Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Intensity is the eighth and final book in the Chronicles of Nick series. The previous vision filled mess that was Invision left off with our protagonist innately aware that his timeline was all kinds of screwed up. Now he has to fix his timeline in order to avoid eventually becoming harbinger of Armageddon and killing all his loved ones—no pressure. Unfortunately, some of his enemies prefer a violent, world ending fate for this Cajun Malachai and will do everything they can to make Nick’s fate a miserable as possible.
As Nick enters his final book, it is important to remember all the crazy stuff this young teenager had to endure. There were zombies in Infinity, demons and shapeshifters in Invincible, rumors-gone-wild and impersonations on Infamous, demonic peer pressure in Inferno, body swapping shenanigans in Illusion, demon armies and emotional breakthroughs in Instinct, and crazy mind-breaking vision in Invision. Through all the craziness, Nick has learned to harness and control his incredible demonic powers and made an expansive roster of friends and allies that see his good heart and kind nature through his biting sarcasm, ADD, and demonic heritage. All of his friends have supported him and helped him grow into a powerful enemy but a kind friend. However, his recent exposure to the supernatural side of life has taken a toll on his mental state. The unrelenting barrage of ruthless enemies has left him emotionally tired, despite his physical prowess. Even though he is surrounded by the most supportive and caring friends anyone can hope for, the powerful Malachai soon realizes he is not ready for the emotional burden of his powers.
Intensity is a book that incites very mixed opinions. From beginning to end, Intensity lives up to its name with its nonstop action from beginning to end and refusal to take a breath and slow down. The plot only builds as tension and complexity compounds until the final anticlimactic moment of this insane book, and wonderful series.
However, instead of accelerating plot progression with the usual violence, the book took pointers from Invision and built tension with stunning revelations and confusing visions. Unfortunately, it took some of the worst parts of Invision and ran with them. The book was an absolute mess of visions that toggled between past, present, and future. It forgot all the things that made Invision work: the moments of calm after a crazy vision to digest what just happened, the characters that helped and supported the developing Malachai, and the biting sarcasm that made the series fun.
In Intensity, Nick found himself increasingly isolated from his friends and allies that anchored him, making the book more and more depressing. Speaking of friends, it seemed like none of them were in this book. Some briefly interrupted Nick’s visions with a kind cameo but mostly stayed out of it. None of them played a huge role in the plot progression, which is extremely sad, as it is the last we will see of many of these characters for a long time. This final book could have capitalized on the huge roster of characters and the increasingly friendly bond between them, but it didn’t, opting to isolate Nick instead of including his friends.
Although Intensity is extremely entertaining like its predecessors, the book left a bitter taste in my mouth. Instead of going out on a high note, with friends at his back and demons opposing him, Nick ended his final teenage book with a whimper, paving the way for future series.
While many Dark-Hunter fans will enjoy the revelations the story uncovers and the integration of this book into the main series, many Chronicles of Nick fans who have only read this series will find the story confusing and disappointing. I, unfortunately, am in the latter camp, wishing that this final installment had done more to answer the intra-series questions posed by previous books and had created a better, more fitting ending for our teenage Malachai.
I give this 296 book 3.5 stars.
Chronicles of Nick
The series takes place in modern day New Orleans. A deadly demonic world lies behind the veil of normalcy. Nick Gautier, the main protagonist, is unlucky enough to have this world revealed to him and to learn that he is destined to play a part in the fate of both worlds.