Hope's End (Vel Chronicles) [Hardcover]

Stephen Chambers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2001

On a planet decimated by plague and political upheaval, young Vel has survived by living on his wits. A seasoned con man who has learned to think only of himself, Vel is forced to choose sides in a civil war. But the choice is made more complicated when Vel learns the truth about a mysterious alien race that predated the settlers of Hera.

It turns out that Vel may not be who he thinks he is.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First-time novelist Chambers, a University of Chicago sophomore, would seem an apt pupil of "write what you know" with this angst-ridden tale of a young man's struggle to define his own life. On the planet Hera, where the city-state of Hope, dominated by the Church and the Executive Council, is the only human colony and the surviving culture is low-tech and agrarian, street youth Vel progresses rapidly to missing heir to the throne. When the expected five-year summer fails to occur and the king dies, a struggle ensues between Hillor, leader of the Council, and Denon, lord of the Church, over who will survive Hope's coming famine. Vel, in turn, is led to discover the secrets of his own origins and must decide to preserve or to reverse the traditions being thrust into his hands. It is a curious mixture of 19th- and 20th-century power ideologies that Vel grows up into, one in which Church guards wear "swas" (swastikas) and valuable heirlooms bear the names "B. Mussolini" and "Nietzsche." Stranger still is their founder, Blakes, a clone of the English mystical poet William Blake. Worshipped as the "great man" in a way that recalls Ayn Rand, Blakes is perhaps the author's ironic comment on the conversion of revolutionaries into reactionaries after the coup. The book remains Vel's story, though it dangles such mysteries and paradoxes before the reader. As a coming-of-age study, it succeeds, if at the cost of fleshing out a believable world in which other characters' choices carry real weight. (Aug. 20)Forecast: Given the author's youth, expect lots of media attention, which could result in higher than average first-novel sales.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

When 16-year-old street thief and con man Vel finds himself the target of pursuit by the city of Hope's secret police, he discovers a conspiracy of rebels who seek to learn the truth behind the repressive policies of their world's rulers. Chamber's first novel uses the trappings of fantasy to depict a world separated from its technological roots and governed by fragments of lost knowledge. Adventure and intrigue combine with the story of a young man's search for his place in the world. A nice choice for large fantasy collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (August 11, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312873492
• ISBN-13: 978-0312873493
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,299,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Chambers is the author of Jane and the Raven King. While still in high school, he sold two novels, Hope's End and Hope's War and has recently collaborated with bestselling author Adam Blade on The Chronicles of Avantia and Beastquest series. Stephen is currently a doctoral candidate in the history department at Brown University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshingly Dark, September 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Hope's End (Vel Chronicles) (Hardcover)

Hope's End reflects the depths of teenage angst brought to a nasty dark peak. Chambers' allusions to historical figures are done with just enough mystery for Vel's mind and enough accuracy for our own imaginations to make effective connections. For many readers the importance of the poet William Blake might be a bit tougher. (Chambers clarifies his odd choice of Blake in an interview ---which helps considerably since Blake doesn't quite fit into the company of Hitler and Pol Pot--I sure as heck couldn't figure it out!) Anyway if Hope's End is an accurate reflection of how young people view the world today, well it's TOUGH. Even the female characters are rough and tough--there's nothing soft about anyone in this book. It's an intense read, but hardly uplifting.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing..., January 26, 2003

By 

Daniel R Nielsen (Middletown, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hope's End (Vel Chronicles) (Hardcover)

This book had a great start... 1)a city civilization fallen from technology on a distant planet, 2)an unusual social structure derived from Nazi socialism, 3)a threatening alien culture, and 4) religious/political intrigue.

With all those ideas to build on, I expected an interesting read. However, the shallow characters and hollow dialogue robbed the plot of its depth. With the dark themes and cold brutality of many of the characters, it was probably a good thing that they weren't developed further. At least when (almost) all the characters die, I didn't really know them enough to care. The ending was a bloodbath that didn't resolve many of the open ends of the plot. I assume that in the next book, more of the ends will be tied up, but I don't care enough about the story or the characters to read it. As a work of literature, the book is consistent with its title - Hope's End. As a story, it falls apart.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Hope's End is an appropriate title, November 15, 2002

By 

ilem (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hope's End (Mass Market Paperback)

I hate to be critical of something that someone puts so much work into, but the book is a real downer. The dialog needs work and it's a bit too gruesome (think Medieval/Dark Ages Europe meets Planet of the Apes (original)). It reads like it was written by someone who is fairly intelligent, but coming out of a hopeless depression (and used William Blake to pull himself out of it). It's hard to follow in parts; the characters have no depth - there's no real development - they just sort of do what they do. It did have redeeming qualities though: it had some fairly good insight into human character, darker points in history...
Plot: Nazi, Stalin... type regime made up of old school Mormons lands on an inhospitable world (much like Utah, beautiful though it is) and through bids for power manage to destroy most their knowledge, technology, and purpose (envision Roman Empire to Dark Ages Europe). 500 yrs go by and a weakening monarchy is overtaken by an evil advisor when a typical teenage thief gets caught in the middle of various bids for power... Oh, and there are some aliens that make the book a bit interesting, though not enough for me to want to read the sequel.
If that's your kind of book then the author did an excellent job and my recomendations. If you're looking for a fun book, or like reading novels where you come to care for the characters, this isn't it.