Customer Reviews

City Without End (Book 3 of The Entire and the Rose)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Book Three of this magnificent quartet defies the usual expectations of a series. It is bigger, deeper, more colorful, more inventive even than the first two--and they were wonderful. Kenyon is a writer not only of imagination but of scientific knowledge; in these books science meets fantasy in the grand tradition of great science fiction. The critical acclaim is more than deserved, but the book is also spellbinding, utterly entertaining, and completely unforgettable. A tour de force, which should attract the attention of all readers of science fiction--and of epic fantasy.

City Without End is the third in the "Entire and the Rose" quartet by Kay Kenyon.

City Without End picks up where the (to me) disappointing second novel,A World Too Near leaves off. Titus Quinn has lost his wife, but did not destroy all of the Entire with the nanotech given to him for that very purpose. Helice Maki is free to scheme and seek her own goals. Sydney, Titus' estranged daughter, is now known as Sen Ni, continues her secret insurgency against the Tarig overlords. And then there is Ji Anzi, Chalin native of the Entire, who has given her heart to the man from Earth, Titus Quinn. Her journey is the most expansive, and surprised me as to where it led...

And speaking of Earth, things on Earth for Titus' extended family grow ever dicier as the stakes continue to raise, as the brightest star in Earth's sky is extinguished in the Tarig's quest to keep the Entire alive...

New readers to the city, like in most series, should definitely not start here.

If the quartet can be thought of as a chess game, the first novel introduced (most of) the major participants, the board and the milieu and the opening moves. The second novel expanded on this, but in a way that I felt recapitulated some of the weaknesses in second, middle novels in series. It is in this third novel, though, that things really start to accelerate. Plans, gambits, plots and secrets all move in a well orchestrated and naturally-flowing order. There are surprises, reverses and reveals that bring back the strength of the first novel, and just possibly, exceed them.

The environment and the science fantasy environment, which I do not lightly compare to the late Philip J Farmer's World of Tiers is, for me the highlight of these novels. Kenyon adds a couple of wrinkles to this environment which I only lament that she could have shown *more* of. The Entire is a fully envisioned artificial world that is simultaneously a BDO (Big Dumb Object), a universe of its own, and an expansive canvas to set her story.

However, for those of you who rely on well drawn characters for your reading satisfaction, rest assured, the characters are well formed and human, with all of the contradictions and confused natures that humans have. There are precious few one-note or one-dimensional characters here

The end of the novel is not a cliffhanger, but it sets up the factions in both the Entire and the Rose (Earth) for what I hope will be a finale and capstone worthy of the remainder of the series.

I highly enjoyed City Without End and will without reservation, buy the fourth and final volume, in hardcover, when it comes out. As I have said elsewhere, do start with the first book. BRIGHT OF THE SKY, and immerse yourself into the Entire yourself.

I have read quite a bit of sci-fi but City Without End knocks my socks off. Without a doubt, it is one of the most brilliant, creative, mind boggling books of hard sci fi ever written. Near the end you begin to realize there has to be more and the reader is sad to see this wonderfully written book end. I can hardly wait and please don't tell me that book four will be the end because the entire universe has too many stories left to be told. I am a rather slow reader and love to savor a book such as this by dreaming the story from night to night as it unfoldes. Perhaps my dreams are influenced by the Inyx. The Inyx are only one of many sentient beings that inhabit the universe known as the entire. They are large horse like creatures that communicate telepathicly and are able to influence the dreams of all other sentient beings. But you must read the series to find out more. One reader said the book was confusing. Not true, the novel is complex but so well written that it flows smoothly to and exciting and satisfying conclusion.

Third book in a series . . . Underwhelming, but I will probably read the fourth due to my obsessive-compulsive relationship with scifi and fantasy trilogies. I did love the image of the city and the world built by Kenyon is among the most complex and imaginative I have read in a long time.

I can't stop myself from staying with this series. I usually prefer books that have a start, middle and definite end within the covers of the title. However, I've found myself immediately downloading each of the sequence of titles and picking up where the last left off!

Though some of the descriptions are lost (to me) as we visit each of the primacies, I find my imagination is piqued by the images presented. Though everyone imagines scenes with their own view, mine conjours up an "anime" character look and feel which I'm enjoying as I move on to the last book of the series.

Now, my concern is that I'll be disappointed with the final chapter as many series fall short of the grand finale one comes to expect (e.g. Sienfeld, LOST, etc. - ha ha)

I reviewed my frustrations with the first two books and their inability to resolve anything is solved in this book.
So why did I keep reading? Because the story & characters are complex enough to keep one engaged. Thus I went into this book knowing a 4th book was to follow, and I had little hope of expecting anything different than the first two books.

