I had not realised that this was the third in a trilogy until I was part way through. I tried to view it as a standalone but I knew that I was missing information and it just did not sit right with me. I am not someone who is happy to come in part way through a story. There were interesting aspects but I think that I probably would need to go back and read A Lovely Way to Burn and Death is a Welcome Guest in order to fully appreciate this. However, this did not feel like a novel that was operating in the same leagues as Station Eleven so I am not sure I am quite motivated to do the background reading/purchasing to get myself up to speed. With that in mind, I think that my review is rather moot so will keep it a neutral 3 stars and move on.

I read the first book in this series with a view to reading the rest of the books. However, it did not really grab my attention and I have not felt the urge to continue reading the books. As, such I haven’t read this book. Sorry. I have rated the book the same stars as I rated the book I read in the series.

I am currently working on expanding our school library's senior section after years of a dismal and uninspiring selection of books that our older readers never checked out. My job has been to seek out much more diverse, gripping and modern books that will get them into reading by appealing to as broad a range of readers as possible. This really appealed to me because of its fantastic premise and compelling sense of atmosphere, combined with believable characterisation and its page-turning nature. It's hard to get young people into reading and if the library is not stocking the kind of book that they might grow up to buy as adult readers then we are not really meeting their needs. I can imagine this provoking lots of discussion after finishing it and a long queue of people trying to reserve it as they've heard so much about it. Will definitely be buying a copy and know that it's going to be a very popular choice. An engrossing read that kept me up far too late to finish reading it. It certainly stood out from the other books that I was considering and I look forward to converting more Louise Welsh fans in future!

Unfortunately, I am no longer interested in reviewing this book on my blog. Thank you for this opportunity.

Starting this book I did not realize this was the third part of a series. I think that this works well as a stand alone as the characters built up over the novel were strongly developed. I really enjoyed how it showed the power dynamic on the island of Orkney and Glasglow and the way that the Sweats had destroyed civilization worldwide. I enjoyed seeing the different tasks that Stevie and Magnus undertook to save the kids and the novel created a good way to keep the reader on edge.

No Dominion is the third and final instalment of Louise Welsh's plague times trilogy, and it was well worth the wait!

‘The Sweats’ have pretty much decimated everything and everyone.

The Orkney Islands are one of the very few safe havens left.

Many of the survivors of the first sweats outbreak have taken refuge there. Some have setup home with each other and some have even ‘adopted’ orphaned children.

Stevie is elected ‘president’ of the Orkney's and by default must vet any newcomers to the islands for signs of the sweats or worse.

But when three strangers turn up unannounced, Stevie’s instinct is to turn them away. However they are known to one of the islands existing inhabitants and he says he will vouch for them.

With strangers comes uncertainty and hope for the children of the islands who perceive that there is more to life than the Orkney's.

They don’t appreciate the dangers associated with leaving can’t imagine that things could possibly be any worse than they already are.

Little do they know that the outside world is a very dangerous place.

No Dominion can be read as a stand alone novel, but as the rest of the series is so good, I would encourage you to read the other books if you can.

Perhaps because I didn't read previous novels in the series (my fault for not researching properly beforehand), I just didn't manage to get into this. I like the premise and it sounds really interesting but failed to connect with the characters - really sorry.

‘And Death shall have no dominion’ Romans 6.9

Louise Welsh laces her novels with Bible references and quotations and in this third novel in the Plague Times trilogy, those who know their Bible may initially accept the title as optimistic, but those who know their author may acknowledge it as ironic.
If you have read the first two novels in this series, you will know that the first centred on a Stevie Flint, a young woman, caught up in the havoc of post-apocalyptic London and the second on a Scottish comedian called Magnus McFall and his attempts to get home to Orkney. The common theme of both books was the horrifying breakdown of society in the wake of the disease known as the Sweats which almost wiped out the human population.
No Dominion concludes the trilogy and brings together both Stevie and Magnus in a new quest. A community of survivors has established on Orkney, but the young people of the islands decide to break for the big lights of Glasgow where there is an attempt at a renascent functioning city. Stevie and Magnus pursue the children through Scotland, coping with the various groups of survivors they meet there. These are mostly sinister, whether feudal or religious in structure, while that in Glasgow proves dangerous to all. Nor have the Sweats entirely abated…
As in the first two, this is a fascinating and imaginative piece of work which I enjoyed reading and found thought-provoking, but as in the first two, I did find the storytelling rather episodic and perhaps rather judgemental when it did not need to be.

