4 Star – Page 13 – Into the West

Book Review: The Way of Shadows by Weeks (4 stars)

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks

Read in December 2009

Similar in style to The Lies of Locke Lamora or The Blade Itself – gritty fantasy, bloody coups, relentless pace, morally challenged characters. The fantasy elements played second fiddle to the fighting, poisoning and similar training of the first half of the story. As the story unfolds, many characters names change, but not to protect any innocents.

Graphic violence and obscenities, while prevalent, were well placed and not over-used. The fighting sequences didn’t thrill me, nor did the political intrigue. Lately, I’m beginning to believe that the fantasy genre only has two avenues of expression – political power struggle where all the players wear gray or prophesied chosen child on a quest in a black and white landscape.

Weeks surprised me with a handful of precious tender moments between the characters, some of which brought tears to my eyes, often occurring in the vilest of surroundings or events. I smiled at some of the clever dialogue, but never laughed out loud.

Weeks managed to provide me with enough glimmers of hope and light amidst the dark, depraved, nihilistic fog to satisfy my yearning for redemption. He reminded me that no matter how abhorrent the deeds, the transgressor is always worthy of another chance. He allowed his characters to suffer, giving them the opportunity to stretch beyond their perceived limits, grasping for the fleeting glimpse of salvation and becoming better and stronger as a result.

Good character development with some twists and turns that managed to stay believable. Stands alone well, but leaves many questions unanswered.

Book Review: The Gathering Storm by Jordan and Sanderson (4 stars)

The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

4 out of 5 stars

Read in November 2009

Re-Read in March 2013

While I’ve read, and liked, nearly everything published (non-YA) by Sanderson, I started reading The Gathering Storm with a chip on my shoulder. And the Prologue disappointed me a bit. It just didn’t feel right. The more I read, however, the better I felt. By the end of the novel, I honestly couldn’t tell you what parts were authored by Jordan and which were authored by Sanderson.

Since this is the twelfth book of the Wheel of Time series, I’m going to avoid any kind of plot synopsis and spoilers. I will say the story moved forward significantly in this volume. I am very pleased with the ending, not so much that it stands alone, but that it was a logical place to stop in the story arc(s).

I felt the lion’s share of the novel dealt with Egwene’s story arc. I enjoyed and savored all of those chapters, especially the one encapsulating the return of Verin. I am also very satisfied with the progress made on Elaida’s story arc.

Rand was the hardest character to read and relate to, as expected. Most of his character development is internal, brooding and dark. The weather forecasts his state of mind quite well.

Surprisingly, Mat’s story appealed to me. Usually, I have to force myself to read chapters relating to Mat, as he’s always been my least favorite character in the cast.

Perrin gets only a couple of chapters. Aviendha gets more and makes quite a leap during her last appearance in this novel. I really wanted to see more from her story arc, but I can wait, patiently or not.

Cadsuane blundered signficantly about midway through the novel, so that provided a bit of drama. Nynaeve learned, instinctively, weaves never before tried since the Age of Legends (assumedly) and essentially became Rand’s backup Aes Sedai adviser.

I recommend this to all Wheel of Time fans, even if you gave up back around volume seven or eight. Sanderson is the right choice to take us to and through the Last Battle.

March 2013 musings: I re-read this as part of a months-long group read of the entire Wheel of Time series that began in April 2012. I resolved to add the ebook edition to my library each month and I purchased the first nine volumes in the series. I wanted to take better advantage of my commute time (over two hours every weekday) and my evening walk-the-dog time (between 30-60 minutes most days), so I switched to audiobooks on the tenth book. At first, I thought the male reader narrated a bit fast, but by the time I reach The Gathering Storm, I couldn’t imagine anyone else reading the male and female points of view. I love knowing how to properly pronounce the unique phrases and proper names.

Book Review: The Blade Itself by Abercrombie (4 stars)

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

4 out of 5 stars

Read in March 2009

The first three hundred pages of this book were riveting. Most of the rest were entertaining and exciting but ultimately the ending disappointed somewhat – unless you like leaping off a cliff to the next book. Lucky for me, that next book is in the mail and I can soar back into the story soon.

