Linden A Lewis’ First Sister trilogy comes to an event filled finale in The Last Hero. After what turned out to be a fairly slow start in The First Sister and an explosive and expansive follow up in The Second Rebel, Lewis turns up the heat on all of their characters for the final instalment of this series. This is the third book in a series so this review will contain some minor spoilers for earlier volumes.
The book opens only a few months after the events of The Second Rebel and the game changing revelation that ended that volume. Former First Sister Astrid has found a home among the Moonborn, Hiro is on a mission to kill his father who is about to be investigated for all of the nasty things he has done, Lily is trying to consolidate her power as Mother against reactionary forces led by Aunt Marshae. Nothing goes as planned and the fallout will further radicalise some of the already downtrodden Asters and draw a response from the powerful Synthetics the artificial intelligences who have been already been preventing humanity from expanding further into the Solar System.
The Last Hero shows Lewis’s continuing development as a writer who can deliver complex, multi-point of view, action filled space opera. There are clear factions in this universe – Gaeans, Icarii, Asters, Moonborn, Synthetics – but none are monolithic. Each one of these is riven by dissent or at least competing philosophies of existence. There is plenty of action and violence both small scale and large scale and various plans swing into action. Lewis makes sure that readers are aware of the cost of these actions in human lives. There is definitely a hint of the influence of The Expanse on this series particularly in these aspects, but this is in no way derivative and Lewis goes their own way with their politics and action.
Within these Lewis explores the power of individuals to shape those philosophies and approaches. In the middle of all of this, Lewis never loses sight of the characters trying desperately to effect change and stop what seems to be an inevitable slide into all out conflict. It is the connections between these characters that not only drive the plot but support its eventual resolution. The multiple points of view are well handled, including some one-off character moments to fill some gaps.
The Last Hero is a cracking final to a page-turning space opera series that got better as it went along. Expanding beyond its many influences it gave detailed world building full of memorable characters, and great action. And underneath it all a deeper philosophy about being true to yourself and your beliefs.

I adored this challenging but ultimately uplifting conclusion. The books really shine as a complete trilogy - each instalment grows upon the others. I particularly enjoyed watching the world widen in The Last Hero - where on first reading of The Second Rebel, I found the new POVs jarring, here seeing all the different perspectives really enriched the narrative. I was also impressed by the really solid world-building. Although this story arc is over, I can definitely see the space for more stories from this universe, and this is a trilogy I'll revisit regardless.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.