A World Too Near (Book 2 of The Entire and the Rose) [Paperback]

Kay Kenyon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 27, 2009

In Bright of the Sky, Kay Kenyon introduced a milieu unique in science fiction and fantasy: The Entire, a five-armed radial universe that exists in a dimension without stars and planets and is parallel to our own universe. Stretched over The Entire is a lid of plasma, called the bright, which ebbs and flows, bringing day and twilight. Under the vast canopy of the bright live many galactic species, copied from our own universe.
Former star pilot Titus Quinn loves The Entire, but now he must risk annihilating it by destroying the fortress of Ahnenhoon. To sustain a faltering Entire, Ahnenhoon's great engine will soon reach through the brane separating the universes and consume our own universe in a concentrated ball of fire.

Quinn sets off on a journey across The Entire armed with the nan, a small ankle bracelet containing nanoscale military technology that can reduce Ahnenhoon and its deadly engine to chaos. He must pursue his mission even though his wife is held prisoner in Ahnenhoon and his own daughter has sent the assassin MoTi to hunt him down.

As he traverses the galactic distances of The Entire, he learns more of the secrets of its geography, its fragile storm walls, its eons-long history, and the factions that contend for dominance. One of these factions is led by his daughter, who though young and a slave, has at her command a transforming and revolutionary power.

As Quinn wrestles with looming disaster and approaches the fabled concentric rings of Ahnenhoon's defenses, he learns that in the Entire, nothing is what it appears. Its denizens are all harboring secrets, and the greatest of these is the nature of the Entire itself.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The fate of two universes hangs in the balance in this intricately plotted sequel to Bright of the Sky (2007). To sustain the constructed universe called the Entire, the alien Tarig have built the engine of Ahnenhoon, designed to turn the Rose—Earth's universe—into a power source. Earth's survival depends on pilot Titus Quinn's plan to destroy the engine, but ambitious scientist Helice Maki claims Titus may instead use the mission to seek his missing daughter, Sydney, lost somewhere in the Entire. Successfully scheming her way into accompanying Titus, Helice plots to steal his nanotech weaponry and grab power from the Tarig. Titus's only hope may be his wife, Johanna, captured 10 years ago by the Tarig, who has slowly taught herself enough about the engine to have a chance of disabling it. Tangled motivations, complex characters and intriguing world-building will keep readers on the edges of their seats. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

In the second Entire and the Rose volume (after Bright of the Sky, 2007), Titus Quinn returns to the Entire, wearing a nanotech cirque, with which he intends to destroy the engine at Ahnenhoon. He isn’t alone, as Minerva Corporation assured him he would be. Helice Maki, ever plotting for her own ambitions, accompanies him. His daughter Sydney continues bringing the Inyx together (when enough have gathered, they’ll seek out the thoughts of the Tarig), and his wife, Johanna, attempts learning the secrets of Ahnenhoon so she can lead him to the engine when he arrives. En route, Quinn encounters old friends and new allies, Sydney and the Inyx discover an unsettling secret of the Tarig, and Johanna walks the fine edge of risk. Kenyon’s splinter world remains a vibrant, fascinating place. An undercurrent of convoluted politics runs through it, and intense action follows. It promises to get even more interesting in the next volume, which Kenyon’s knack for creating characters with shifting allegiances and conflicting loyalties makes something to look forward to. --Regina Schroeder --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 425 pages
• Publisher: Pyr (January 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591026962
• ISBN-13: 978-1591026969
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kay Kenyon has a message for aspiring writers: Never give up! Although she has published 10 science fiction novels, she remembers how tough it was to break in. She'd been working full time to support herself and her son, commuting two hours a day, and stealing time in the evenings to write, and finding only rejections from agents and publishers. Then she wrote The Seeds of Time, and after eight years of work she was an overnight success. Since then her work has been published in French, Spanish, Czech and Russian, and is available in audio versions.

