Strakul reviewed The key to creation by Kevin J. Anderson (Terra incognita -- bk. 3)
Review of 'The key to creation' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
The final book in the Terra Incognita series. It's a fast-paced, action-packed finale. Lots is going on, though the action tends to focus on Ishalem and the two ships- Dyscovera, and Al-Orizin. There is much more magic than in the prior books, which I felt detracted a bit from the story since (without spoiling it) it has to be used to stop the conflict. The story arc is actually pretty predictable; I don't remember seeing any major plot twists. The ending felt a bit dragged out, probably since it was epic in scale, but it kept switching to a set of POVs where very little action (but otherwise cool things) was going on.
The characters is really where this series shines. There are two sides of the conflict, but you can't decide if the Tierrans or Urabans are right since both sets of characters are so engaging and you want …
The final book in the Terra Incognita series. It's a fast-paced, action-packed finale. Lots is going on, though the action tends to focus on Ishalem and the two ships- Dyscovera, and Al-Orizin. There is much more magic than in the prior books, which I felt detracted a bit from the story since (without spoiling it) it has to be used to stop the conflict. The story arc is actually pretty predictable; I don't remember seeing any major plot twists. The ending felt a bit dragged out, probably since it was epic in scale, but it kept switching to a set of POVs where very little action (but otherwise cool things) was going on.
The characters is really where this series shines. There are two sides of the conflict, but you can't decide if the Tierrans or Urabans are right since both sets of characters are so engaging and you want whoever is the POV at the moment to win.
The plot is, as I've said before, somewhat predictable; however, don't let that stop you as the characters really pull it off.
The setting is very nice, it's a low-magic, colonial-eraish world with two 'distinct' cultures/religions. The latter books keep introducing more and more magic, which in my opinion was not needed.
A lot of people criticize [a:Kevin J Anderson|4933083|Kevin J Anderson|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] for the continued Dune books, but a series like this makes you realize that he's actually a fine author. Even if you don't like the extended Dune universe, you should give this independent trilogy a try.