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Terra Incognita #3
The Key to Creation
After long voyages, encountering hurricanes and sea monsters, Criston Vora from Tierra and Saan of Uraba race to the legendary promised land of Terravitae. Saan's quest is to find the key to creation, a weapon that may defeat Uraba's enemies, and Criston wants vengeance against the monstrous Leviathan that ruined his life long ago.
Paperback
First published July 7, 2011
20 people are currently reading
683 people want to read
About the author
Kevin J. Anderson
1,029 books3,085 followersYes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
May 7, 2025
It's hard to judge the last book in an epic trilogy such as this on its own. Because the reality is that this book stands on the shoulders of what came before.
So let me say this first about the whole series. I loved it!
Loved the characters, loved the religions, loved the cultures and adored the setting. Kevin J. Anderson has clearly poured his heart into this trilogy and it's magnificent.
That said this series is not for the faint of heart... it's long and intense. There are many characters and storylines to follow that criss cross each other.
There is no way anyone can miss the parallels between Ishalem and Jerusalem; and the battle for 'whose religion is correct'. I love the way Anderson brings this debate to a close.
Overall this last book had two flaws for me... there is a cheap-ish use of magic to hurry a situation along and even cheaper use of magic in one instance near the end. Even though it's totally within the viability of the world and magical rules it still feels lame. But I can forgive Anderson for wanting certain things to happen at the same time.
Endings are hard, as many of us know. They are especially hard when you have a cast of characters that people love whom if one is happy another is not. There was no possible way for everyone to be content at the end of this book. I appreciate that it's not "happily ever after" and instead some hard choices are made. Overall Anderson does give us a lot of satisfaction in where our characters end up.
I am not a crier and yet I was slightly misty eyed as I read about the next steps in some journeys for our characters. I have come to know and love these people and all their imperfections.
I can't say much else except start at the beginning and be prepared for immersion into a realm that is built off core fantasy literature ideals, with a heaping helping of Anderson's brilliant imagination.
Truly I thank Kevin J. Anderson for providing me with such a glorious journey I will not soon forget.
So let me say this first about the whole series. I loved it!
Loved the characters, loved the religions, loved the cultures and adored the setting. Kevin J. Anderson has clearly poured his heart into this trilogy and it's magnificent.
That said this series is not for the faint of heart... it's long and intense. There are many characters and storylines to follow that criss cross each other.
There is no way anyone can miss the parallels between Ishalem and Jerusalem; and the battle for 'whose religion is correct'. I love the way Anderson brings this debate to a close.
Overall this last book had two flaws for me... there is a cheap-ish use of magic to hurry a situation along and even cheaper use of magic in one instance near the end. Even though it's totally within the viability of the world and magical rules it still feels lame. But I can forgive Anderson for wanting certain things to happen at the same time.
Endings are hard, as many of us know. They are especially hard when you have a cast of characters that people love whom if one is happy another is not. There was no possible way for everyone to be content at the end of this book. I appreciate that it's not "happily ever after" and instead some hard choices are made. Overall Anderson does give us a lot of satisfaction in where our characters end up.
I am not a crier and yet I was slightly misty eyed as I read about the next steps in some journeys for our characters. I have come to know and love these people and all their imperfections.
I can't say much else except start at the beginning and be prepared for immersion into a realm that is built off core fantasy literature ideals, with a heaping helping of Anderson's brilliant imagination.
Truly I thank Kevin J. Anderson for providing me with such a glorious journey I will not soon forget.
March 3, 2013
Kevin J. Anderson finishes off this ambitious trilogy with a whirlwind story that ties in a massive battle, two separate explorations, and the revelation of an ancient mythology come back to life. As with the first two novels, this one never drags, always keeps the story fresh, and it is so full of ideas that I imagine Mr. Anderson dug out his journal of writer's ideas and just threw in every little thought he's had in the past ten years. And it all fits together well. My only hesitation in giving this a five star rating is twofold--
For one thing, he drags his denouement a little too much, and I was a bit impatient to reach the end, which I had not been for the first two novels. I suppose reader's exhaustion is a possibility here. But I'm sure he just felt he needed to tie up all his loose ends, there were just a lot of them.
Secondly, because this book focuses on religion, and the troubles caused by conflicting religions, he seemed to overreach in his depiction of this, going out of his way to make both sides look foolish for their beliefs and blaming most of the world's ills on these beliefs. Since he creates the beliefs, and the mythologies, and the truth behind them, he is able to craft the story to perfectly aid him in grinding this ax against religion. But if he was looking to draw analogies to our world, it did not work, because he rigged the story in a way that just doesn't fit our world. But I could be wrong, he might not have been going for anything deeper than a wild adventure. Though I would find that a little difficult to believe.
But overall, it was a fun ride, for all three books. And let me add my son, who read this over a two year period from the age of 15 to 17, loved it as well.
For one thing, he drags his denouement a little too much, and I was a bit impatient to reach the end, which I had not been for the first two novels. I suppose reader's exhaustion is a possibility here. But I'm sure he just felt he needed to tie up all his loose ends, there were just a lot of them.
Secondly, because this book focuses on religion, and the troubles caused by conflicting religions, he seemed to overreach in his depiction of this, going out of his way to make both sides look foolish for their beliefs and blaming most of the world's ills on these beliefs. Since he creates the beliefs, and the mythologies, and the truth behind them, he is able to craft the story to perfectly aid him in grinding this ax against religion. But if he was looking to draw analogies to our world, it did not work, because he rigged the story in a way that just doesn't fit our world. But I could be wrong, he might not have been going for anything deeper than a wild adventure. Though I would find that a little difficult to believe.
