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Bright of the Sky (Book 1 of The Entire and the Rose)
- ISBN13: 9781591026013
- Condition: USED – Lіkе Nеw
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive pointer. Equate ουr books, prices аnd service tο thе competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Kay Kenyon, noted fοr hеr science fiction world-building, hаѕ іn thіѕ nеw series mаdе hеr mοѕt vivid аnd compelling society, thе Universe Entire. In a land-safe аnd sound galaxy thаt tunnels through ουr οwn, thе Entire іѕ a bizarre аnd seductive mix οf long-lived quasi-human аnd alien beings gathered under a sky οf fire, called thе brіght. A land οf wonders, thе Entire іѕ sustained bу monumental storm walls аnd аn exotic, never-ending river. Over аll, thе elegant аnd cruel Tarig rule supreme. Intο th
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Please don’t avoid this book because of HK review!,
This is a brilliant cut of SF/F writing and does not deserve to suffer simply because HK reviewed it in “her” usual, incoherent style. The two professional reviews give a excellent summary of the plot, so I’ll just comment on why I loved the book so much:
Kenyon’s font are so vivid that I found myself attached to even minor font, wondering what happens to them after they leave the stage. Here are only a handful of writers whose font I’ve really had dreams about, writing further adventures for them in my head, after I end a book. Kenyon is one of those writers, and I can’t wait to read the subsequent installments in the series.
The font are the stars for me here, but I must mention how fascinating the world is that Kenyon has made. The two parallel worlds are exposed gradually to the reader throughout the course of the book, but even from the first scenes they feel solidly real. They make sense because Kenyon adds the kind of telling details that bring them alive most subtly and completely for me. Both worlds come complete with nuanced social and political stresses: corporate greed and executive dogfights, hard family dynamics, political power struggles, clashes between cultures, xenophobia, and lots more. It sounds like a lot for one book, but the strands are so skillfully built and tangled that the reader’s knowledge builds in an apparently natural way. From the first, wrenching scene in the Rose (future Earth) universe–everywhere we encounter an entire ship at the mercy of technology so complex that only one person on board is capable of fully understanding, much less controlling it–to the first scenes in the Entire universe–everywhere we witness a summary execution by one of the commanding and terrifying Tarig–Kenyon sets up fascinating and illuminating parallels between the two parallel worlds.
The plot is complex and surprising also. The pace is never dull, yet events are allowed the genteel time to build believably and achieve resonance for the reader. Kenyon doesn’t pull any punches, and the consequences of the font’ decisions are sometimes brutal, adding increasing depth to the plot and characterization as the book progresses.
Entirely enjoyable. Highly recommended for those who take pleasure in both SF and Fantasy worldbuilding and want something complex and engrossing.
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|Kenyon’s Best to Date,
I have followed Kenyon’s writing career closely and have read every one of her novels. Here’s no inquiry that Bright of the Sky is her very best work yet. It is everything that you expect from her work (perfectly crafted font that you really care about, a plot and tale that holds you attention from the first page to the last and last, but certainly not least, a milieu and “world” that is utterly believable even in its most fantastical aspects) and it is everything that you expect from any science fiction/fantasy tale. This truly is one case in which the blubs on Bright’s cover can be believed — here isn’t anyone on the science fiction scene these days who does it as excellent as Kenyon.
One of the structural aspects of this book that I found particularly fascinating was the seamless interweaving of traditional “hard” science fiction with a fascinating fantasy overlay. I don’t often see this done well (or at all), but Kenyon has managed to do it in a way that makes perfect sense in the context of the tale line.
Bright is a grand adventure undertaken by public whose reality seems to leap off the pages. The off-earth forays of Titus Quinn take place in an nearly magical and mysterious world, but one whose structure and purpose (when you find out what that is) make perfect sense. This world (the “Entire”) is populated with some of the most fascinating and intriguing font (recognizable humans whose lives are patterned from glimpses of an ancient Chinese cultrure) and critters (you’ll have to read Bright yourself) that I have come across in my reading. The world-building is just delightful.
Bright is apparently the first book in a 4-book series so here are some tale elements that remain loose at the end of this first book. But the tale of Bright, itself, is complete and concluded in this first book. I was left with the usual reaction at the end of a 1st book — “What happens next?” In addition to that anticipation, though, I also got a nice sense of satisfaction that many of the vital questions raised and conflicts posed in Bright were resolved (even though that resolution set the stage for what must come next in Volume 2 and subequest books).
All in all, this was a delightful read and, as I noted higher than, the best work that Kenyon has done to date. This is one that is worth the hardcover price — you’re probably going to hear public talking about this one and I reckon you’re going to want to read it.
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