Plus Ia was quite capable of controlling that ship by herself (she's been a one woman army all series, why stop now?) or if she had to take the minimum with her 5 people would have sufficed. She had openly told them to their faces that she would let ppl and their families (or planet) die if it suited her plans more, and yet this one thing was the straw that broke the camel? 🧐 That makes zero sense. She manipulates everything she can and gets shitty when things don't go her way, but now they call her a two fisting bitch for it? which she had done her entire life, and was fairly open about that. Everyone threw an (unbelievable) temper-tantrum because Ia had manipulated them into a better position. The scene that Johnson created to make everyone go with Ia at the end was also fucked. **Being vague is a pain - spoilers ahead.** Theirs Not to Reason Why is Ia's story but Ia's story was always the foundation for someone else's. If there isn't then a lot of the setup in this series is odd. I imagine there are other stories that will be set in this universe and published at a later date. Damnation is all ending preceded by a small recap. You could read any of the other four books in the series get a story albeit a story with muddled and confusing elements. But the main problem is that Damnation doesn't tell a story.

Jean Johnson toys with the former, but Ia becomes a Commander Shepherd, and the ending here is about as satisfying. Either Ia becomes the Admiral-General herself and guides the Terrans in a long life or she becomes a Commander Shepherd. Really, there were two likely endings for this series from my perspective. The Grey war must be fought, so it's fought. Sanctuary has to become isolated behind Grey lines, so it's isolated behind Grey lines. Conflicts and events are presented in a detached methodical way. Secondary characters, most of whom were never really developed, fall by the wayside (I think the Admiral-General of TUPSF has the second most dialogue and appearances) and many feel forgotten.

Meanwhile many threads introduced and explored before Hellfire never reemerge. Many loose threads are being tugged at simultaneously in an effort to wrap up Ia's journey and it doesn't work. This book is abrupt at the best of times. It was somewhere between a like and okay but I was optimistic about Damnation while being slightly concerned about the abrupt split book end. A year passed and I got a copy of Hardship.

A mix of sometimes interesting world building with storytelling that falls behind. I borrowed the book from a friend who had An Officer's Duty and Hellfire immediately available. When I started Ia's journey in A Soldier's Duty I liked it. Damnation isn't a separate, individual story, it's 371 pages of ending.

Damnation by jean johnson