There isn’t a character that isn’t fascinating in this story. Glokta, the tortured torturer; Logen, the wise almost pacifistic barbarian; Jezal, the arrogant noble on a collision course with reality; Major West, an upstart commoner with the weight of the world seemingly on his shoulders; Bayaz, the mythical First Magi and his young and only apprentice Quai; and, a host of other supporting characters no less conflicted.

The Union is frothing with political intrigue. It has an Inquisition to ferret out treason and traitors, but no religious backing to legitimize or limit it’s power. It has the backing of the government and the Arch Lechter uses all that power to further his own ends and those of his allies on the Closed Council.

The barbarians at the gate, led by self-proclaimed king Bethod of the Northmen, has succeeded in uniting the divisive Northmen and has plans to invade the Union’s northern most member, Angland.

The old Empire is rousing from slumber under the leadership of a new, younger Emperor, and has also set it’s sites on the Union, or rather its lonely peninsular member Dagoska, far from the center of the Union in Adua.

Bayaz sends out several calls via his colleagues, summoning specific individuals to him. The purpose of this is not immediately apparent. The first one to answer the call is Logen Ninefingers, also sometimes known in the north as the Blody-Nine. Bayaz, Logen and the apprentice Quai set out south to Adua. Bayaz does not tell Logen why he called him and Logen is content to be called and joins the trek south.

Once in Adua, Bayaz, as First Magi, attempts to fill the only vacant seat on the Closed Council. It is held in reserve for the First Magi and has been for thousands of years. But no one, least of all the Arch Lecther, believes Bayaz can possible be THE Bayaz of legend. And Bayaz, of course, doesn’t do magic tricks on demand. An em-passe? Hardly. It only gets more interesting and bloody with each turn of the blade.

This story was quite a ride – lots of action, fighting, intrigue, and fascinating characters. Be forewarned that the ending is a bit abrupt and you will want the second book on hand to continue the adrenaline rush.

Book Review: The Terror by Simmons (4 Stars)

The Terror by Dan Simmons

4 of 5 stars

Read in Feb/Mar 2012

I read The Terror as part of a group read at the Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club at GoodReads during the month of February. I participated in the discussion, as did many others. To review those threads, please follow this link.

I started reading this the evening of February 13th, with snowfall predicted to commence after midnight. I sat shivering at the kitchen table while I read the first few chapters, even though the furnace kept my house a toasty 78 degrees Fahrenheit. I even dug out a blanket to put on the bed before I went to sleep (still shivering). Brrrr….. Great writing by Dan Simmons, atmospherically speaking.

And I restrained my insatiable desire to research the quest for the Northwest Passage and specifically the final voyage of the HMS Terror until after I finished reading the novel. Simmons kept me riveted until the last few chapters, when he decided to take an extreme detour into arctic supernatural spirituality that left me, well, cold.

Still, a great read by an outstanding author. I recommend lots of warm tea or hot cocoa and abstinence from long pork.

Book Review: Eisenhower 1956 by Nichols

Eisenhower 1956: The President’s Year of Crisis–Suez and the Brink of War by David A. Nichols

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I read non-fiction, which isn’t often enough, I tend to favor biographies or histories. I picked up Nichols’ detailed microscopic compilation of a critical year in the life of President Eisenhower based on a review my uncle wrote. Being born and raised and still living in Kansas, I have an understandable preoccupation with one of our most famous and respected residents.

The extent of Nichols’ meticulous research impressed me. His delivery of the facts and circumstances and thoughts of key players (gleaned from personal notes and diaries) brought me to the center of the conflicts and the crises. I queried many older friends and family on what they remembered of 1956 (since I wasn’t born until eight years later), most of whom were too young at the time to really remember the Suez Canal crisis.

That didn’t stop me from feeling an echo of the anxiety and the beginning of our national belief in ‘mutually assured destruction’ (MAD – a very apropos acronym, don’t you think?). Eisenhower’s early understanding of the true horrors of thermonuclear warfare paved the way for his campaign of waging peace, even at the expense of some short-sighted WWII Allies. (For a great glimpse into an early (and now classic) apocalyptic novel, please see Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank, originally published in 1959 – click here for my review).