But overall, it was a fun ride, for all three books. And let me add my son, who read this over a two year period from the age of 15 to 17, loved it as well.
December 30, 2011
http://www.rantingdragon.com/the-key-...
The Key to Creation is the third and final installment of the Terra Incognita trilogy by Kevin J Anderson. You can also read the reviews of the first and second books, The Edge of the World and The Map of All Things.
A slightly different review
As this is the third book of a trilogy, with both previous installments also reviewed by me, it was becoming increasingly difficult to not simply repeat myself and basically end up publishing the same review three times. Additionally, since this is the third book in a series, I’m going to assume anybody reading this review has read the first two books, or if not, would obviously start with them based on the strength or weakness of the original two reviews. As a result, I’m instead going to format this as a retrospective of the trilogy as a whole, discussing what I think about the major things that happen.
NOTE: THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT SPOILER DETAILS FOR BOOK THREE IN THIS REVIEW. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO BE READ BEFORE THE THIRD BOOK, BUT READ AS A RETROSPECTIVE AFTER READING THE ENTIRE SERIES. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK, DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW.
This is the war that doesn’t end
The overarching story event of this series is the holy war between the Urabans and the Tierrans, which starts as the result of a misunderstanding and runs for pretty much the entire lifetimes of the characters without any actual pitched battles between armies or any remotely serious attempt by anybody to end the war and bring about peace.
While I understand that a conflict provides a great backdrop for action, and religious wars have a way of spiraling out of control very quickly, they also have a way of burning out very quickly. War may be great for furthering the dogma, but it’s woefully bad for business when all your menfolk keep marching off to get murdered.
The problem I had with it in this series is there’s no actual warfare in this war, as mentioned above, just 20+ years of terrorist attacks, overwhelming ambushes, and one-sided sneak attacks—usually done without authorization, just making things worse. Additionally, beyond one event at the very start of the first book, nobody from either side makes even the most feeble attempt to work out their problems or to bring an end to the bloodshed. No back-room talks by diplomats who are above the bickering, no proposals or even outrageous demands from either side about what they’d require to stop fighting—nothing.
It felt so unrealistic throughout the entire series, the way absolutely everybody was on board with a battle to the death despite there being no actual battles to speak of. This eagerness to fight to the bitter end actually segues nicely into my next issue.
The deus ex machine gun
I’d mentioned in the previous reviews for the series that it sometimes felt like some sort of greater being must be secretly responsible for the way this holy war just would not end, and in fact managed to escalate for 20 full years, and while I couldn’t be further from the truth, the truth is actually much more problematic from a narrative standpoint.
The goal of the ships of exploration sent out by each side of this conflict is to find Terravitae—the place from which their Gods Aiden and Urec set out at the behest of their father, the creator God Ondun—each ship with the hopes of enlisting their God’s aid against the evil people of the other side.
They do, in fact, find Terravitae, and they do find Ondun, who is indeed an incredibly powerful being. However, he freely admits to not being the creator, and admits that he himself was part of a whole civilization who in turn had their own Gods that were yet more powerful. Faced with the truth of their God standing there saying “I’m not a god,” their response, I suppose, is somewhat understandable. They say, essentially, “We don’t care that you’re not God. Come pretend to be God and make everyone stop fighting,” and Ondun says, “Sure.”
What follows is, from a narrative standpoint, one of the worst endings I’ve ever read. “God” swoops in with noise and thunderbolts and says, “Kids, behave.” And these two peoples, firmly entrenched in the belief that theirs is the one true faith and that the other side are evil terrorists and animals little better than savages, peoples who have been warring for over 20 years in an ever-escalating series of atrocities, frown contritely and say “Yes Daddy, we’re sorry.” And the war ends.
Just like that.
The chapters following basically hold that up. Nobody tries to keep the war going, nobody even seems to particularly feel bad about it. They go, “Well, I’m still upset, you know, about the thousands of dead innocents, but the big angry man said to behave or he’d punish us, so we’d better do what he says.”
This is either an ironic slam in the face of monotheistic religions with a strict moral code or an incredibly problematic espousal of “Everyone should do what religion says out of fear of punishment.”
Why you should read this book
If you’ve read this far, you’ve already read this book or you aren’t planning to. For those of you that have already read it, I’m sure you see what I mean in this section from the previous reviews where I end up apologizing for sounding so critical, since I really enjoyed reading the books. The series is fun. The characters are interesting and engaging. The story is exciting. There’s Gods and Sea Monsters and Magic and Life and Death and Hope and Despair.
The problem, I think, is the recent prevalence of authors whose primary goal is consistency and believability (even in fantasy) and then weaving an interesting and entertaining story. This is not to say that there’s anything remotely wrong with reversing those goals, with writing a great engaging story and not worrying so much about how the disbelief is suspended.
Some of my favorite books are just a ripping good yarn. Some of the greatest books in fantasy are telling a story to tell a story and that’s that. This story actually puts me in mind of the Odyssey, possibly one of the first fantasy stories in Western Civilization, and hardly one to be criticized for being unrealistic.
The Key to Creation is the third and final installment of the Terra Incognita trilogy by Kevin J Anderson. You can also read the reviews of the first and second books, The Edge of the World and The Map of All Things.
A slightly different review
As this is the third book of a trilogy, with both previous installments also reviewed by me, it was becoming increasingly difficult to not simply repeat myself and basically end up publishing the same review three times. Additionally, since this is the third book in a series, I’m going to assume anybody reading this review has read the first two books, or if not, would obviously start with them based on the strength or weakness of the original two reviews. As a result, I’m instead going to format this as a retrospective of the trilogy as a whole, discussing what I think about the major things that happen.
