^I always wondered if the Chee and Yeerk Peace Movement worked together (and if not, why?).
Personally, this is one of the most disappointing books in the series for me. Marco's my favorite character, and this should be really momentous for his character arc, but it never gets followed up on in the other books and many opportunities for character development are shoved aside for ten pages of gathering speed (totally agreeing with Anijen here) and a car chase. I mean, really. I also feel like Edriss' death is poorly executed; for Eva and Marco, pretty much everything that has gone wrong with their lives in the last 5+ years can be traced back to Edriss, and yet Marco seems not to get any satisfaction out it. I believe he should, especially since early-book Marco had some Rachel-ish revenge issues (see: shark in the swimming pool, sharks on Royan Island, the "rage" monologue in #10, the joy he took out of pestering William Roger Tennant). Also, Edriss is a fascinating character and possibly the most interesting villain in the entire series, and yet her death is very anticlimactic.
That said, I do like the actual events of the book, I just think they needed to be given more weight. And I actually really liked the bit about Nora - it's easy to forget that Marco's not only a teenager, but not really the nicest teenager in the world, and the war has made him even more ruthless and desperate. I think it's pretty certain he lies about Nora, effectively writing her off. Maybe it's to save his dad the pain, but more likely it's so Marco can finally get that dream he's been holding onto since book 5 - the reunification of his family. When the option is available to him, he takes it, and that's both harsh and in-character. But I may just like it because it gave me angsty Nora fanfic fodder.