A page-turning end to the trilogy, but can be read as a standalone.

Welsh's Plague Times trilogy has been a timely and inventive example of post-pandemic fiction, spreading the action across three books of varying tone: the first book in the series, A Lovely Way To Burn, was a masterful murder mystery-meets-disaster novel and introduced us to the character of glamorous TV presenter Stevie. The second, Death Is A Welcome Guest, followed stand-up comedian Magnus' attempts to get out of plague-hit London and to his home in childhood home of Orkney. No Dominion is the final book and opens ten years down the line, with Stevie and Magnus both on Orkney, where a settlement of survivors has been established with Stevie as president.

The teenagers of the settlement, however, are getting antsy and difficult (as teenagers do), and when a group of new arrivals turn up, events are set in motion which mean Stevie and Magnus have to leave the islands and head to Glasgow. Essentially a dystopian road trip novel, No Dominion was grippingly brilliant and it was a real pleasure to be back with the characters of Stevie and Magnus. As is typical of the road trip genre, there's an episodic nature to it which I thoroughly enjoyed (with their encounters at the castle of Lord Ramsey being a particularly enjoyable episode, with what I assume was a deliberate take on Game Of Thrones as modern dystopia).

While I'd recommend reading the whole trilogy (the first book is particularly excellent), No Dominion would also work as a standalone novel.

When I first requested this book I did not realise that this was the final in a trilogy. When I read the synopsis it sounded like a brilliant standalone. However, when I was reading I did not feel like this was the final book of a series. I instantly felt like I knew the characters and was given all the information required. There was obviously missing backstory. But, whatever, their story it did not feel relevant.

This is an enthralling read that strongly reminded me of Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven. This was brilliant ride of a read that travels through the aftermath of a worldwide pandemic, at the point when many are trying to rebuild society.

This is a book filled with surreal moments, heart-warming scenes and quiet touches. There are moments that are utterly unforgettable. This is a book that reads like a dangerous quest as Magnus and Stevie set out to retrieve the lost children of their island. To bring them back to safety.

One thing that I really enjoyed was the exploring of the emerging powers in the new world. Former ordinary people grabbing at power and asserting their power. And how others gave up freedom for the sense of freedom, for the sense of feeling safe. Each new society was described briefly yet showed how caught up with the new societies everyone became.

I really loved the little section with the band of determined teens. I could have quite happily followed their story instead the saviour story. They showed how one-sided the emerging societies were.

This was an entertaining read. Filled with hope, thrill and challenge. It shows the good, the bad and the ugly of the aftermath of a worldwide pandemic.

No Dominion is a fantastic conclusion to a great trilogy. I loved the first two books, A Lovely Way to Burn and Death Is a Welcome Guest. These books are not obviously linked and can be read separately. The link appears at the very end of Death Is A Welcome Guest. The link between Stevie and Magnus stories comes into full force in No Dominion. I love post-apocalyptic fiction so No Dominion was a joy to read. This is a bit more intense and violent than the other two books but the violence is necessary to tell the story. I absolutely loved the world created in this book after Stevie and Magnus are forced to leave Orkney. They realise just how sheltered their lives on the island has been. The world after the Sweats is harsh, dark, brutal and terrifying and my heart was in my throat as I read the book. I felt awful for Stevie and Magnus as their life starts to unravel and they realise exactly what horrors were waiting across the water. There are a lot of dark scenes in this book but I felt they were necessary. I was hooked from page on of No Dominion. This is a cracking end to a trilogy and I would highly recommend it.

A wonderful dystopian novel with great characters. I will be recommending this to readers of Station Eleven and Where We Start From.

I enjoyed this book, I like dystopian books when they are well done and this one was, I liked the main characters and the dog and the setting was different too.There was also more going on with this book it was like a dystopian thriller and I thought it was a cracking tale, it seems as usual I am late to the party and this is not the first book in the series, but although I am sure they would be worth reading you can jump in as I did and read this without reading the others.I don't want to give the game away by saying too much but this book kept me captivated and I really liked it.Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.