But I was surprised. . .

- Finally, a lot more "action" happens!

- We dig more into some of the science of the way between worlds

- Suspense ensues at a whole new level as the different interest groups come to a head with one another

- More new characters are introduced and we get to know/like them here only to find they show up in book 4

- We have no single main focus character but the stage is shared more uniformly between the major power players

- The story in many ways resolves itself, making me feel that this was originally set to be a trilogy

- AGAIN. . .Christian Rummel does a FANTASTIC job of dramatizing the audiobook


OVERALL:
I could have been satisfied with stopping the reading here, as this is by far the best book in the series. . .so far (I'm still reading book 4).

So if you like book 1...get through book 2 (I actually like it more than 1), then make your way to book 3, which makes it worth it.

30 Words or Less: An undeniable triumph of world building, Kay Kenyon's The Entire and The Rose is a science fantasy tale of two worlds worth exploring despite the gradual pace dictated by occasional prose problems.

A City Without End: 4.5/5

The Good: Absolutely unique world-building that combines science fiction and fantasy elements and continues to grow throughtout the entire series; Carefully plotted narrative that spans and evolves over four volumes; The world is exceptionally well integrated into the narrative rather than being adjacent to it.

The Bad: Early volumes have problems with jarring perspective changes; Worldbuilding often uses infodumping rather than in-narrative elements; The story isn't well segmented into individual novels, leaving readers with an all-or-none decision.

The Review: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Rarely is this truer than in Kay Kenyon's science fiction/fantasy hybrid quadrilogy. An undeniable triumph of world building split into four books, The Entire and the Rose is 1700 pages of complex characters and intricate narrative. The events of the series revolve around Titus Quinn, the first denizen of the Rose (our universe) to cross through into The Entire, a complex infinite world constructed by the harsh, alien Tarig and inhabited by a number of races of their creation. Several years before the series begins, Quinn and his wife and daughter were pulled into the Entire when the ship he was piloting broke apart mid-wormhole jump. Quinn returns months later in our time with no family and little recollection of what happened despite living in the Entire for over a decade. When science proves that his ravings about a second reality may in fact be true, Quinn returns to the Entire in search of his missing wife and daughter and to explore what, if any, benefit The Entire may offer Earth. As Quinn quickly becomes embroiled in the politics of the world he left behind, it becomes obvious that much more is at stake than the fate of his family. The plot only gets more complex from there, the majority of which takes place in the profoundly strange world of the Entire, although the story does take place in both universes.

To provide any more detail than that would ruin the game-changing revelations that occur frequently throughout the series, shifting plots and loyalties in unexpected but exciting ways. There are several power players on both sides of the divide and rarely is there any way of knowing who is playing who. If the Earth universe is referred to as the Rose, the other universe labeled as the Entire might be better known as the Onion. From the start of the series to the final pages, Kenyon slowly peels back layer after layer of world building, unveiling an amazingly concocted world. Religion, politics, cultural divides, a forever war, teenage cults, complex transit systems: the facets of the Entire go on and on. Kenyon details aspect after aspect of her created universe and she does an unbelievable job of unobtrusively bringing the elements she has previously cultivated back into the main plot.

It's a rare occurence but if anything there is almost too much world building. The Entire is inhabited by a number of races and species all of which are fairly unique when compared to the genre standards. However, a few of these races are almost superfluous, with not a single primary or secondary character coming from their ranks. Kenyon could have either edited them out or integrated them into the story as well as she did the primary species of Humans, Chalin, Tarig, Inyx, Hirrin, and Paion. The cultural depth of these imagined races is continually capitalized upon by Kenyon and as a result the few species that don't get starring roles ultimately fall to the wayside.

While the extraneous elements could have been handled better, the world of the Entire and the thoroughly constructed characters that inhabit it are the main attractions of the series. Kenyon's writing, on the other hand, leaves a little bit to be desired especially in the early volumes. Kenyon writes from an extremely tight third person perspective and she has an unfortunate tendency to jump perspectives mid-scene without warning, generating confusion and necessitating rereading just to confirm which character was thinking what. Kenyon gets better at this as the books go on but early on these jarring transitions occur disappointingly often especially considering a small change symbol (which is often used to switch perspectives between scenes) could have easily been used to remedy this problem. As the books progress, Kenyon does manage to reduce the frequency with which these occur. The third and fourth volumes are much stronger than the first in this regard.

Kenyon also has a propensity to take a "tell not show" approach to her worldbuilding and while the world is interesting enough, there is no in-narrative reason for the characters to lecture the way they do. Consequently, the books of The Entire and The Rose read somewhat slowly. While not a bad thing in and of itself, these are not necessarily beach reads and due to the complex nature of the world and plot, it should be read in its entirety for full effect, commanding a significant time investment on the part of the reader.

