Day of Doom

Fair Warning: I came to this book because I am reading past David Baldacci works that I haven't yet read. At first, when I saw the series name 39 clues I was excited because I thought this would be a longer running Baldacci series. I was a bit confused since this was the only title in that series in his book list though so I didn't know if the series hadn't met with good reviews and the publisher cancelled it. So imagine my surprise when I got this from the library and saw it was book 6!After a little investigating, I discovered The 39 Clues was a Scholastic (young adult) series that has had several authors.So . . . needless to say I haven't read the previous books in the series. This is another series that I probably won't actively seek out other books in the series but if another one crossed my path, I might read it. WARNING: SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW. READ ON AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION:I was a little lost jumping into the 6th (and apparently last) book in this series. I could and did read this on its own, but I suspect if you read the previous books, you will have a better understanding of what is going on and who is who in the large cast of characters. I did find it a little hard to believe that the world is at stake and its fate is in the hands of teenagers (and 1 old man) who have to fight the evil villains (The Vespers). There are some good observations about the difference between good vs. evil.

Getting on a train for a 5 hour trip I thought I can't go wrong with David Baldacci, right? Luckily I managed to get a good sleep on the train.

In all fairness, I should have checked and realised that it was a young adult book, so I should rate it appropriately but I just can't do it :-(

Day of Doom by David Baldacci is the disappointing conclusion to the Cahills vs. Vespers series. Why he was brought on write the ending is a mystery to me.At the start of the 39 Clues, there was an educational aspect to the books. Despite the silliness of all these competing teams and the online interactive bits for diehard readers, there was some actual history, culture, and geography thrown in. The educational aspects fell to the wayside in this second series and by the end, any actual grip on reality is completely lost.At the end of Trust No One by Linda Sue Park, the siblings realize they have been gathering the pieces of a doomsday device designed by Archimedes. A magical version of this thing appears in Mark of Athena and The House of Hades (reviews coming) both by Rick Riordan. So maybe I should be making the sink eye at him too.Most of this book is the final race across the country to rescue the prisoners and turn off the doomsday device before it can be completely activated. This device has the following non-sensical effects: strange weather, plans unable to fly (due to reversed polarity) and a massive subduction zone generated earthquake (and land tsunami)! But — but — but — the subduction zone is in the Rocky Mountains — in an Amtrak tunnel. Colorado doesn't have a subduction zone (as there is no plate diving beneath another). What it does have is an extensive aquifer network.There are so many things wrong with the premise that I just would need about a month's worth of posts to outline why this book is just so wrong. And it's not a fun wrong. It's a frustrating, book-tossing-worthy wrong. It's extra-special wrong because it doesn't fit the personality of the previous books, even remotely.But let's take a deep breath and set the doomsday device aside to look at the the Vesper organization. All the way through we've been told that no one knows who Vesper One is because everyone goes by a number only. As anyone with the right credentials can be recruited, there's no obvious guarantee as to who is the top Vesper. So with that set up, who ends up being Vesper One — yup — a dude with the last name Vesper.I want a do over.

my least favorite of the series

Do you like clichéd action scenes, such as rooms slowly filling with water? An "end of the world" scenario covered by just about every comic book ever (switching the Earth's magnetic poles)? Zero character growth and massive character regression? A once strong, admirable heroine, melting into a puddle of wishy-washy, sentimental, boy-crazed goo? A near-death experience that results in every dead character coming back to offer strength to the main character? Weak writing reminiscent of second-rate fanfiction? An obnoxiously pointless love triangle wrapped up in an overly simplified, convenient cop-out?Then you'll love this book!Seriously, this was the worst 39 Clues book imaginable. I have no idea what the hell any of the authors were thinking. This is like slapping the loyal readers with a two week old dead fish across the face.