NOTE: THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT SPOILER DETAILS FOR BOOK THREE IN THIS REVIEW. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO BE READ BEFORE THE THIRD BOOK, BUT READ AS A RETROSPECTIVE AFTER READING THE ENTIRE SERIES. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK, DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW.
This is the war that doesn’t end
The overarching story event of this series is the holy war between the Urabans and the Tierrans, which starts as the result of a misunderstanding and runs for pretty much the entire lifetimes of the characters without any actual pitched battles between armies or any remotely serious attempt by anybody to end the war and bring about peace.
While I understand that a conflict provides a great backdrop for action, and religious wars have a way of spiraling out of control very quickly, they also have a way of burning out very quickly. War may be great for furthering the dogma, but it’s woefully bad for business when all your menfolk keep marching off to get murdered.
The problem I had with it in this series is there’s no actual warfare in this war, as mentioned above, just 20+ years of terrorist attacks, overwhelming ambushes, and one-sided sneak attacks—usually done without authorization, just making things worse. Additionally, beyond one event at the very start of the first book, nobody from either side makes even the most feeble attempt to work out their problems or to bring an end to the bloodshed. No back-room talks by diplomats who are above the bickering, no proposals or even outrageous demands from either side about what they’d require to stop fighting—nothing.
It felt so unrealistic throughout the entire series, the way absolutely everybody was on board with a battle to the death despite there being no actual battles to speak of. This eagerness to fight to the bitter end actually segues nicely into my next issue.
The deus ex machine gun
I’d mentioned in the previous reviews for the series that it sometimes felt like some sort of greater being must be secretly responsible for the way this holy war just would not end, and in fact managed to escalate for 20 full years, and while I couldn’t be further from the truth, the truth is actually much more problematic from a narrative standpoint.
The goal of the ships of exploration sent out by each side of this conflict is to find Terravitae—the place from which their Gods Aiden and Urec set out at the behest of their father, the creator God Ondun—each ship with the hopes of enlisting their God’s aid against the evil people of the other side.
They do, in fact, find Terravitae, and they do find Ondun, who is indeed an incredibly powerful being. However, he freely admits to not being the creator, and admits that he himself was part of a whole civilization who in turn had their own Gods that were yet more powerful. Faced with the truth of their God standing there saying “I’m not a god,” their response, I suppose, is somewhat understandable. They say, essentially, “We don’t care that you’re not God. Come pretend to be God and make everyone stop fighting,” and Ondun says, “Sure.”
What follows is, from a narrative standpoint, one of the worst endings I’ve ever read. “God” swoops in with noise and thunderbolts and says, “Kids, behave.” And these two peoples, firmly entrenched in the belief that theirs is the one true faith and that the other side are evil terrorists and animals little better than savages, peoples who have been warring for over 20 years in an ever-escalating series of atrocities, frown contritely and say “Yes Daddy, we’re sorry.” And the war ends.
Just like that.
The chapters following basically hold that up. Nobody tries to keep the war going, nobody even seems to particularly feel bad about it. They go, “Well, I’m still upset, you know, about the thousands of dead innocents, but the big angry man said to behave or he’d punish us, so we’d better do what he says.”
This is either an ironic slam in the face of monotheistic religions with a strict moral code or an incredibly problematic espousal of “Everyone should do what religion says out of fear of punishment.”
Why you should read this book
If you’ve read this far, you’ve already read this book or you aren’t planning to. For those of you that have already read it, I’m sure you see what I mean in this section from the previous reviews where I end up apologizing for sounding so critical, since I really enjoyed reading the books. The series is fun. The characters are interesting and engaging. The story is exciting. There’s Gods and Sea Monsters and Magic and Life and Death and Hope and Despair.
The problem, I think, is the recent prevalence of authors whose primary goal is consistency and believability (even in fantasy) and then weaving an interesting and entertaining story. This is not to say that there’s anything remotely wrong with reversing those goals, with writing a great engaging story and not worrying so much about how the disbelief is suspended.
Some of my favorite books are just a ripping good yarn. Some of the greatest books in fantasy are telling a story to tell a story and that’s that. This story actually puts me in mind of the Odyssey, possibly one of the first fantasy stories in Western Civilization, and hardly one to be criticized for being unrealistic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2012
Like in previous previous books, you have to pay attention as you'll jump all over the world page after page. There are a number of simultaneous plot lines and the author works are hard keeping them all in sync, moving you between then pretty rapidly. It's fast paced and best read if you can read for good bit of time. This isn't a page a week kind of book... :P
That said, it's a great book that brings everything together, wrapping everything up. I don't want to spoil it, but let me say the journey begun continues and completes in this final book, but in a way you might not expect.
Where the first book was very much a "human" book, with little supernatural going on, as the series went, that seemed to change, with the characters discovering that the world may not be what they expected and more wild and weird than they ever imagined. That journey continues...
If you've read the other books in this series, or like Kevin J. Anderson, then this is a must read.
That said, it's a great book that brings everything together, wrapping everything up. I don't want to spoil it, but let me say the journey begun continues and completes in this final book, but in a way you might not expect.
Where the first book was very much a "human" book, with little supernatural going on, as the series went, that seemed to change, with the characters discovering that the world may not be what they expected and more wild and weird than they ever imagined. That journey continues...
If you've read the other books in this series, or like Kevin J. Anderson, then this is a must read.
August 11, 2011
A lengthy read, just as the previous books. It just seems like Anderson had to rush at to tie up all the ends in this book. I was a little disappointed in the resolutions of some of the stories, but overall a good series.
