Book review: Will nonstop action save the world in 'Ruins'?

<b>"RUINS," by Dan Wells, Balzer + Bray, $17.99, 464 pages (f) (ages 14 and up)</b>

Up against mastermind scientists who have genetically engineered species-destroying viruses, Kira Walker has turned herself in for diabolical science experiments to save other humans. But now she must decide if she has the will to escape and then to kill all those who stand in her way to try to ultimately save the human and Partial races. Can she? And, in the end, will it even matter?

These and other moral dilemmas litter Dan Wells' exciting conclusion to his Partials Sequence, titled "Ruins." Following the events in "Partials" and "Fragments," "Ruins" picks up speed and hurtles the characters, now fragmented on two sides of the country, toward an unknown end - perhaps the end of the world.

Partials, those of the genetically engineered super-species, far outnumber the humans but are suddenly mysteriously dying. The humans are racing against time as well, as they now understand that the Partials' existence is what keeps newborn humans alive, thus ensuring humanity's future.

And then there is that nuclear bomb set to go off at any moment.

Like an action movie, Wells' "Ruins" has a battle sequence followed by a dire situation, followed by more intense gunfights and so on, leaving the characters, and the reader, often out of breath. But Wells still finds time to insert mini-moral lessons throughout the book. One character, the Partial named Samm, after finding out another genetically enhanced character has almost no emotions, wonders why anyone would create a person then take everything away that makes that individual a person.

Wells also explores what it means to be a "good guy" and a "bad guy" as characters make decisions between ending their own lives and ending the world. And the omnipresent threat of mastermind scientists who feel a genetic cleansing/Earth reset may be the only answer makes every decision and death that much more meaningful.

There is a smattering of curse words throughout "Ruins" as well as almost constant battle scenes that are filled with descriptions of violent injuries and deaths. There is also a slight amount of sexual tension.%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A//beacon.deseretconnect.com/beacon.gif%3Fcid%3D156258%26pid%3D46%22%20/%3E</group><group id="05AAD049-5890-43AC-9E94-A3164DD59AA6" type="seoLabels"><seoLabels></seoLabels></