Kay's best known work is The Entire and The Rose series. She is very grateful for the reception of these books, beginning with Bright of the Sky--named one of the best books of 2007 by Publishers Weekly--and ending with Prince of Storms. Also, she has been buoyed by the incredible artwork on these covers, the work of the phenomenal Stephan Martiniere. (Authors love all their books, but when you get an ugly cover, you just have to hold your head up and act proud!)

Kay is hard at work on a new novel, believing--as writers usually do--that it is her best yet. You can catch up with her latest work at www.kaykenyon.com, where she often blogs on the craft of writing and trends in the industry. You can also follow her on Face Book.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What SciFi is meant to be!!!, March 7, 2008

By 

Glenn R. Bell (Virginia Beach, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A World Too Near (Entire and the Rose, Book 2) (Hardcover)

The author has spun a web that will ensnare any true fan of SciFi. I anxiously await future books. To me, a SciFi fan of over 50 years, (starting with Tom Swift as a child), stories and authors of this complexity and skill occur rarely. I feel Kay Kenyon's writing to be as wonderous as my first introductions to Herbert, Tolkien, Asimov, Card, Simmons, OK stop me here, before I appear to overstate my admiration for this Author's gift!
Other reviewers have discussed the storyline, I will not repeat their efforts, but I will give it my highest recommendation.
As one who feels time grow dear, the time I've spent sharing, through this story, the vision and creativity of Ms. Kenyon, has been time well spent! Thank you, Kay.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Sequel to "Bright of the Sky", June 3, 2008

By 

Karen Fishler - See all my reviews

This review is from: A World Too Near (Entire and the Rose, Book 2) (Hardcover)

This second book in Kay Kenyon's science fiction series "The Entire and the Rose" follows the efforts of Titus Quinn, a former pilot, to save the Earth and ultimately bridge the gulf between our world and the Entire, a strange universe bordering ours. The Entire is ruled by the Tarig, tall insectoid authoritarians, but many other alien species live there, too, and the secondary characters in this novel are among its strongest features. My favorites are Riod, a creature "ridden" by Quinn's daugher Sydney, and Mo Ti, a former warrior whose powers are now in Sydney's service, whether she agrees with him or not.

Sydney, the ambitious estranged daughter, remains a central character and one of my favorites; her choices resonate through the book. Her mother, Johanna, her mother, is a particularly touching figure, heroic in her loneliness and conflicted cares.

As others have said, Kenyon's powerful worldbuilding elevate the series; particularly noteworthy is the River Nigh, a means of traveling transcendant distances, but only at the cost of its navigators' sanity. The River has mythical aspects and is beautifully described. The Inyx, to which Riod belongs, are a herd species that shares consciousness, but often in science fiction. such group species are described in insect terms or are largely abstract. The Inyx contain clear individuals and are tied to the animal world, an unusual approach that's very successful.

The plot revolves around whether Quinn should use the nan he brought back to the Entire in order to destroy it and counter the Tarig plan to use Earth as fuel. Underlying the action are concerns about loyalty and the knowledge that drives it; problems of information abound, and true to a story about a multi-braned universe, there are many "sides" to the plot equation. Looking forward to Book Three of this complex and satisfying series.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than Bright of the Sky, March 23, 2008

By 

Reader and Writer (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A World Too Near (Entire and the Rose, Book 2) (Hardcover)

I wasn't completely convinced by the first book in this series (The Bright of the Sky), but this one bowled me over with its intricate plotting, fast pace and suspense. The two books are much stronger when set in the Entire universe than on earth, and except for brief sections, that is where this one takes place. Kenyon rolls out images and ideas one after another, oddly and fascinatingly distorted images of earth. She is also stronger when writing women than men, and aliens than humans. Titus Quinn is the protagonist of only one of several overlapping story lines in this book, and it is better for it. There are two more books projected in this series, but this one has a nice finish so that one can wait with equanimity for book three.