September 5, 2019
Finally got around to finishing this. after starting with the audio, then finishing with the paperback. Why did I take so long, you may ask. Well, I found it hard to stay motivated, to be honest. While I liked the first book in the series, by the time I hit this one, I was struggling to find too much to like. The overall plot was great, something of a treatise on religious "differences," and you could slot in almost any examples of religious animosity over the years. Some of the characters are interesting, such as Criston Vora, Mateo or Istar, but I felt little interest in most of them. The author is a good one, and I've liked a lot of his books, this one just fails to cut the mustard.
June 29, 2012
Shadowhawk reviews the third Terra Incognita novel by Kevin J. Anderson, which was nominated for the David Gemmell Legend Awards this year.
“Lots of magic, lots of monsters, lots of startling revelations and very bittersweet.” ~The Founding Fields
So finally I am able to get to the novel that began the whole interest in the Terra Incognita series: The Key to Creation, the final novel of this big trilogy about sailing adventures, exploration, mythical monsters, lost lands, religious crusades, fanaticism, gods and crises of faith. It has been quite a ride too and to call the series a saga wouldn’t be too far off the mark either.
By now, as I was about to start reading the final installment, I knew exactly what I was in store for me. The Map of All Things had set up things nicely by the time it ended and the future for the characters and the war-torn lands of Uraba and Tierra alike was all murky and uncertain. Events had been building up gradually, forecasting that there was about to be some big throwdown and the inevitable full-scale clash between the two nations was about to become a reality. Not to mention that the Dyscovera and the Al-Orizin had finally set sail and were well on their way to discovering the fabled, mythical land of Terravitae, the home of the god Ondun and his three sons, Urec, Aiden and Joron.
At this point it would be somewhat distracting and inconsiderate of me to talk about the narrative style that Mr. Anderson has used in his Terra Incognita novels. It is what it is, and I’ve grown used to it, although I still am against it. However, even beyond being used to it by now, I didn’t really mind it as much this time around. I was quite caught up in the characters and the plot itself to really care about the style. Especially towards the last third of the novel where the style really, really ramped up the pacing and gave me a downright incredible suspenseful reading experience. I burned through the last 150 or so pages faster than I’d read them for the last two novels. That was a good improvement. The sense of excitement in the climax this time around was much more atmospheric and much more enjoyable.
The characters still continued to puzzle me at times however. The main culprits here being the usual ones: Anjine, Mateo and Omra. Mateo gets much more tolerable in the climax but really, I was actually wondering if these three were sane at all. They flipflop in their feelings and their actions too much. It is almost as if they just don’t learn from the mistakes that their predecessors have made and the ones that they themselves have made. They are impulsive, headstrong, unwilling to listen to reason and unbelievable intractable at times. It is a lamentable trait for the novels but again, it is what it is. The self-sacrifice and the good-of-the-state ideals only go so far for me until they become unrealistic. These three characters, most of all in the entire novel, suffered from this repeatedly, as if they had no true will of their own and had to bow down to the wishes of their people and what was expected them.
But, characters like Criston, Istar/Adrea, Asaddan, Ciarlo and a handful of others balanced it all out. They were the most sympathetic, credible and true-to-themselves characters for me. Criston has a really compelling arc across the trilogy, one that is somewhat mirrored by his former wife Adrea as the two struggle to make sense of a life without each other. The sympathetic magic that links the two of them together, strands of Adrea’s hair that she gave to him when he set out aboard his first proper voyage aboard the Luminara, was a really heartfelt miniplot, one that I really enjoyed. Quite an emotional one too. Seeing how the two resolves their new lives is almost heartbreaking. I wish it had been written differently but sometimes, a writer just has to do things a certain way. I certainly appreciate what Mr. Anderson did with them. Prester Hannes also gets a mention here, that slimy good-for-nothing preacher!
Asaddan was also a real surprise. To see him challenge the beliefs of his allies, the Urecari, and be a true force for change in the world. I was literally cheering for him all the way. And that was mostly because he truly made a point to listen to both sides of the conflict rather than taking the Urabans at their word that the Tierrans were all murderers and criminals and what not. In him, a delightful character was created. I wish we had been able to see more of him.
Ciarlo, poor Ciarlo. For me, he epitomised what it means to have complete faith in your religion’s teachings and yet be open to change. More than either Omra, Anjine or Mateo, he was truly central to how the narrative progresses, because just like Asaddan, he was a force for change in the world. Fantastic character who shines in all his scenes in The Key to Creation.
You can find the full review over at The Founding Fields:
thefoundingfields.com/2012/04/the-key...
“Lots of magic, lots of monsters, lots of startling revelations and very bittersweet.” ~The Founding Fields
So finally I am able to get to the novel that began the whole interest in the Terra Incognita series: The Key to Creation, the final novel of this big trilogy about sailing adventures, exploration, mythical monsters, lost lands, religious crusades, fanaticism, gods and crises of faith. It has been quite a ride too and to call the series a saga wouldn’t be too far off the mark either.
By now, as I was about to start reading the final installment, I knew exactly what I was in store for me. The Map of All Things had set up things nicely by the time it ended and the future for the characters and the war-torn lands of Uraba and Tierra alike was all murky and uncertain. Events had been building up gradually, forecasting that there was about to be some big throwdown and the inevitable full-scale clash between the two nations was about to become a reality. Not to mention that the Dyscovera and the Al-Orizin had finally set sail and were well on their way to discovering the fabled, mythical land of Terravitae, the home of the god Ondun and his three sons, Urec, Aiden and Joron.
