ISBN: 0-345-43904-X Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
A novel full of battles, both personal and monumental, with likable characters, intense emotions, interesting but consistent universe, and slightly distracting viewpoint shifts.
Reviewed by David on December 31, 2001
Genre: Fantasy (Weird Science, Alternate Reality, Intrigue, Historical, War, Conspiracy Theory, Demons)
Synopsis: The conclusion of an alternate is full of battles large and small, and the characters' love, courage, fear and ambition shape and are shaped by the monumental war.
In the beginning of 18th century, the world has taken a left turn: just 50 years previously, Sir Isaac Newton has discovered not only modern calculus and the laws of motion, but also the foundations of Alchemy. In the middle of an "industrial revolution" driven by rapid advances in alchemy, the history has diverged drastically from our own.
Through the new sciences, Man discovered the shadowy world of supernatural beings, previously glimpsed only by the delirious seers. The disturbed beings—masquarading as demons or angels in the past—change from subtle manipulations to outright intervention. Seemingly bent on utter extinction of the human race, they employ tools from deception and bribery to outright murder to plunge the nations into chaos.
Now the only humans that can defend the human race are gathered in North America. Sometimes fighting with each other due to ambition or deception by the Malakin, they pose little threat to the vast, magic-assisted armies gathered against them.
But the handful that see the threat clearly, including Ben Franklin and Adrienne de Mornay, struggle desperately to unite the survivors and make one last stand.
Full Review: The author has invented a fascinating and grim reality. Further, a large number of famous historical personages, from Peter the Great and Carl XII to Voltaire and Euler. Remarkably, the author has made this ambitious cast work, each being a nicely three-dimensional being with their own quirks and motivations in a universe gone awry.
Perhaps the best thing about this series is that some time in the beginning of the series the author limited himself to the inventions already revealed and explored their implications to the full, instead of introducing new wonders.
As a result the universe feels solid and deep. The characters are interesting, and their desperation and intelligence makes them more appealing. The action is almost completely non-stop and fascinating: after all, the ate of humanity hangs in the balance. The resolution is climactic, if subtly foreshadowed.
One of the negative aspects is the rather frequent switching of viewpoint characters. Mitigated somewhat by the reader's familiarity with the main characters, and author's necessity to show the large-scale struggle with the immediacy of people invoved in it, this leaves the end result still tightly integrated, well-paced, and dramatic.
This conclusion of the series fulfills the promise of fascinating concepts and well-drawn characters of Keyes' earlier installments. Providing plenty of sympathetic characters, fast and involving plot, and a combination of consistency and invention, the book is highly recommended.
Overall: 7; Plot: 6.5; Characters: 6; Style: 6; World-building: 7; Originality: 8;
Copyright date 2001, Ballantine Publishing Group (Del Rey), July 2001, Trade paperback, 311 pages
ISBN: 0-345-43904-X Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com