Additionally, it is important to bear in mind that this epic series would be best described as science fantasy. While Kenyon maintains the premise that all of the places and structures of her world are science-based, the science satisfies Clarke's axiom and is indistinguishable from magic. Anyone who goes into this series expecting to understand the physics underpinning the world will be sorely disappointed. Despite the trappings of science that frame the Entire, at its core it's a fantasy world; it exists and behaves the way it does because the story dictates the way it does. But it works and it works well.

Here are some notes specific to A City Without End.

A City Without End: The strongest and most science fictional of the volumes, A City Without End sees Kenyon accelerate the thread of Quinn's battle with the fearsome Tarig to a frenetic pace. Even though she still pens a few new characters, Kenyon's takes advantage of the gradual set up of the first two novels and really pushes the plot forward in unexpected directions. Unlike the other novels, A City Without Endalso includes a strong second plotline set in the Rose universe; one that could support an entire novel in and of itself. As it is, this thought provoking idea is only furthers the existing conflict. As the Rose and Entire plotlines collide on an unexpected battleground, the pages really start to turn. While the first two books were structured similar to classic "journey fantasies", A City Without End is more of a political SF thriller than a traditional fantasy. There is a great balance between closure and setup as Kenyon slams some doors and opens others, creating numerous possibilities for the direction of the concluding volume, Prince of Storms.

Ultimately, The Entire and The Rose is more than a sum of its composite volumes, so much so that it was too difficult to reach a conclusion on one book before reading the others. The story flows through the pages like one of the arms of the Nigh (a river of exotic matter from the story), bearing strongly motivated characters through alternating periods of slow progress and torrential action. The narrative twists and turns unexpectedly, creating new letters to place between points A and B. At the core of Kenyon's series is her imagined Entire, rivaling any fantasy world for its complexity and surpassing the vast majority for sheer inventiveness. Despite some missteps in presentation, Kay Kenyon's The Entire and The Rose has created a unique science fantasy series that is worth reading, well, in its entirety.

Book 3 of the 'Entire and the Rose' series offers the universe Entire, a world where a struggle for dominance between two universes creates uncertain alliances and a nanotech surge weapon to thwart - or create - disaster. The weapon's destruction paves the way for new conflict which could leave the planet in ruins were it not for the efforts of a small group in this vivid, gripping saga perfect for prior readers of Kay Kenyon's world and those collections seeing popular patronage of her titles.

Having read the previously published books of the series, I was anxious to read the 3rd. It is excellent. Hard to put down, entertaining, and at times confusing, but it basically un-jumbles itself by the end.
I don't know if there will be a 4th book, but there could be. This one left open some characters who could use more exploration. Sidney is one. The other bubble universes another, how to continue to feed the Bright. So, there are stories left to be told, or it could end as it has.
Good reading, enjoy.

I purchased the first three volumes of "The Entire and The Rose" series at once and sat down with the anticipation of a good science fiction read by a female author. At page 126, of "Bright of the Sky", I am entirely fed up with the diaglogue that is written in pidgin english. I simply can't read this book anymore. I have never felt compelled to write a review before, but I realized that as each line was ringing my racist alarm that I had to write something. I am also sending these books back for a FULL REFUND pronto!. The diaglogue reminds me of Marlon Brando in "Teahouse of the August Moon" complete with slanty-eyed eyeliner. I keep waiting for the hero in the story, Titus Quinn (good Roman name here), to say "No tickee, no laundry". Is this suppossed to be polical satire? The depiction of the alternate universe "The Entire" with its race that copied the Chinese on Earth is ludicrist (explained away with one sentence). What a rip-off. Can the author not come up with a more creative way to populate her alternate universe? The "Entire" psuedo-Chinese race is demonized with gratuitous senseless violence and oppressive patriarchal "social norms". The characters are one dimensional and are nothing more than depictions of typical pop culture Chinese stereotypes from movies and TV. In the first 125 pages, I have already been introduced to the "bitter old woman scholar", the "Fu-Manchu warlord", and the "smart girl with wicked Kung-Fu moves". I bet if I read further, I encounter the "Dragon-Lady" and a "Shaolin Monk named Caine". Anne MacCaffrey must be turning over in her new grave, RIP. Save your money and don't support this racist drivel purporting to be science fiction.Bright of the Sky (Book 1 of The Entire and the Rose)A World Too Near (Book 2 of The Entire and the Rose)City Without End (Book 3 of The Entire and the Rose)