At this point it would be somewhat distracting and inconsiderate of me to talk about the narrative style that Mr. Anderson has used in his Terra Incognita novels. It is what it is, and I’ve grown used to it, although I still am against it. However, even beyond being used to it by now, I didn’t really mind it as much this time around. I was quite caught up in the characters and the plot itself to really care about the style. Especially towards the last third of the novel where the style really, really ramped up the pacing and gave me a downright incredible suspenseful reading experience. I burned through the last 150 or so pages faster than I’d read them for the last two novels. That was a good improvement. The sense of excitement in the climax this time around was much more atmospheric and much more enjoyable.
The characters still continued to puzzle me at times however. The main culprits here being the usual ones: Anjine, Mateo and Omra. Mateo gets much more tolerable in the climax but really, I was actually wondering if these three were sane at all. They flipflop in their feelings and their actions too much. It is almost as if they just don’t learn from the mistakes that their predecessors have made and the ones that they themselves have made. They are impulsive, headstrong, unwilling to listen to reason and unbelievable intractable at times. It is a lamentable trait for the novels but again, it is what it is. The self-sacrifice and the good-of-the-state ideals only go so far for me until they become unrealistic. These three characters, most of all in the entire novel, suffered from this repeatedly, as if they had no true will of their own and had to bow down to the wishes of their people and what was expected them.
But, characters like Criston, Istar/Adrea, Asaddan, Ciarlo and a handful of others balanced it all out. They were the most sympathetic, credible and true-to-themselves characters for me. Criston has a really compelling arc across the trilogy, one that is somewhat mirrored by his former wife Adrea as the two struggle to make sense of a life without each other. The sympathetic magic that links the two of them together, strands of Adrea’s hair that she gave to him when he set out aboard his first proper voyage aboard the Luminara, was a really heartfelt miniplot, one that I really enjoyed. Quite an emotional one too. Seeing how the two resolves their new lives is almost heartbreaking. I wish it had been written differently but sometimes, a writer just has to do things a certain way. I certainly appreciate what Mr. Anderson did with them. Prester Hannes also gets a mention here, that slimy good-for-nothing preacher!
Asaddan was also a real surprise. To see him challenge the beliefs of his allies, the Urecari, and be a true force for change in the world. I was literally cheering for him all the way. And that was mostly because he truly made a point to listen to both sides of the conflict rather than taking the Urabans at their word that the Tierrans were all murderers and criminals and what not. In him, a delightful character was created. I wish we had been able to see more of him.
Ciarlo, poor Ciarlo. For me, he epitomised what it means to have complete faith in your religion’s teachings and yet be open to change. More than either Omra, Anjine or Mateo, he was truly central to how the narrative progresses, because just like Asaddan, he was a force for change in the world. Fantastic character who shines in all his scenes in The Key to Creation.
You can find the full review over at The Founding Fields:
thefoundingfields.com/2012/04/the-key...
August 8, 2011
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 Kevin J Anderson 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.
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 Kevin J Anderson 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.
November 28, 2016
I absolutely LOVED this book.
It mixes tales of exploration, war, romance, and family seamlessly into a delightful epic.
What I really liked about this book is that it tells every story from many different perspectives. There is no "right" or "wrong" side. We hear the voices of kings, fishermen, spies, traders, politicians and all kinds of fascinating characters, who each have their own complex backstory often interwoven with other character's pasts. The only problem with this writing style is that sometimes one character's story is more engaging than the others, and I get impatient to return to his or her perspective. However, it isn't overly bothersome as the chapters are short.
The books span many years, and the character development is outstanding.
Unlike many other fantasy books, the writing wasn’t too archaic (so it was easy to understand) and there wasn't too much magic (it focused more on the humanity of the characters.)
The ending was satisfying, leaving few loose ends.
My one complaint is that I would have liked a little more focus on exploration in this book.
All in all, this was an AMAZING book, one that left me fantasizing and dreaming of its world long after closing the cover. A long, but definitely worth it read.
It mixes tales of exploration, war, romance, and family seamlessly into a delightful epic.
What I really liked about this book is that it tells every story from many different perspectives. There is no "right" or "wrong" side. We hear the voices of kings, fishermen, spies, traders, politicians and all kinds of fascinating characters, who each have their own complex backstory often interwoven with other character's pasts. The only problem with this writing style is that sometimes one character's story is more engaging than the others, and I get impatient to return to his or her perspective. However, it isn't overly bothersome as the chapters are short.
The books span many years, and the character development is outstanding.
Unlike many other fantasy books, the writing wasn’t too archaic (so it was easy to understand) and there wasn't too much magic (it focused more on the humanity of the characters.)
The ending was satisfying, leaving few loose ends.
My one complaint is that I would have liked a little more focus on exploration in this book.
All in all, this was an AMAZING book, one that left me fantasizing and dreaming of its world long after closing the cover. A long, but definitely worth it read.
July 23, 2014
The series ending novel is always a tricky proposition especially in a trilogy with a classical structure and The Key to Creation shows this, by essentially forcing the story in a very predictable climax to tie in all the sub-threads of the epic. Also the content is less dark than in the other books - there is still the quota of killed characters and all, but the book is less twisty and dramatic than the first two.
These being said I still enjoyed The Key to Creation - the same short chapters, multiple POV's, fast action and interesting characters; there are also some great moments - made so by their unexpectedness - though overall there no big surprises and the story lines move to their natural conclusions.