While reading this book, I visited the website for the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. I learned the current exhibit entitled ‘Eisenhower: Agent of Change‘ ran until the end of January and the Library celebrates fifty years in 2012. As soon as I finished the book, I convinced my husband we needed to visit Abilene, since I could barely remember the last/first time I visited the Eisenhower Center (probably forty years ago or more). We spent a pleasant Saturday exploring the Museum, Library, boyhood home (intact and preserved on the grounds), the grounds and the final resting place of Dwight, Mamie and their son Doud (who died at the age of 3 in 1921).

View all my reviews

Book Review: The Hunger Games by Collins (3.5 Stars)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in July 2009

I loved this book and yet at times I hated it. Several times it made me cry, nearly sobbing out loud. It never made me laugh and pricked me to anger often.

Katniss lives in District Twelve, an area devoted to coal mining in what was the Appalachian Mountains of North America. Her father died working in the mines and her mother suffered severe debilitating depression after his death. That left Katniss, at age twelve, to provide for her mother and her young sister, Prim. She sneaks out of the confines of District Twelve, underneath a tall electrified fence, to hunt and gather in the nearby woods, keeping them from starving – barely.

Continue reading “Book Review: The Hunger Games by Collins (3.5 Stars)”

Book Review: The Summer Tree by Kay (4 Stars)

The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay

4 out of 5 stars

Read in June 2011

I took quite some time to warm-up to this earliest novel of Guy Gavriel Kay. I just couldn’t get excited about five Canadian college students agreeing (with the exception of one malcontent … but there’s always got to be one rebel) to be whisked or warped or rifted or transported (take your pick) to the world of Fionavar just to attend the king’s jubilee. Thrust into a seemingly medieval setting, complete with court politics, royal succession quandaries, manipulative magicians, kingdom-wide drought and blight and an approaching storm of vengeful evil, these young men and women adapt readily and a bit unbelievably. Even the initial loss of one in the crossing barely causes a blip of concern once the remaining four become embroiled in the avalanche of events bearing down on the kingdom.

Of all the characters, both from our world and Finovar, I respected Dave the most as well as Sharra (and I hope to learn more about her in the rest of the series). Paul seemed to excel at doing the right things for all the wrong reasons. Kimberly went native almost before leaving Earth, but Kevin remains an enigma to me. I barely glimpsed Jennifer’s tribulations and fear for her fate.

I saw the influence of Celtic mythology throughout Kay’s worldbuilding and drew parallels with other epic fantasies prevalent and popular in the late 70s and early 80s (Tolkien, Lewis and to a lesser extent Brooks).

I suspect I missed reading the Fionavar Tapestry in high school and early college because I had to rely on what I saw at the grocery store book/magazine aisle, since I didn’t have access to a library or a book store and GoodReads wasn’t even a gleam on the Internet’s nascent horizon. Had I read this series then, I am confident I would have added it to my permanent re-read collection. While The Summer Tree and the rest of the Fionavar Tapestry will remain on my shelves besides Kay’s other later great novels, I doubt I’ll be tempted to re-read it. Not with Tigana or the Lions of Al-Rassan enticing me to return and relive the wonder and the glory.

For further insights, please visit the discussion threads at the GoodReads Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club held in June 2011.

The Beyond Reality group at GoodReads started reading the entire series, The Fionavar Tapestry in mid-January 2014.

Gemmell Award Winner for Best Novel: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (5 stars)

I just realized I have not posted many book reviews penned prior to the inception of my WordPress blog (circa October 2010). After reading the recent announcement from Tor that Brandon Sanderson, one of my top ten favorite authors, had won the David Gemmell Legend Award for Best Novel, I felt the need to post my review, from August 2010, of the winning novel: The Way of Kings.

Update: Brandon posted about winning the award (he actually had two novels in the running) and traveling in Europe at his blog.

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The initial installment of the Stormlight Archives epic fantasy series stormed through my early September. Filled with the whispering wind of world building, the clatter and clamour of conflicted and conniving characters, the fermenting furor and flustering foreshadowing all building to a thundering tumultuous tempest that is yet the calm before the impending Everstorm.

Sanderson built a world far removed from our own, a rocky seemingly barren continent repeatedly ravaged by highstorms that routinely pummel the landscape and settlements with boulders and anything else it can find to hurl westward (or leeward, as highstorms always originate from the east). Plant and animal life adapted to this harsh environment by developing tough skins (exoskeletons are the norm here) and defensive mechanisms (prehensile plants that retract into their shells when approached or threatened). Humans build in caves, crevasses or very sturdy stone buildings, always facing leeward, with slanting roofs and sides to channel the wind from the highstorms over and around the structures.

