Customer Reviews

A World Too Near (Entire and the Rose, Book 2)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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 World Too Near: 3.5/5

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 is an review specific to A World Too Near

A World Too Near: With A World Too Near and subsequent novels, the pace begins to pick up as Kenyon spends less time crafting her world and more time playing in it. Building on some of the surprises that emerge toward the end of Bright of the Sky, the principal conflict of the series is revealed and the battle lines are drawn. The question of who to trust is paramount and a looming decision allows Kenyon to really dig into her cast of characters. Where Bright of the Sky was about introducing the Entire, A World Too Near is really about establishing the key characters and fleshing out their motivations as they traverse the fantastic civilization. One of the most significant developments in this regard is the introduction of Helice Maki, another transplanted Earthling with an endgame that may or may not align with Quinn's. Upon entering the Entire, the plot evolves from a simple us-versus-them conflict into a more complex adventure. Although it suffers slighty from middle novel syndrome, A World Too Near really sets the stage well for the last half of the series.

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.

The first book was offered free on the Kindle and left me wanting more.
I purchased the second book and was disappointed. The pace was slow and I felt the author was trying to fill up the pages with descriptions of a world we are familiar with after reading the first book. It was lacking action for me.

The elements of world-building, advanced races, unexpected plot twists and mysteries are all presented in a well-written style. i'm a writer as well as a reader. I recommend this series.

Titus Quinn goes back (not alone) into the Entire on a mission to blow up a device that will ruin the Earth.
Oh, dear. Imagine my surprise after reading the first novel, Bright of the Sky, and coming into this mess. The fantasy elements are sharper in this story, only Helice Maki can provide any kind of sci-fi edge to this. She's more featured in this story, but....
Many characters introduced, many of them single-minded and boring. One key character not in the first book is introduced early on... and I wish she was just dead. A brief pause on Earth, but most action takes place in, or journeying to, the Tarig fortress of Ahnenhoon.
Titus' daughter takes up another portion of the book, her part magnified. Sydney was tolerable in the first book because her chapters were small, quick little feral notes here and there. But I found myself not liking her journey, nor her companions. She has a plan, and its launched early on. We wait to see how it does, and periodically go back to Sidney, and she makes a nice roadblock to any kind of buildup with her slow paced story.
Not that there is a lot of buildup, its emotional turmoil for Titus, and another long journey. There are less surprises about the Entire this time, must have seen it all the first time.
My biggest hurdle with this book is the loss of real conversation.
The interactions between main characters Titus and Anzi, gone.
Replaced with people Titus does not like, thus its a lot of bickering and things that get old well before their pages are. For a book about a doomsday device I guess there had to be a cockroach, and I found the nigh-invulnerability of Mo Ti, Sydney's confidant, quite ridiculous. Anti-climatic ending for me despite Titus' heartfelt burden, as I wrestled with the burden of just wanting the tiresome story to end. Better luck in the next book...

This novel is even better than the first in the series. The characters are finely drawn, each a unique and complicated person (or sentient, as the case may be). The world building and the play on language equal DUNE for richness and complexity. The social structures and the layers of meaning in every word and action are almost too much to absorb on a first reading.

A WORLD TOO NEAR makes me think of some other classic writers of science fiction, from Asimov to Greg Bear to Ursula K. LeGuin. Kenyon's ability to play with the tropes of both fantasy and hard science astounds me. And I find myself on the edge of my seat, waiting to see where we're going in the next book.

THE ENTIRE AND THE ROSE captivates as surely as any series in the field.

I recently finished A World Too Near and I was fascinated by the depths the author explored in this iteration. The novel reaches out and shows you the lives of characters that had been mentioned in the first book but whose fates had remained a mystery. The story really spreads out and covers the length and breadth of the Entire and begins to really explore the world and its inhabitants.

Some of the things that others fault Kenyon for, I simply can't agree with. The way she shifts perspective, sometimes from paragraph to paragraph, may be unusual in other novels but in the Entire, it's almost required to allow each character's inner voice to be expressed. The sheer magnitude of the story, the politics and motivations in play, require that each character be shown in their truest form.

A whole new layer of difficulty is heaped upon Titus Quinn. He isn't a Mary Sue; he makes bizarre choices and goes trudging off in the wrong direction plenty. No character is perfect. Helice is a spider, to be sure, but even her role is necessary and reasonable given the world she was raised in.

As soon as I read the last page, I had to have the third book.

As I mentioned in my review for the Bright of the Sky, this is an epic tale. It takes patience; things don't happen all at once. Things are revealed at the author's pace, and in the meanwhile, she shows you incredible things along the way. So enjoy the ride.

Just finished A World Too Near, and immediately had to order book 3 and 4. I've enjoyed the first 2 books in the series VERY much. I typically prefer fantasy over science fiction (favorite authors are Goodkind, Feist, George RR Martin, Salvatore), but would highly recommend this series.