I will do the FBC review soon and it here:
INTRODUCTION: Last year I said the following about "The Map of all Things":
"If you want a complex series with multiple happenings, lots of plot threads and "swords and sail-ships" as sense of wonder, Terra Incognita is for you. Written in the author's clear prose I enjoyed a lot the series debut "The Edge of the World", while I thought "The Map of all Things" (A+ from me) a step up in the series taking it to the top level of current secondary world epic offerings."
I started "The Key to Creation" the moment I got it since it picked up where "The Map of all Things" ended with all set up both for the deciding confrontation between Tierra and Uraba as well as for finding out the "true" story of Ondun, Terravitae, Aiden and Urec. I provided a lengthy overview of the setting and main characters in the reviews linked above but for newcomers to the series, its basics facts are as follow:
There is the legend of the world creator Ondun and his three sons, of whom Aiden and Urec set across the seas in great arkships and supposedly settled the two known continents of the present, Tierra and Uraba which are separated by a narrow isthmus of land; there has been a centuries long conflict between the Aidenists of Tierra and the Urabans that follow Urec's teachings, conflict that seemed just to be settled by a treaty, when it actually flared into the nastiest war ever between the two people due to a set of unfortunate circumstances and the logic of escalation; there are also neutral map-makers and scientists/philosophers called Saedrans who are supposedly the surviving remnants of Joron's people, the third son of Ondun who remained in the ancestral continent of Terravitae now assumed submerged under the sea.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: As befitting a trilogy ending novel, all the main characters from the series appear and most have extensive POV chapters: Queen Anjine of Tierra, her childhood friend, army sub-commander Mateo Bornan, Criston Vora former sailor, hermit and now ship captain on a quest for Terravitae, Saan, stepson of Soldan-shah Omra of Uraba whose quest led to his meeting of the mysterious girl Ystia and her menacing mother Iyomelka who claim to be Ondun's daughter and wife respectively, Istar, Omra's main wife, mother of Saan and two princesses, prester Hannes fanatic Aidenist clergy, terrorist in Uraba and escapee from Uraban mines and quite a few others.
The series ending novel is always a tricky proposition especially in a trilogy with a classical structure and The Key to Creation shows this to a large extent by tying all the sub-threads of the epic which pushes the story along predictable lines. Another difference from the earlier books is that the content of the novel is less dark - there is still the quota of killed characters though this time none really came as a surprise, so the book was less twisty and dramatic.
These being said, I greatly enjoyed The Key to Creation for several reasons: the essential stylistic features of the series: short chapters, multiple POV's, fast action are still there and the detached third person POV narration works very well especially when the multiple threads of the epic coalesce first into two and then those join together also.
The events happen fast, in a very compressed time period, so the authorial choice of showing them from several vantage points as "opposing sides" go, could have easily led to a fragmentation of the story and a disruption of the flow in a more intimate narration where the thoughts rather than the action of the characters were presented. There are also some great moments - mostly made so by their unexpectedness - though overall there are no big surprises and the story lines move to their natural conclusions.
The last thing I would want to add is that after some pretty grim and dark two volumes and maybe two thirds here, the conclusion of the series that is reached in The Key to Creation read to me a little cute and pat, but to be honest I loved it on an emotional level and I found it appropriate since the characters grew on me during their journeys and I enjoyed seeing their story lines ending in such a manner.
Overall the The Key to Creation (A) is a strong conclusion to a series - Terra Incognita - that has everything you want from a fantasy epic - intrigue, land and sea battles, assassinations and assassination attempts, discoveries, magic, strange creatures - as well as sense of wonder that is usually associated with space opera, but which the author managed to transpose in the "swords and sails" context.
These being said I still enjoyed The Key to Creation - the same short chapters, multiple POV's, fast action and interesting characters; there are also some great moments - made so by their unexpectedness - though overall there no big surprises and the story lines move to their natural conclusions.
I will do the FBC review soon and it here:
INTRODUCTION: Last year I said the following about "The Map of all Things":
"If you want a complex series with multiple happenings, lots of plot threads and "swords and sail-ships" as sense of wonder, Terra Incognita is for you. Written in the author's clear prose I enjoyed a lot the series debut "The Edge of the World", while I thought "The Map of all Things" (A+ from me) a step up in the series taking it to the top level of current secondary world epic offerings."
I started "The Key to Creation" the moment I got it since it picked up where "The Map of all Things" ended with all set up both for the deciding confrontation between Tierra and Uraba as well as for finding out the "true" story of Ondun, Terravitae, Aiden and Urec. I provided a lengthy overview of the setting and main characters in the reviews linked above but for newcomers to the series, its basics facts are as follow:
There is the legend of the world creator Ondun and his three sons, of whom Aiden and Urec set across the seas in great arkships and supposedly settled the two known continents of the present, Tierra and Uraba which are separated by a narrow isthmus of land; there has been a centuries long conflict between the Aidenists of Tierra and the Urabans that follow Urec's teachings, conflict that seemed just to be settled by a treaty, when it actually flared into the nastiest war ever between the two people due to a set of unfortunate circumstances and the logic of escalation; there are also neutral map-makers and scientists/philosophers called Saedrans who are supposedly the surviving remnants of Joron's people, the third son of Ondun who remained in the ancestral continent of Terravitae now assumed submerged under the sea.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: As befitting a trilogy ending novel, all the main characters from the series appear and most have extensive POV chapters: Queen Anjine of Tierra, her childhood friend, army sub-commander Mateo Bornan, Criston Vora former sailor, hermit and now ship captain on a quest for Terravitae, Saan, stepson of Soldan-shah Omra of Uraba whose quest led to his meeting of the mysterious girl Ystia and her menacing mother Iyomelka who claim to be Ondun's daughter and wife respectively, Istar, Omra's main wife, mother of Saan and two princesses, prester Hannes fanatic Aidenist clergy, terrorist in Uraba and escapee from Uraban mines and quite a few others.
