{"id":394,"date":"2007-06-29T19:37:12","date_gmt":"2007-06-30T02:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=394"},"modified":"2021-05-30T21:36:25","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T01:36:25","slug":"world-without-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/394","title":{"rendered":"World Without End"},"content":{"rendered":"

World Without End<\/em> (1994) Sean Russell<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reading “The River Into Darkness” series made me want to read another series written by Sean Russell, so I picked up the “”Moontide and Magic Rise” series, for which “The River Into Darkness” is the prequel. I was surprised to discover that I found this series much easier to follow after having just read its prequel. That isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy this series when I read it before, only that the events of “The River Into Darkness” helped make the events in this book more clear.<\/p>\n

Tristam Flattery, a young naturalist, is the nephew and heir of Erasmus Flattery. Many believed that Erasmus had magical powers, and as the heir to Erasmus, many believe that Tristam himself may have magical powers, and that rumor has often set Tristam apart from others, although his cousin Jamis has been his lifelong friend and ally.<\/p>\n

Tristam is called to the capital, to the King’s arboretum, by the King’s Man, to attempt to solve the botanical mystery of a plant that is supposed to support the health and long life of the king–a king who has lived for more than a century. This seemingly small task will lead Tristam on a voyage around the world.<\/p>\n

This story has a variety of elements: Patrick O’Brien’s “Master and Commander” series comes first to mind. Tristam himself reminds me a bit–as I believe he is supposed to–of Charles Darwin, especially with the long sea voyage and the botany and empiricism.<\/p>\n

Although Tristam is one of the main characters, there are a variety of other characters who played a major role, starting with Jamis, but including Averil Kent, Alissa Sommers, and the Duchess of Morland. I particularly liked Avriel Kent’s character. He is by his own estimation an old man, and he has no powers other than his ability as a painter, and his intellect and curiosity. He suffers from the limitations brought about by his age, however, his lack of physical prowess does not keep him from involvement in the political intrigue. I found this very refreshing.<\/p>\n

As with his other books, World Without End<\/em> tells and long and winding story. Tristam travels the world and meets many strange people. As with Sean Russells other stories, this is not a quick read, and to be honest I found parts of it somewhat confusing the first time I read the book. However, a slower second reading, combined with a greater understanding from the prequel, made things much more clear this time, and even more enjoyable.<\/p>\n

Do not pick up this series if you are looking for a light read to take up a couple hours. Even I took some time to read these books. However, I found my patience greatly rewarded with interesting characters and a fascinating story.
\nRating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

World Without End (1994) Sean Russell Reading “The River Into Darkness” series made me want to read another series written by Sean Russell, so I picked up the “”Moontide and Magic Rise” series, for which “The River Into Darkness” is the prequel. I was surprised to discover that I found this series much easier to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12,2,291],"tags":[240],"class_list":["post-394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-10","category-fantasy","category-paper","tag-sean-russell"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-6m","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":393,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/393","url_meta":{"origin":394,"position":0},"title":"Compass of the Soul","author":"Michelle","date":"June 19, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"The Compass of the Soul (1999) Sean Russell The sequel (and conclusion) to Beneath the Vaulted Hills, The Compass of the Soul continues the story of Erasmus Flattery, Countess Chilton, Anna Fielding, Lord Eldrich, and those who have gathered around them in the struggle for the fate of magic. As\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/06\/Compass-of-the-Soul.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":392,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/392","url_meta":{"origin":394,"position":1},"title":"Beneath the Vaulted Hills","author":"Michelle","date":"June 18, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Beneath the Vaulted Hills (1997) Sean Russell I've always been fond of Sean Russell's books. They're dense and complex, and I often understand them better on the second reading. But they're also beautifully crafted works full of marvelous characters. Unfortunately, Sean Russell has not published many books. Nine fantasy novels\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/06\/Beneath-the-Vaulted-Hills.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":73,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/73","url_meta":{"origin":394,"position":2},"title":"Moon Tide and Magic Rise","author":"Michelle","date":"May 14, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Moontide and Magic Rise: World Without End (1994) and Sea Without a Shore (1996) Sean Russell Every time I read Sean Russell, I am always surprised at how good his books are. I pick them up knowing they are going to be good, but the pessimistic part of me always\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/05\/World-without-End.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":635,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/635","url_meta":{"origin":394,"position":3},"title":"The One Kingdom","author":"Michelle","date":"August 22, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The One Kingdom (2001) Sean Russell I love Sean Russell's writing. I've read everything he's written that I could get my hands on, including the mystery series he co-wrote as T.F. Banks. The One Kingdom and the other books he has written are very different from the supernatural fantasy that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/One-Kingdom.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":643,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/643","url_meta":{"origin":394,"position":4},"title":"The Shadow Roads","author":"Michelle","date":"August 30, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The Shadow Roads (2004) Sean Russell The Shadow Roads is the final book in Sean Russell's 'The Swans' War' trilogy. Having escaped the Stillwater (those who survived) the children of Wyrr now prepare for battle. In the realms of the Renee and the Wills mortals prepare for war, even without\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/Shadow-Roads.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":638,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/638","url_meta":{"origin":394,"position":5},"title":"The Isle of Battle","author":"Michelle","date":"August 26, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The Isle of Battle (2002) Sean Russell The Isle of Battle is good book. However, it is a middle book in a series; although the tale continues forward, the book doesn't have the momentum of the first book. The characters are still good, the intrigue is still good, but the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/Isle-of-Battle.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}