Battlesong

Gwin's people are Fetchers, traveling acrobats and musicians who bring hope to the downtrodden villagers and "fetch" any ancient mechanical objects that come to light in order to forestall their destruction by the oppressive, anti-technology Devout. When Gwin's father is captured by Devout Brother Poosk, Gwin's efforts to rescue him bring her in contact with Petrel and Fin of the Oyster ship and Sharkey and Rain of the submarine-dwelling Sunker children (Icebreaker; Sunker's Deep). They're all on the lookout for the Captain, a mechanical boy programmed with all the world's knowledge who can help them rebuild once the Devout are vanquished, but the Captain is damaged and it's unclear whether he can be repaired even if they find him. The myriad threads developed in the previous two books of the trilogy come together here, as Tanner applies all the tension of hand-to-hand combat, strenuous journeys, and mind-bending puzzles while her heroes fight through to a final confrontation that requires shipmates, Sunkers, mountain folk, and villagers to join forces against the Devout. The series winds up with an easily digested diagnosis of what caused the anti-technology backlash in the first place--"This isn't about machines; it never has been. It's about how we treat each other"--as Petrel's journey from parentless "Nothing Girl" to a treasured member of a family comes to a triumphant close. anita l. burkam