Stormlight forms the foundation for the magic systems introduced and ironically is renewed or originates from the highstorms. Gems, like diamonds, garnets, topazes and emeralds, are infused with stormlight if left outside during a highstorm. The currency of the monetary system includes tiny chips of gems imbedded in spheres of glass and double as lamps, torches and other light sources. For those lucky enough to be magic wielders, the spheres also provide a ready reserve of energy for Lashing or Soulcasting. Having previously read Sanderson’s Mistborn series, I can’t say I wasn’t a little disappointed in the Lashing magic system, for it’s similarity to Allomancy (at least from a physics point-of-view).

Through several characters, who just happen to be scholars, we learn some of the history, philosophy, mythology, anthropology and religion of Roshar. Vorinism is the dominant religion of the times, but we see glimpses of how different it may have been in the distant past, especially when most history is written by the conquerors or the last man standing. Prejudice and some persecution persist, based on people’s eye color (current elite of society have light colored eyes, as opposed to the lowly darkeyes) and slavery is common, although slaves receive reduced wages in most cases. The most perplexing unanswered question stemmed from women covering their left hands (referred to as their safehands) for modesty’s sake. Not being genitalia, I wasn’t sure why a left hand (as opposed to a right hand) would evoke lust or some other unseemly immodest emotion in men. But, I’m not judging, just curious, as there are many examples from our own world of strange gender customs and modesty mores.

I related to and enjoyed many of the characters, especially Kaladin (heroic surgeon/spearman/slave/savior – this book focuses most on this character), Szeth (reluctant assassin), Dalinar (noble war leader tortured by visions during highstorms) and Wit (lives up to his name). Strangely, for the first time while reading a novel by Sanderson, I didn’t connect well with the female characters: Josnah (a heretic and devoted researcher/scholar) and Shallan (Josnah’s ward/student with a secret scarred past and a secret ulterior motive).

Sanderson excels at action sequences, vividly portraying amazing feats of magic, thrilling fight scenes and stunning battle sequences. At times, I forgot I was reading, becoming completely absorbed in what looked and felt like a spectacular cinematic experience. Hollywood screenwriters and directors could definitely learn something from Brandon Sanderson.

The ending left enough unanswered questions and new revelations to make me cringe at the two to three year wait for the second novel. I can’t say I was ‘happy’ with some of the discoveries, especially Dalinar’s final vision (actually a repeat of his first vision but our first glimpse of it). I would love to expound on this and rant a bit about the religious or philosophical repercussions, but I fear spoiling a key element and don’t want to scare prospective readers away from a magnificent epic fantasy.

I appreciated Kalladin’s struggles and triumphs, yet he has much to learn and finally has the resources and encouragement to achieve Life before Death, Strength before Weakness and the Journey before the Destination.

September 16th Addition: Brandon commissioned (and personally paid for) beautiful interior illustrations, color endplates of glyphs and maps, natural history sketchbook excerpts, various military maps all presented as character created to complement his excellent textual world building.

Here are some photos I took of the end plates from my first edition:

And finally, to top off the interior artwork, Michael Whelan created the stunning coverart (Click here for the artist’s notes on creating the cover artwork).

GR Status Updates:

