Fans of the Ember series may be in for a disappointment. Despite saying "The Third Book of Ember" on the cover, this book has absolutely nothing to do with Ember until the very last, tacked-on chapter connects some of the characters with Ember some 50 years after the conclusion of the story.

Ignoring Ember, though, and taking the book on its own terms, this is a fascinating allegory with much to say to twenty-first century children growing up in a world filled with terrorism and religious fanaticism. As in the previous book in this series, The People of Sparks, the ways in which fear can lead essentially well-meaning people down the road to totalitarianism, intolerance, and acquiescence to evil is made clear. Less believable are the events in the larger world, especially the mystifying hints around what causes the country to pull back from the brink.

The trilogy may not hang together well as a single entity, but individually each of the books gives readers lots to think about, and could form the basis for interesting discussion groups.