The series ending novel is always a tricky proposition especially in a trilogy with a classical structure and The Key to Creation shows this to a large extent by tying all the sub-threads of the epic which pushes the story along predictable lines. Another difference from the earlier books is that the content of the novel is less dark - there is still the quota of killed characters though this time none really came as a surprise, so the book was less twisty and dramatic.
These being said, I greatly enjoyed The Key to Creation for several reasons: the essential stylistic features of the series: short chapters, multiple POV's, fast action are still there and the detached third person POV narration works very well especially when the multiple threads of the epic coalesce first into two and then those join together also.
The events happen fast, in a very compressed time period, so the authorial choice of showing them from several vantage points as "opposing sides" go, could have easily led to a fragmentation of the story and a disruption of the flow in a more intimate narration where the thoughts rather than the action of the characters were presented. There are also some great moments - mostly made so by their unexpectedness - though overall there are no big surprises and the story lines move to their natural conclusions.
The last thing I would want to add is that after some pretty grim and dark two volumes and maybe two thirds here, the conclusion of the series that is reached in The Key to Creation read to me a little cute and pat, but to be honest I loved it on an emotional level and I found it appropriate since the characters grew on me during their journeys and I enjoyed seeing their story lines ending in such a manner.
Overall the The Key to Creation (A) is a strong conclusion to a series - Terra Incognita - that has everything you want from a fantasy epic - intrigue, land and sea battles, assassinations and assassination attempts, discoveries, magic, strange creatures - as well as sense of wonder that is usually associated with space opera, but which the author managed to transpose in the "swords and sails" context.
October 2, 2011
Three and a half stars, really, but it was an enjoyable fast read and he gets the fourth star for having good guys and bad guys on both sides.
Anderson continues with the dizzying array of characters and plot threads.
Some of the characters get richer and more interesting. Others become caricatures - Hannes, Mateo, "the big Ninghal", and others. I was going to say that real people are never like that, and until the Tea Party arose very few were. Today, ideology is triumphing over facts all over the place, and we have far too many extremist presters and sikaras.
For every disappointingly-predictable plot development, there was another that the author must have pulled out of his, er, reserve of emergency ideas when he realized he had painted himself into a corner.
There's too much magic in this one, and it's too powerful. It comes too close to Superman being able to fly around the world and make it didn't happen. Bouras was a bad idea, logistically ridiculous and wisely abandoned. And why did Ystya matter in the end?
Didn't care for the way Joron was handled. Ondun was OK. Surprised that we didn't hear about Mailes in the last chapters. And there's a lot of hand-waving and "hey, look over here" in the handling of Captain Shay. And the navigability of the airships.
Plus a few points for killing off some of the characters. Some you could see coming a mile away, others were a surprise, and near the end, well, I shouldn't tell you and I won't but whatever it is there was too much of it.
All in all, like many large books and series, this is one that rewards the fast reader who isn't going to be too picky on details.
Anderson continues with the dizzying array of characters and plot threads.
Some of the characters get richer and more interesting. Others become caricatures - Hannes, Mateo, "the big Ninghal", and others. I was going to say that real people are never like that, and until the Tea Party arose very few were. Today, ideology is triumphing over facts all over the place, and we have far too many extremist presters and sikaras.
For every disappointingly-predictable plot development, there was another that the author must have pulled out of his, er, reserve of emergency ideas when he realized he had painted himself into a corner.
There's too much magic in this one, and it's too powerful. It comes too close to Superman being able to fly around the world and make it didn't happen. Bouras was a bad idea, logistically ridiculous and wisely abandoned. And why did Ystya matter in the end?
Didn't care for the way Joron was handled. Ondun was OK. Surprised that we didn't hear about Mailes in the last chapters. And there's a lot of hand-waving and "hey, look over here" in the handling of Captain Shay. And the navigability of the airships.
Plus a few points for killing off some of the characters. Some you could see coming a mile away, others were a surprise, and near the end, well, I shouldn't tell you and I won't but whatever it is there was too much of it.
All in all, like many large books and series, this is one that rewards the fast reader who isn't going to be too picky on details.
March 30, 2013
This review covers all three books of the trilogy.
I am an avid Anderson fan. His Dune series was excellently written and I was spellbound by the Saga of the Seven Suns. I have given both series five stars.
So it saddens me to say that Terra Incognita was a terrible disappointment.
The premise of the story is the escalating violence between two different religious groups/nations, because of misunderstandings and prejudice. The similarities with the Christian-Muslim conflict is not very subtle!
Maybe that is why this series failed. I believe that the issue of religious intolerance lies very close to Anderson's heart, and in this series he tries to reflect his own abhorrence. As often happens when an author is too close to an issue, he loses the ability to objectively critique his own handy work. (I had the same problem with a love poem I wrote in high school - terrible!)
I really struggled through the first two books. The message that Anderson tries to get across, is done without finesse of subtlety. It is explicit, violent, in your face. As if with every chapter his is asking "Are you getting this? Let me try again!"
I have given the last book in the series an extra star. It does manage to build up to a nice climax, although the winding down after that is maybe too long.
As a Christian minister, I do believe that God loves all mankind, which include Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, etc. - and atheists! And I do hate religious intolerance and abhor any violence. But I believe that some of my sermons on this topic has been done with more subtlety than Anderson's Terra Incognita series!
I am an avid Anderson fan. His Dune series was excellently written and I was spellbound by the Saga of the Seven Suns. I have given both series five stars.
