3.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
Sira Morgan is dead and unhappy in her 'afterlife'. Her Chosen, Jason Morgan is living (and slowly dying) in squalor without her. But the M'hir, the mysterious between region that allowed Sira her astounding powers, is falling apart. The only solution is for her to somehow come back.
Review
I’m sorry to say it, but despite Czerneda’s best efforts, the Clan/Trade Pact series doesn’t really go out with a bang. In fact, part of the problem is that she tries to fit so much loose-end tying into the story, and it ends up in a pretty substantial muddle. Some of these things were clearly not intended from the beginning, and while she’s tried to shoehorn them in, it doesn’t really work.
The story very intentionally takes us back to the beginning – the planet Auord, Jason Morgan, and Sira di Sarc (despite her being technically dead) – and that’s an instinct I’m entirely for. What works against it all is that Czerneda solved so many mysteries in the previous two books, leaving the feeling in this one that we’ve seen it all before – it’s an epilogue we didn’t really need.
Czerneda takes pains to give all the key characters a good sendoff – from Lydis Bowman to the Drapsk to Huido to Plexis itself – and that part I generally liked. It’s the tension and plot points that frankly don’t really fit together well – from a key role for Rugherans to Assemblers to the dregs of the Clan. Much of it felt quite forced, and there was so much going on mid-book, without much overarching structure, that it was hard to follow. There’s also a significant red herring that I had hopes for, but that Czerneda sacrifices in the name of romance.
All in all, it’s a disappointing but very well-intended effort, and in some ways it does bring the series back to its romantic, character-based beginning and key characters. But I found it less interesting than its predecessors, and probably unnecessary. Even if it did let Huido participate, which I suspect was part of the point.

Jason Morgan is alone, left behind when Sira led the Clan back to their real existence as energy beings in another universe. But the Trade Pact is still in danger: not quite all of the Clan are gone, threatening to shatter reality. And they are not the only threat. Now a disparate group of humans, aliens, and reanimated Clan must find a way to save the Trade Pact--and all of existence.

Czerneda has created some very alien aliens in this seris. They are also very real, and even comprehensible, people. The series has seemed to come to an end several times, but this does appear to be the actual final chapter. It's a satisfying one.

Julie Czerneda concludes the Reunification series with To Guard against the Dark. Captain and trader,Jason Morgan, the partner of Clan leader Siri di Sarc returns to normal space without her. Space opera adventures and trade agreements tumble over each other as Siri re-emerges in normal space. Non stop action and interesting aliens. Read the whole series.

Felt like it was unnecessary except to change ending from prior book.

A roller-coaster of emotion and action. I can't believe this is the end of this epic sci-fi saga. I really wished I liked the story more. I felt really bogged down with the story. It was a little slow for me, but overall, a great read. I'm not really a big sci-fi fan, but I picked this one up because it sounded interesting. I'm glad I read it.

I laughed, I cried, I loved the journey.

The main things I look forward to in Czerneda’s novels are: awesome aliens, great relationships, and situational humor. To Guard Against the Dark had a perfect combination of all three and, in my opinion, was a fitting way to bring the saga to an end.

Series-enders have a tendency to take themselves too seriously, getting so caught up in building a good story arc that they sometimes forget all the little things that make them special. Czerneda couldn’t have delighted me more with her inclusion of all of my favorite elements (Drapsk, more Drapsk, and Huido) in this novel. It was so much fun! The balance of sentimentality and humor was phenomenal. She got it right. :-) Venturing in, I was worried the story would get too existential, focusing on my least favorite elements of the series, the Watchers and the M’hir (usually represented in the Interludes). Even though those elements played a significant role in the finale (and are the basis behind the entire saga), I found them much less ambiguous than in past novels. Finally we get some answers!

The publisher is advertising that you can jump right in this series without having read anything else, but in my opinion what makes it special and interesting is that it’s a true merge of stories from her Trade Pact Trilogy (to be read first) and her Stratification Trilogy (which I think needs to be read second even though it’s a prequel trilogy). The whole saga is a great journey with incredibly memorable characters; very well worth reading. I’d recommend it if you like sci-fi that focuses more on characterization and aliens than space exploration, military, and technology (for the record, I like both). My recommendation is especially strong if you like aliens because no one does creature creation better than Czerneda! Side note: I would like a stuffed animal Drapsk for my Birthday, please.

Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller