Elitist Book Reviews

I feel really bad. How am I supposed to review the fourth and concluding volume of a series? Either you’ve already read the first three books and nothing I say will sway you to read it or not, or else you haven’t read any of the preceding volumes...and in that case what are you doing reading this review? It’s gonna have major spoilers!

So, that being the case, I’ve decided to do the only decent thing I can and review all four books in one single review. That’s right, four reviews for the price of one. Are you ready? Here we go.

BRIGHT OF THE SKY - Book One of the Entire and the Rose series. It’s really good. You should go read it.

A WORLD TOO NEAR - Book Two of the Entire and the Rose Series. It’s really good. You should read it after having read BRIGHT OF THE SKY.

CITY WITHOUT END - Book Three of the Entire and the Rose series. It’s really good. You should read after having read the previous two volumes. Are we noticing a pattern here?

PRINCE OF STORMS - Book Four of the Entire and the Rose series. It’s really good. I don’t mean to oversimplify, but it really was.

I loved this series. Let me spell it out for you a bit. The book takes place in two universes, our own, and a universe called The Entire. The Entire is a universe that was made by almost omnipotent Lords called the Tarig. In order to keep the Entire alive they need energy, massive amounts of energy. The way they plan on getting that energy is by stealing it and thereby destroying another universe--ours, to be exact. In this fourth and concluding volume, Titus Quinn has gained control of The Entire and now must find a way to not only keep his home universe safe, Earth included, but also find the energy for the Entire, his new adopted home, safe as well.

Sounds simple doesn’t it? Well it’s not. There are dozens of characters and a myriad of intricate plots and schemes littered throughout the series. While reading I was given the impression of watching a spider weave a beautiful web--all the lines intricate and adding to the whole. Kay Kenyon does the same here. She is a master storyteller at work and it was a joy to be along for the ride. Her characters, all of them well drawn out and intriguing, populated a wondrous world that I loved visiting over the four volumes. There are varied species of creatures and breathtaking backdrops for the very human story Kenyon is telling. This is something special.

The biggest problem I had was that Pyr (publisher of the entire series) decided to give me the concluding volume in the same month that they finished David Louis Edelman’s brilliant Jump 225 trilogy, thereby ending my two favorite ongoing SF series at the same time. Now what do I have to look forward to?

PRINCE OF STORMS was a great read. Each of the books in the series managed to be captivating on its own merits while still adding to the overall picture. Kenyon does a brilliant job tying up all the loose ends and ending the series with a bang. In fact, some of the things she threw into this concluding volume were my favorite.

Those who are put off by Hard SF won’t have a problem here. There’s science involved, but Kenyon doesn’t feel the need to club you over the head with it. Instead it’s a human story. In fact it felt reminiscent of the worlds Brandon Sanderson, Daniel Abraham, or Ken Scholes have created (good company, yeah?). It’s new and refreshing and very accessible. Do yourself a favor and go pick up BRIGHT OF THE SKY right now.

Age: 16+ Not much objectionable in here, but there’s some language here and there and there are a lot of characters and plot-lines to keep track of.
Language: Some, but not a lot. Viewpoints on earth have a few characters who use “colorful” language.
Violence: Again some, but not too graphic.
Sex: Surprisingly yes. The first three volumes mentioned sex but never showed any. This volume did, which was surprising. Only once that I remember though.

The lovely Kay Kenyon deserves your praise (and has mine, and that of the EBR Overlords), go give her some virtual high-fives:

http://www.kaykenyon.com/