt, Rue, and Marina's family have been trying to protect the Arclight, but the enemy Fade are closing in. And then the Arclight discovers proof of other survivors. Other survivors who don't have the benefit of a friendly group of Fade to help them. Other survivors who may know of a way to beat the enemy Fade.

Meridian proved to be a great follow up to Arclight, but one that does leave a lot of questions. I read that in a perfect world the author would actually write two additional Arclight novels - a third story to round everything out and a prequel telling Honoria's story. And man do I wish these books were happening!

First it's just not a world I want to be done with. The enemy are man made nanobots! Or, nanites and they're called in the book. Nanites that were created to help humanity and ended up being its downfall. The Arclight folks have discovered a cure, but it's not 100% foolproof.

Marina is plagued by her other self, Cherish. She battles constantly with the split feelings and the sense of belonging elsewhere. But Marina/Cherish don't truly belong with the Fade or with the people of the Arclight. It's something I expect would play out even further if there were to be a third installment but it does provide a good bit of conflict for our heroine in this second part of the series.

We get a few other perspectives in this second installment: Tobin and Honoria. Tobin and some of the others discover that their parents have been hiding a pretty key bit of info from them their entire lives. Info that Honoria has a hand in keeping from them as well - which of course is more ammunition for both Marina and the reader to hate her. But Honoria shares her journal with Marina. The journal, written by a very young Honoria, provides important insight into both the world they live in and the character herself.

I'm disappointed that there apparently won't be more books in the series. I did so enjoy both of the books! I also feel extremely guilty for not having covered them here on the blog sooner.

Rating: 4.5/5