Patrick Carman’s Quake is the final book in the Pulse Trilogy.
The final battle between the second pulses is approaching fast. At the end of Tremor, Clare and Wade Quinn freed Prisoner One Hotspur Chance, the person who invented the States, the pulse and the Intels. Faith, Dylan, Hawk and Clooger find out about the ultimate result to Hotspur’s diabolical plot and fight to prevent it. Along the way, Faith and Dylan discover a new power in their combined pulses, a power that may be able to save them all.
Faith Daniels has grown tremendously over the course of the PulseTrilogy. At first she was naïve to the world around her, but was shattered by the deaths of people close to her. These filled her with anger, hate, and rage. Because of this hate, in Tremor, Faith was headstrong, arrogant and reckless. In Quake, Faith has finally matured. While she still feels rage towards Clare, she no longer lets that rage consume her. She becomes a relatively calm and collected leader. Despite her second-pulse, Faith finds herself in a number of difficult and painful situations. Through these situations, she discovers an iron will and a drive to protect those close to her.
Quake was a very satisfying end to the trilogy. Most of the loose ends are wrapped up creating an ending that completes the plot, yet allows readers to speculate about how the surviving characters will live their lives. The plot was gripping throughout the entire story. Fight scenes erupt all over the place and the stakes have never been higher. Most of Meredith’s resistance was killed off when Hotspur escaped, leaving a lucky few to attempt to save the world. I still have to commend Patrick Carmen for the unique take on the dystopian genre. Instead of tearing down the government, Faith and Dylan are trying to protect it. It is made clear that the government isn’t necessarily on the side of our protagonists, and it does little to help them. In this book, Dylan and Faith officially become a couple and share quite a few romantic moments. For those who don’t mind cute romance moments, you can enjoy this book. For those who hate these moments, this book will irritate you. This entire book is toned down to a level where kids and tweens can enjoy this book. It is a perfect series for kids just coming into the Young Adult section. It provides the action and romance expected of a Young Adult book, but doesn’t go into as much detail as other YA books.
I give this 273 page book 4 stars.
Series Analysis
The Pulse Trilogy, by Patrick Carman was an entertaining read. The trilogy includes Pulse, Tremor, and Quake. It is a dystopian series taking place in 2051. A few people are gifted with a pulse, a strong telekinetic power. While it has a great concept, it is a book for tween readers. It isn't meant for experienced YA readers; instead, it if for kids being introduced to the YA section. Goodreads gives this series an average of 3.82 stars and this site gives it 4 stars.
Pulse
Pulse takes place in the year 2051. In many places around the world, there are places called the States. The States are huge, massively-populate areas and are the optimal place to live. People live outside the States, but the number is dwindling each day. In this world, there also exist people with the "Pulse". People with the "Pulse" have a strong telekinetic power. People with a "Second Pulse" have a much greater telekinetic power and the ability to deflect objects. Intels are people with enhanced intelligence.