At the End of the World

by Kevin J. Fellows

A wayward city spinning through time and place connects and draws travelers; trapping them with no way to return home. Each traveller: Nico the peddler; Stina the university graduate; João, a Lieutenant for the King of Portugal; and Croydon, a boy at the edge of adolescence—each must choose to either stay in the strange medieval city where magic infects and wealth is not measured in coin, or leave to find a new home in the next time and place.

Many arrivals accept the city's magic, others desire all the power for themselves, and one seeks to destroy it. Disrupting the magic of the oasis could trigger the unmaking of the city and the world containing it.

Nothing but silence, heat, and wind. The road was empty except for João and King Sebastião. It could only be purgatory. “Perhaps…” João said, more to himself than the king. “Perhaps we really have died, and this is the realm of sleeping kings.”

318 pages, Paperback

Published October 21, 2020

About the author

I'm a novelist and poet.
My debut novel is At the End of the World.

I live in the desert southwest, but was born in the wilds of New Hampshire. I also lived in upstate New York. I once wrote songs and played in a band. I run, play guitar, and bike far less often than I should.

Reviews

[Lorraine]

Kevin J. Fellows debut novel At the End of the World is highly unique, thought provoking fantasy. The interconnection between the world building and the characters is beautifully crafted. The End of the World is a city that travels each day through space and time, never in the same place. As the characters come to the city, not knowing how they arrived there, some begin to manifest magic. The magic system is fascinating because it’s not overt. One citizen can hear the heartbeats of everyone, another person can infuse objects with memories, and another can tell if anyone is coming to the city. Those who do not accept that they have come to the city, however they arrived, and actively move against the system, will not manifest any magic. It’s certainly more subtle than other fantasy books I have read. The mayor controls the underlying magic of the city. If it is destroyed or tampered with, it would mean the End of the World.
I finished this book and I still think about it. Why were those people chosen? I thought perhaps it was a redemption arc. They needed closure for something they had done and once they did the good deeds, they could go home. It was clearly not that because Nico, Stina, João and Croyden are all good people who do stay an begin building a life. Perhaps it’s more about what you would do when faced with the unknown. What would you do? Would you stay in this strange town in which you manifest magical ability? Would you take a chance and leave, starting a new life in another place and time? After reading it, I’m not sure what I would do, and maybe that’s what we are supposed be left with.
I highly recommend At the End of the World. It’s a unique fantasy and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
See full review on my blog: https://bookandnatureprofessor.com/20...

[Kaylynn Trombley]

This book had characters that captivated the reader. Here I am 2 years later wondering what those characters are doing and if there will be a sequel. Very good read! Highly recommend

[Cosmictimetraveler]

I have no idea how I came across this book. I had a free credit at the Kindle store that was almost expired and somehow I ended up buying it from an algorithm recommendation. Unfortunately, that is where the fun ends.

The story actually starts off well. The dialogue is pretty bad, but the world-building is decent and a couple of the characters are compelling. It feels like something that could be real: magical realism instead of pure fantasy. Had the story ended in this matter, with the "magic" of the town at the end of the world being some sort of cool abstract cosmic concept then I could have seen this being a 3 star easy-read.

But no, the author decides that DRAGONS and an EGG that has a DEMON (GOD??) inside of it and a SORCERER named ZOSIMOS is a much better way to wrap up the plot. Now you may be thinking... surely a DRAGON that does BATTLE with a DEMON-GOD containing EGG and a SORCERER named ZOSIMOS would make for a good story. You would think INCORRECTLY because all of this happens in about the same number of pages as is used to describe the DRESS-MAKING storyline for the British woman who falls in love with a Portuguese solider.

The book also has no GRAVITAS. The main villain is not even the DRAGON or DEMON-GOD or even the SORCERER named ZOSIMOS, but rather a GIRL named ANNE (or something of the sort). The author spends a paragraph telling her backstory which is a direct inspiration (CARBON COPY) of Elizabeth Holmes from Theranos in our real world. This GIRL is NOT HAPPY because her trillion dollar VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDED tech startup was just about to get off the ground and now she is STUCK at the end of the world. It is hard for me to feel much SYMPATHY for said GIRL when there is a mother fucking SORCERER named ZOSIMOS on the loose. And holy shit did I forget to mention there is a PIRATE who keeps the DEMON-GOD EGG wrapped in a SILK BLANKET. And his name is CAPTAIN LONG BEN?

If you are a HUGE fantasy fan and looking for an easy and uncomplicated read then maybe you will LIKE this novel. However, it was not for me!

[Mathew Thomas]

A beautiful town that flows through time. Magical and mysterious. A town where your money or social status means nothing but your deeds, good deeds are valued more than anywhere else in the world. I have to say if I had a chance I would live in this town. It's perfect and beautiful
•Different individuals from different parts of the world and different moments in time are 'trapped' in this town. The moment they enter, they become timeless. The magic of the town influences almost every one in one way or the other.
•But just as there are good people who goes along with the magic of the town, there are also a few who threatens it. And threatens the very existence of the world.
•Individuals who got here by chance, comes together to save the End Of The World and the world itself, from the evils that threatens it.
•The book is a pure blend of magic and fantasy with a tiny bit of romance. It clearly shows us the different faces of human nature.
•I absolutely loved it and this is definitely going to be on my BEST READS OF 2021.

[Scrapper InLa]

I am definitely thinking there should be more books in this world. I liked the world building, the use of magic, the writing.
My caveat: The mayor reads like a predator. She is much older than her "love interest" and it felt rather off-putting. The mayor reads like a man (probably because the author is male) and it felt unnatural. This is the same problem I had with Twilight...much older weird character takes advantage of someone. I would warn anyone that this bothers to not read this book for that one reason.

I believe that this could become a series of books (much like the Discworld) if the author so chooses. He will have to find his audience. I would definitely read more of his work.

[Erika]

I’m going to be honest and say that I’m DFNing this one. It’s unfortunate because I loved the fantastical elements and magic. However, I felt uncomfortable with some of the language that was used throughout. It definitely took me out of the story at times and I lost little elements of magic. I also feel that the word choices for the language used was unnecessary and wouldn’t be found in a fantasy novel.

It was also hard for me to stay with at times.

That being, said, I’m going to let this one go for now.