Beyond the end of the world by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

This sequel to The other side of the sky brings an end to Kaufman and Spooner’s fantasy duology in a most satisfying way. Continuing directly from the first book, the reader discovers Alciel, the city in the sky, where Nimh has been taken with Inshara. Nimh has lost her memory and Inshara is determined to wrest her power from her. Meanwhile North is determined to find a way to get back to his city in the clouds and rescue Nimh.

The story is told in two voices, that of Nimh and North, with brief passages from other characters scattered throughout the book. From Nimh we learn about the sky city, the Queen, the engineering, and way of life. From North the culture and clashes, power plays and the Fisher King are all described vividly. This dual narration ensures that the worlds of Alciel and Below, the beliefs and main characters, twists and plots all come alive as Nimh, and North try their best to understand what is going on and to save their worlds.

Kaufman and Spooner are talented story tellers who are masters of action driven plots and have a flair for writing believable scenarios that keep the reader glued to the page. The romance between Nimh and North is beautifully devised as well.

The authors have managed to blend what initially reads as a fantasy in with science fiction and it works really well to make a most satisfying conclusion. Readers who enjoy other books by these two authors are sure  to enjoy this duology and may like to try books by Laini Taylor and Jay Kristoff.

Themes: Fantasy, Science fiction, Romance, Science, Religion..

Pat Pledger