The Width of the World (Vega Jane, #3)

by David Baldacci

David Baldacci is back with The Width of the World, the third book in the Vega Jane series which began with his instant #1 global bestseller and award-winning YA fantasy debut The Finisher.

This is it. Vega Jane's time. Lied to her whole life, she has broken away from Wormwood, the only home she's ever known, and headed off into the Quag in search of the truth. She battles horrors to fight her way through it, with her best friend, Delph, and her mysterious canine, Harry Two, alongside her. Against all odds, they survive – but arrive into a place that's even worse. Not because deadly beasts roam the streets, but because the people there are enslaved and don't even know it. It's up to Vega, Delph, Harry Two and their new comrade, Petra, to take up the fight against savage and cunning new foe – and their triumph or failure will determine the fate of the whole world.

• ISBN10: 1509844988
• ISBN13: 9781509844982
• Publish Date: 9 March 2017 (first published 1 March 2017)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 29 December 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Imprint: Macmillan Children's Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 480
• Language: English

Reviews

"Do you want to win a single battle, or do you want to win the bloody war? Because I don't reckon we can do both." 

 The Width of the World continues where the The Keeper ended. Vega, Delph, Harry-Two and Petra have travelled through the Quag and now find themselves in a place called True, which seems perfect on the surface, but it hides darkness and danger underneath. Vega Jane, our main character, has gone through plenty of trials in the previous two novels and while she's grown as a character, there's a lot of things that I miss about her such as her curiosity, defiance and need for the truth. In The Width of the World, Vega heavily relies on her magical abilities and her other strengths, such as her practical nature and her ability to adapt to different situations, are ignored. I miss the wide-eyed innocent Vega from The Finisher and I'm not a fan of her character development in The Width of the World. Delph, Vega's best friend, is a precious cinnamon roll and my favourite character in the series. Harry-Two is an extremely adorable and loyal canine. I also like Petra because her character has the perfect combination of toughness and vulnerability. There's also a love triangle between Vega, Delph and Petra, but there's very little romance in The Width of the World. At first I found Vega's and Petra's jealousy extremely hilarious and poor Delph is so oblivious about what's going on. However, after a while the constant jealousy and distrust between Vega and Petra started getting on my nerves. 

"And love was a funny thing. It could be wonderful and positive and simply good. Or it could be the power behind things truly ugly." 

 Aside from the main characters, the other characters in The Width of the World are one-dimensional. In The Finisher and The Keeper, most of the secondary characters are unpredictable and have questionable motives, but in The Width of the World the lines between good and bad are easy to see. The world-building in The Width of the World is quite good, but because it's grounded in a more realistic setting, there isn't many creatures. monsters and imagination. The Finisher and The Keeper are not original, but there's something that makes them unique. The Width of the World lacks uniqueness. However, it's not the preparations for war that has me itching to get my hands on the next book in the series, it's that TERRIBLE cliff-hanger ending. How could the Maladons destroy Wormwood?!? How could they kill almost everyone?! And, how could they do that to Thansius?!? It's so damn sad! 

"Evil can triumph over good. But that has more to do with the failings of the good than the successes of the bad." (Virgil Alfadir Jane)