Queens of an Alien Sun: Arkship Trilogy, Book 3

It's fairly evident by the lack of reaction to the final book in the Arkship Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton, QUEENS OF AN ALIEN SUN, that if it's not a "widescreen Space Opera" with all the trappings of that subgenre of science fiction (Well, to be fair, "widescreen Space Opera" is a subgenre of Space Opera, which itself is a subgenre of science fiction, so maybe it's a sub-subgenre?), not many people care enough to read it. The Arkship Trilogy is Hamilton's first (and maybe only) foray into the YA market, and the rest of his oeuvre is adult in nature, so it seems that his fans aren't into this thing he did. That's okay, of course, because not everything is for everyone. I'm still not sure that YA is something I'd normally pick up to read as a consciouschoice (after all, I still haven't read Alastair Reynolds' YA trilogy, and he is a favorite author of mine), but the Arkship Trilogy as a whole, and QUEENS OF AN ALIEN SUN in particular, is a fine piece of writing, the result of which is that I'll be more open to reading YA in the future.Hazel and the gang have temporarily beaten back the Yi, the alien creatures that have taken over the arkship Daedalus. There are two tasks ahead of her and her companions: get the ship turned around and headed back toward the planet they were heading toward so they can finish the journey and begin a new life, and rid the ship of the remaining Yi. And definitely not in that order.The good news for Hazel is that it's not a one woman show (I want to say one *girl* show, because she is a teenager, but at the same time she is the captain of the ship, so my brain is going for woman in this case). As she gathers up people throughout the arkship to lead them to safety away from the Yi, she picks up leaders of the small communities that believe in her and her quest. A task like what she is attempting is really too large for one person, be she a teenager or an adult. The bad news is that the Yi are persistent and relentless. Again, she has the help, and she needs all of it.The novel shows our young protagonists growing up, learning to make very tough decisions as well as learning to deal with the losses that come with making those decisions. Oh, she's still a teenager at heart, learning (there's that word again) to deal with personal relationships with both the adults that are helping her and the people who are her age who will be an important part of her life going forward, especially once they reach the new planet.There's really nothing extraordinary about this novel. It tells a straightforward story that results in a typical ending which, in reality, the listener can hear coming from a mile away. And really, there's nothing wrong with that. I'm not familiar with what YA readers' (and by that I mean readers who are the target audience of the book, not adults who read YA) expectations are in terms of complexity and themes, but it *seems* right. If a listener wants complexity in their Hamilton, there are plenty of other novels of his to choose from.The title of the book comes from the Yi brain queen proposing that the Yi and the humans co-exist on the planet together. Of course, Hazel was having none of that. I'm reminded of Ripley battling the alien queen in Aliens - not just in the climactic scene at the end, but all throughout the movie. Hazel and the brain queen were in conflict throughout the novel, down to the bitter end. I also wonder whether Hamilton was influenced by Heinlein's ORPHANS OF THE SKY, arguably the first generational starship story, in which the inhabitants of the Vanguard have regressed to the point of becoming farmers after a mutiny on the ship.With regard to Elizabeth Klett, she once again did a fine job narrating the story. I think the choice of using a female narrator for a female led story was the right one; I find it difficult to imagine what the listening experience would have been like had John Lee, Hamilton's usual narrator, been reading this book.All in all, QUEENS OF AN ALIEN SUN is a fine ending to a good trilogy. If you like YA and you like Peter F. Hamilton, I think you'll find the Arkship Trilogy satisfying.