09/04/2010	page 1	0.0%	2 comments
09/04/2010	page 35	3.0%	“Starting Part One ‘Above Silence'” 13 comments
09/04/2010	page 61	6.0%	“Starting third chapter ‘City of Bells'” 6 comments
09/04/2010	page 73	7.0%	“Starting Chapter 4 ‘The Shattered Plains'” 4 comments
09/04/2010	page 83	8.0%	“Starting Chapter 5 ‘Heretic'” 3 comments
09/04/2010	page 95	9.0%	“Starting Chapter 6 ‘Bridge Four'” 2 comments
09/04/2010	page 112	11.0%	“Starting Chapter 7 ‘Anything Reasonable'” 2 comments
09/05/2010	page 145	14.0%	“Starting Chapter 9 ‘Damnation'” 4 comments
09/05/2010	page 164	16.0%	“Finished Part One”
09/06/2010	page 171	17.0%	“In search of … Hoid”
09/06/2010	page 181	18.0%	“Starting Part Two ‘The Illuminating Storms'” 2 comments
09/06/2010	page 201	20.0%	“Finished Chapter 12 ‘Unity'” 2 comments
09/06/2010	page 210	21.0%	“Finished Chapter 13 ‘Ten Heartbeats'” 1 comment
09/06/2010	page 220	22.0%	“Finished Chapter 14 ‘Payday'” 1 comment
09/06/2010	page 224	22.0%	“A tenant of Vorinism” 1 comment
09/06/2010	page 227	23.0%	“Dalinor remembers Gavilar’s death quote from the ancient text entitled The Way of Kings” 1 comment
09/06/2010	page 238	24.0%	“Another reference to textbook The Way of Kings aka the Codes” 2 comments
09/06/2010	page 241	24.0%	“Finished Chapter 14 ‘Decoy'” 1 comment
09/06/2010	page 244	24.0%	“Alethi Codes of War” 1 comment
09/06/2010	page 257	26.0%	“Finished Chapter 16 ‘Cocoons'” 1 comment
09/06/2010	page 273	27.0%	“Finished Chapter 17 ‘A Bloody, Red Sunset'” 1 comment
09/06/2010	page 278	28.0%	“Fourth copy edit mistake I’ve found in the first 300 pages. All have involved two letter prepositions.” 2 comments
09/06/2010	page 282	28.0%	“A Calling and a Glory” 1 comment
09/06/2010	page 284	28.0%	“The War of Loss aka Hierocracy” 4 comments
09/06/2010	page 292	29.0%	“Another description of the Way of Kings” 2 comments
09/06/2010	page 308	31.0%	“Finished Chapters 18 ‘Highprince of War’ and Chapter 19 ‘Starfalls'” 3 comments
09/06/2010	page 316	31.0%	“Trust and Power” 1 comment
09/06/2010	page 351	35.0%	“Starting Chapter 24 ‘The Gallery of Maps'” 1 comment
09/07/2010	page 360	36.0%	“Starting Chapter 25 ‘The Butcher'” 1 comment
09/08/2010	page 377	37.0%	“Found another copy edit mishap with a missing two-letter proposition.” 4 comments
09/08/2010	page 386	38.0%	“Starting Chapter 27 ‘Chasm Duty'” 1 comment
09/08/2010	page 406	40.0%	“Starting Chapter 28 ‘Decision'”
09/10/2010	page 428	43.0%	“Finished Part Two”
09/10/2010	page 451	45.0%	“Finished second set of Interlude short stories”
09/11/2010	page 469	47.0%	“Redundant ‘close’ or am I just not reading this right: ‘A true scholar must not close her mind close on any topic, no matter how certain she may feel.'” 3 comments
09/11/2010	page 496	49.0%	“Finished three chapters from Kaladin’s PoV.”
09/11/2010	page 512	51.0%	“Finished Chapter 33 ‘Cymatics'” 2 comments
09/11/2010	page 524	52.0%	“Finished Chapters 34 & 35 ‘Stormwall’ and ‘A Light by Which to See'” 6 comments
09/11/2010	page 600	60.0%	“Finished ‘Beggars and Barmaids’ chapter.” 1 comment
09/11/2010	page 626	62.0%	“Kaladin’s regrets haunt him.” 1 comment
09/12/2010	page 645	64.0%	“Shallan becomes more desperate and possibly delusional.”
09/12/2010	page 663	66.0%	“Kaladin meets Adolin.”
09/12/2010	page 671	67.0%	“Kaladin hears Cenn’s death reading.” 4 comments
09/12/2010	page 676	67.0%	“Starting Chapter 48 ‘Strawberry'” 2 comments
09/12/2010	page 687	68.0%	“Starting Chapter 49 ‘To Care'” 1 comment
09/12/2010	page 696	69.0%	“Starting Chapter 50 ‘Backbreaker Powder'”
09/12/2010	page 704	70.0%	“Finished Part Three” 1 comment
09/12/2010	page 721	72.0%	“Finished third Interludes” 1 comment
09/12/2010	page 730	72.0%	“Another copy edit mishap” 1 comment
09/12/2010	page 751	75.0%	“Aha! Hoid again!” 2 comments
09/12/2010	page 763	76.0%	“Starting Chapter 55 ‘An Emerald Broam'”
09/12/2010	page 777	77.0%	“Starting Chapter 56 ‘That Storming Book'”
09/12/2010	page 789	78.0%	“Starting Chapter 57 ‘Wandersail'” 1 comment
09/13/2010	page 811	81.0%	“Starting Chapter 58 ‘Journey'”
09/13/2010	page 857	85.0%	“Starting Chapter 61 ‘Right for Wrong'”
09/13/2010	page 878	87.0%	“Starting Chapter 63 ‘Fear'”
09/14/2010	page 926	92.0%	“Finished Chapter 67 ‘Words'” 3 comments
09/14/2010	page 945	94.0%	“Starting Chapter 69 ‘Justice'”
09/14/2010	page 962	96.0%	“Finished Part Four (no Interludes before Part Five).”
09/14/2010	page 1007	100.0%	1 comment

