The stunning conclusion to the riveting Gregor the Overlander series. Everyone in the Underland has been taking great pains to keep The Prophecy of Time from Gregor. Gregor knows it mustay something awful but he never imagined just how awful: it calls for the warrior's death. Now, with an army of rats approaching and his mum and sister still in Regalia, Gregor the warrior must gather up his courage to help defend Regalia and get his family home safely. The entire existence of the Underland is in Gregor's hands, and time is running out. There is a code to be cracked, a mysterious new princess, Gregor's burgeoning dark side, and a war to end all wars
As a whole, I've enjoyed The Underland Chronicles. However, I do find myself a little disappointed that almost every series or trilogy ends with a grand war. Or more specifically, a last book where a single war takes up the entire plot. Yes, it does make for compelling reading and I was engaged the whole time, but I feel like it's somehow . . . wrong (?) to need all this violence in order to craft intensity for the climax (i.e. the last book). It also seems like a Collins trademark now, her last books need to be ridiculously war-centered with way too much gore and killing.
This aspect certainly seemed overdone in Gregor and the Code of Claw. I couldn't tell you how much imagery included blood dripping, spurting, running down and mixing with someone else's blood, seeping, etc. Not to mention this is for a young audience. I feel in order to create this emotional and action-packed potency she needed to make everything as violent as possible, and it made me feel like she lost track of the children she was writing for. There was even a scene where a rat ripped the head off another. It just seemed like too much, like she's feeding the stereotype that children need action and violence to be entertained. There certainly was a lot of that here.
All that aside, though, it wasn't all bad. I enjoyed Lizzie's role, and the softer side of Ripred. I felt like the relationship between Luxa and Gregor became a bit planned and awkward (including making Luxa's role "smaller" because she needed to be protected all the time since she was a woman and beloved by the male protagonist, despite her skill).
But all in all this series has some beautiful moments and great story lines that I enjoyed.
