Steelheart Read-Along Chapters 36-42 (The End!)

Whenever I'm reading a really good book that has a fantastic plot and incredible world-building, I always cringe as I hit the last few chapters. I always wonder what heart-wrenching, sob-inducing twists the author has in store. It kind of makes me want to abandon the book and pretend everything turned out okay and didn't end with me blubbering into a cup of tea and trying to explain to my family why I'm so traumatized by characters in a novel.

That's not just me, right?

Right?

Ahem. On to the discussion.

Chapter 36:

He'd come for me. He had a vendetta--he knew I'd been the one to figure out his weakness.

Honestly, this entire sequence with the fight between David and Nightwielder makes me want an entire book with just Nightwielder as the antagonist. With his powers, can you imagine how deliciously creepy it would be?

Eyes I knew. Megan.

That sound you heard was just my heart cracking a little. Don't mind me.

Chapter 37:

There! I thought, catching a glimpse of a forehead and eyes peering out from the far wall.

See what I mean? Perfect thriller/horror material. I might feel some fanfiction coming on.

"We need you to activate phase four. Shoot Steelheart with your father's gun. It's all we have left."

Well... great...

The illusion frowned. "I know you," she said.

Sure, Sanderson. Just rip out my heart and stomp on it, why don't you.

It was real.

What kind of evil author writes this kind of thing?

So... how is the illusion real? Is it a clone? Someone else illusioned to look like Megan?

Chapter 38:

Dared I take the shot?

You have to ask? Just take the shot! He's right in front of you!

 "You're Firefight, aren't you?

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Chapter 39:

Okay, to sum up...the Reckoners are in shambles, David just found out Megan is actually one of Steelheart's right-hand High Epics, Firefight, and now Prof is going nuts.

"I've removed him from the feed," Tia said to the rest of us. "This is bad. I've never heard him go this far. We need to pull him out somehow or we'll lose him."

I'm with Cody on this one. Confused, irritated that Prof could be so irrational. Prof said that the tensors were invented after studying Epic powers, so I wonder if they're addictive or somehow mimic the Epic curse.

He fired. I raised my left hand, the one with the tensor. I did it almost by instinct. It was tougher to make the song this time, and I didn't know why. But I made it work. I left the song out.

He just stopped a bullet with the tensor. Yay David! Also, careful, David. If the tensor's powers are indeed what makes the Prof go bonkers, then David being so good with them is really worrisome.

"I still haven't tried phase four," I said...

I kind of want to smack him on the head because he's being dumb, but at the same time, he's the narrator, so he's got to be all right even if he does chose to confront Steelheart. Right?

RIGHT?

I swear, I'll probably die from a heart attack induced by my stressful reading habits.

Chapter 40:

He studied me, his hand glowing. "Ah yes," he said. "The child in the bank."

He's dead. Oh great, he's dead...

Sunlight. Nightwielder was dead. The sun was rising.

Sunlight? Is that his weakness? Please be sunlight, please be sunlight...

He could only be killed by someone who didn't fear him. He had pulled the trigger himself. He had caused the detonation himself.

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Chapter 41: 

Someone groaned behind me. I spun to see Prof sitting up. His clothing was covered in blood and he had a few scratches on his skin, but his skull was whole... "Prof's an Epic, I thought. Prof's an Epic.

Just so you know, it drives me nuts that we find this out with only a few pages left in the book. I want to know more NOW.

"My mind changes," she whispered. "When I die, I am reborn out of light a day later."

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 Epilogue:

Only now, with Steelheart's skull in my hand, did I realize that I hadn't been fighting for vengeance, and hadn't been fighting for redemption. I hadn't been fighting because of my father's death. I fought because of his dreams.

Wow.

That is an absolutely incredible ride! The first time I read this book, I sat in shock for about thirty minutes after finishing it. I couldn't believe the plot twists and revelations thrown into just the last couple of chapters. I wanted the second book immediately.

Lucky for us, we can do that, right? Next time, we're diving in to the second book in the series, Firefight!

What did you guys think about the ending to Steelheart?