Book Review: Dragon’s Egg by Forward

Dragon’s Egg by Robert L. Forward

4 out of 5 stars

I admit to a science fiction reader shortcoming: I love to watch science fiction, but usually don’t care to read it, especially the sub-genre of ‘hard science fiction.’

And to be completely honest, I thought I gave myself a migraine reading the first pages of Dragon’s Egg (an astrophysics crash course in neutron stars). Once past the cold hard super-heavy facts, I thoroughly enjoyed the development of the cheela life-form and the brief interaction the human scientists experienced.

I completely sympathized with the crew of the Dragon Slayer not wanting to blink, let alone sleep, as they watched the astonishing development of cheela society. In just a few hours, the cheela civilization went from ‘savages, stagnating in an illiterate haze’ to outpacing human development by ‘many thousands of years.’ Relatively speaking, of course.

I didn’t connect to any one particular cheela, since their lifespans were so short in human terms, nor with any of the scientists, who got the short-end of the stick when it came to their story-line. But my eyes teared up reading a farewell delivered by a cheela robot to the human scientists, a fitting benediction to a benevolent mutually beneficial first contact interaction.

Recommended for all fans of science fiction, first contact stories and hard sci-fi novels.

The reason I read this book? It won the poll for the March 2011 Beyond Reality science fiction selection.

Book Review: Haze by Modesitt (4 Stars)

Haze by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Read in November 2010

I admit this is the first Modesitt science fiction novel. I’m no stranger to his work in the fantasy field, having read all the Recluce and Spellsinger novels and two of his Imager novels.

This novel includes two story lines that alternate and converge. Both stories use Roget’s point of view, but during separate time lines in his life. This gives us a glimpse of current events and some of Roget’s back story which also serves to world build (or re-build) Earth in our future. Earth is a mess, ecologically speaking, and ruled by the Federation, a Sinese-based empire. Roget experiences discrimination in his career advancement because he is a descendant of the remnants of the United States (oriental supremacy and occidental minority). The current time-line follows Roget as he explores the planet of Haze (Federation designation due to the orbital shields) or Dubiety (as referred to by the inhabitants).

Modesitt explores two philosophies of government and society. The Federation is an extrapolation of all that’s wrong with empires, as history continually shows. Haze/Dubiety is an example of an extreme instance of choice and consequences. Citizens have freedom of choice so long as they never harm another person and take complete responsibility for their actions and their consequences. Modesitt gives several good examples of testing the boundaries of this scenario.

Comparable to some of the best of Heinlein’s social engineering science fiction. Yet the characters take back stage to the themes, but not so much that you get bogged down in data dumps or didactic digressions. I felt the most sympathy for a dachshund named Hildegarde in a painting Roget kept an image of to talk to and ease the loneliness of his existence.

Most of the science in the Federation appears to be hard science, although I don’t remember how the Federation battle cruisers traveled to Haze (whether it was FTL or hyperspace or hard science believable travel). The Dubiens had some technology that seemed fantastic and Modesitt didn’t go into explanations so I can’t confirm or deny the science behind their “Trans-Temporal Entropic Reversal” system.

I got a chuckle when Roget’s guide took him to dinner at the Lucasan club. See my status updates for more on that scene.

Roget’s leap of faith, although predictable, was no less poignant. And the epilogue, while a bit corny, did bring a smile to my face.