Endless (Crescent, Book 1) [Formato Kindle]

There is something both cleansing and scary about fantasy, especially the kind that is woven by Matt Bone in his novel, ENDLESS, a detailed, structural wonder. The book is beautifully written and professionally presented, the first in the author's Crescent Series. And it gives the reader a brand new world experience.

After an unexplained catastrophe destroys everything he knows on earth, the main character, John, finds himself in the small village of Milnadon in the country of Ireledor on another planet, Crescent. He is cared for by Wimda, a herbalist, who makes a brief but enchanting appearance, and is reprised at the end of the book in the thoughts of John who wonders about her wellbeing. He meets a fellow earthling and is introduced to a panoply of humanoids and beasts. As he regains strength, John learns about this new world he has fallen into, joins two women fleeing their subjugated city, and becomes involved in a catastrophic war when supernatural entities called the Endless return to plague the planet.

From the start I was completely immersed in ENDLESS. The descriptions of Crescent are a marvel, so rich and plentiful in contrast to Earth's parched landscape and I was in awe of the the author's deft world building, the completeness of it and, at times, the whimsy of his creation. I totally loved the characters, especially John, a sensitive, intuitive thinker who suffers and ponders and at times waxes lyrical. He meets his foil in Manvedian, an interesting character indeed. I rode the joorun along with John when he "grabbed handfuls of shaggy fur as he hung on, the ropes grating against his wrists ... and saw the buildings dwindling behind them, a faint curl of blue rising into the sky above." And when the Endless first appeared, I felt like a kid gazing up at fireworks in the Magic Kingdom.

Amazon estimates that the printed version of ENDLESS would contain 375 pages. Be ready for a long, but thrilling ride, one I highly recommend to all lovers of fantasy and high adventure.

I won this book from librarything member giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

It is with relief that I have finished this book. Endless is an apt title for multiple reasons. However, I don't want that to suggest this book is not worth reading. Quite the contrary in fact. This book essentially is a start to a vast quest of a ragtag band of 5 people from varied backgrounds, different worlds in fact. We are introduced in alternating chapters to John, who comes from Earth after a horrible apocalyptic event, and then Telda and Ceria who reside in the other world. From there, they meet each other and journey across many lands in the attempt to defeat the horrible Half-man and the Endless, light beasts that can kill large volumes of people easily and without remorse. They are joined also by Manvedian, a character that has perhaps different goals.

There are many strengths of this book. I was very impressed by the creation of another world, with different kingdoms warring against each other, different sort of beasts and culture. The magnitude and scope of the book in itself is daunting and vast. The prose is beautifully written and descriptions well done. I admired the development of two particular characters: John and Manvedian. John has been thrust into a completely different world, losing someone he loved back in his home planet, and has to figure out his new place in this society. Manvedian was probably my favorite-- I will not give away his secrets, but he is a fascinating character that I hope we will see of more in the future.

The book is long. It took me three weeks to finish and I usually finish a book in 2-3 days. It reminded me a lot of Fellowship of the Ring where we journey for a long way with hobbits until the action picks up a lot at the end, leading up to the Two Towers. In this book, we have Ceria instead of a ring, as a tool to end overwhelming evil. But like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it's worth staying until the end. I look forward to seeing where this goes in the next installment.

"Endless" is the ambitious first book in what author Matt Bone plans as a fantasy series about a world called Crescent. I think this book is an excellent start. The descriptions of Crescent, with its spirit storms and white, distant sun, are beautiful to read. Fans of the fantasy series genre should not overlook this book.

The story opens with the end of human life on Planet Earth, apparently save for an Englishman named John, who heretofore had experienced but ordinary pains of love and career. Since there is no one for John to interact with, the author accomplishes a considerable feat by making John's physical and psychological struggles seem accurate and captivating, especially since there is virtually no dialogue. When John inexplicably finds himself in a new, unfamiliar world, we identify with his process of discovery. A fellow earthling named Jago, a Brazilian scientist, tries John's nerves (though I liked him). And Manvedian, a fascinatingly flawed warrior--think Russell Crowe--lends excitement and bravado.

My only quibble is ironic. Because Bone is indeed a writer of integrity, things of the familiar (i.e., planet earth) struck me as more urgent than the utterly fictive matters of Crescent. For example, there's a brief passage in which Jago asks John if he ever thought of committing suicide and if the universe has meaning. Likewise, Manvedian briefly talks about a TV show when he was a kid and how he became a criminal. I found such fragile moments that delve into the mystery of life to be the real transport to a new world.

If it were up to me (and of course it is not), in future books a few more earthlings should be found, and there would be more interplay with earth somehow. The earthly roots are part of what makes the story move. Also, Telde and Ceria, a kind of love-hate warrior sisterhood against the forces of oppression, should continue to be humanized. But again, this series gets off to an excellent start, and deserves a wide audience.

Jon P. Bloch (The Kindle Book Review)