Thrive

In this highly anticipated conclusion to “The Bloom Trilogy” (the first book of which recently won the readers-choice Red Maple Award), Kenneth Oppel returns to the scene of an alien invasion begun by a rain that spawns flora and fauna meant to change the Earth’s environment to make it inhospitable to humans and perfect for the aliens, or “cryptogens” as scientists dub them. The effort to defeat the invaders relies on the conflicted loyalty of a small number of human-cryptogen hybrid teams seeded by the aliens years earlier. As each of Anaya, Petra, and Seth are enlisted to communicate telepathically with a rebel alien group, they learn that the only way to defeat the invasion is to infect the “flyer” cryptogens with a virus, one hidden in the hybrids’ DNA, to render their sonic killing abilities powerless and allow the other two alien species to rise up in revolt against their flyer masters. As the three teens deal with their confusing identities and the aliens finally land to begin their takeover, the rebel cryptogens, led by the “runner” that Anaya calls Terra, earn the human forces’ trust and successfully deploy the virus, defeating the invasion and leaving hybrids and humans behind to repair their devastated planet.

As the conclusion to a series characterized by tight plotting, deep character development, and existential rawness, there is no doubt that it is a triumph that will engross young readers of speculative and adventurous fiction. New elements introduced include cryptogen characters, including the rebels and the commander of the invasion, whose telepathic communication and strange biology-based technology provide readers with much exercise to get their heads around the difficult concepts. Particularly engrossing is the way in which aliens have a characteristic odor to their telepathy, leading the hybrids to speculate on their names and genders; Petra considers her “swimmer” cryptogen to be genderless and insists on referring to them as “ze”.

In an era of existential threats to humanity, from climate change to the current pandemic, there is more than one echo that will ring true to some readers. Particularly engrossing is the alien virus and the conflicting emotions of rebel flyers, as well as Seth, who agree to voluntarily lose the one thing that makes them overlords of their civilization, their neuro-sonic ability to hurt or kill without touch. The flyer rebel the trio refer to as “the General” is particularly courageous, leaving readers with an important lesson about sacrificing privilege to defeat oppression. The scene above, where Seth is pushed to kill Petra to prove his loyalty and avoid blowing his cover, but instead turns his sound on the invading commander, is a marvelous stroke of drama that even the rebels do not expect.

While the denouement of the final scene one month after the aliens’ defeat might seem a little too easy, almost banal, the surprise twists and turns to get there, the continuing question of the hybrids’ identity and the daunting task of global recovery all result in an immensely satisfying package.