So it saddens me to say that Terra Incognita was a terrible disappointment.
The premise of the story is the escalating violence between two different religious groups/nations, because of misunderstandings and prejudice. The similarities with the Christian-Muslim conflict is not very subtle!
Maybe that is why this series failed. I believe that the issue of religious intolerance lies very close to Anderson's heart, and in this series he tries to reflect his own abhorrence. As often happens when an author is too close to an issue, he loses the ability to objectively critique his own handy work. (I had the same problem with a love poem I wrote in high school - terrible!)
I really struggled through the first two books. The message that Anderson tries to get across, is done without finesse of subtlety. It is explicit, violent, in your face. As if with every chapter his is asking "Are you getting this? Let me try again!"
I have given the last book in the series an extra star. It does manage to build up to a nice climax, although the winding down after that is maybe too long.
As a Christian minister, I do believe that God loves all mankind, which include Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, etc. - and atheists! And I do hate religious intolerance and abhor any violence. But I believe that some of my sermons on this topic has been done with more subtlety than Anderson's Terra Incognita series!
January 16, 2013
I feel like I'm going to repeat myself probably because I'm going to repeat myself. This trilogy was OK but overall disappointing. Kevin J. Anderson's one of my favorite authors, but I wouldn't recommend this series to anyone.
There's this huge disconnect between any of the characters. The major problem is that everything feels rushed. There's barely any time spent with any of the characters despite it being over a 20 year period. The story bounces from one character to another so fast and things are mostly told rather than shown. Characters should have been cut or this story should have been stretched out and the pace slowed down. That way I would have cared about what was going on.
Also, the ending of this book wasn't what I thought it should be. It should have ended because of what the characters did. Instead, it ended with a sort of deus ex machina. I say sort of because it did kind of fit in with the world.
It's a shame too. Because I really liked the idea of the story Anderson was trying to tell by basically writing a book about the Crusades yet balancing it out. But I never cared about the characters, the ending was too neatly wrapped up, and as the trilogy progressed, the real life feel of it got lost in magic and gods.
For a better read, check out Anderson's A Saga of Seven Suns. Now THAT is excellent!
There's this huge disconnect between any of the characters. The major problem is that everything feels rushed. There's barely any time spent with any of the characters despite it being over a 20 year period. The story bounces from one character to another so fast and things are mostly told rather than shown. Characters should have been cut or this story should have been stretched out and the pace slowed down. That way I would have cared about what was going on.
Also, the ending of this book wasn't what I thought it should be. It should have ended because of what the characters did. Instead, it ended with a sort of deus ex machina. I say sort of because it did kind of fit in with the world.
It's a shame too. Because I really liked the idea of the story Anderson was trying to tell by basically writing a book about the Crusades yet balancing it out. But I never cared about the characters, the ending was too neatly wrapped up, and as the trilogy progressed, the real life feel of it got lost in magic and gods.
For a better read, check out Anderson's A Saga of Seven Suns. Now THAT is excellent!
March 3, 2022
About a quarter of the way through this book, I was on the verge of giving up. The conflict between the not-Christians and the non-Muslims was driving me up the wall. I was getting to the point where there were very few sympathetic characters left. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that I'd read about 1500 pages in this trilogy, and I might as well finish it.
So, I kept pushing through, mainly focusing on the parts about the two ships looking for the lost Terravitae. That was the part of the story that was actually fantasy instead of vaguely fantastical historical fiction. In fact, after the first two books were light on the fantastical elements, only to become heavily fantasy in the last book.
Of course, the main problem is that after twenty years of increasing tit for tat warring between the two continents, how to you resolve things? The solution turns out to involve gods. Sort of.
The first half of the book would have gotten a one star for me, but it improved, and considering the series as a whole, I'll give it a three. I still find the religious parallels to be rather hamfisted, but I did like some of the characters, and it did come to a reasonably satisfying end.
So, I kept pushing through, mainly focusing on the parts about the two ships looking for the lost Terravitae. That was the part of the story that was actually fantasy instead of vaguely fantastical historical fiction. In fact, after the first two books were light on the fantastical elements, only to become heavily fantasy in the last book.
Of course, the main problem is that after twenty years of increasing tit for tat warring between the two continents, how to you resolve things? The solution turns out to involve gods. Sort of.
The first half of the book would have gotten a one star for me, but it improved, and considering the series as a whole, I'll give it a three. I still find the religious parallels to be rather hamfisted, but I did like some of the characters, and it did come to a reasonably satisfying end.
July 28, 2011
An enjoyable conclusions to a series which is definitely worth your time. Anderson perhaps loses track of things a bit in the last half of the series as the level of magic seems to skyrocket culminating in a rather 'Deus ex Deus' ending (to coin a phrase) but the characters remain strong and the struggle between two cultures with so much in common remains intriguing.
While it's not the way I would have taken it, I did enjoy the voyages of the Dyscovera, and the world it discovers is quite interesting. I feel it might have been better to keep the war on a low boil, and focus on the hatred and misunderstanding which kept on interfering with the attempts of cooler heads to reconcile the two cultures.
Strong female characters throughout is a nice plus, and strong without either....
i) Hamstringing men left and right
ii) Being male characters who just happen to be women
While it's not the way I would have taken it, I did enjoy the voyages of the Dyscovera, and the world it discovers is quite interesting. I feel it might have been better to keep the war on a low boil, and focus on the hatred and misunderstanding which kept on interfering with the attempts of cooler heads to reconcile the two cultures.
Strong female characters throughout is a nice plus, and strong without either....
i) Hamstringing men left and right
ii) Being male characters who just happen to be women
November 16, 2023
I liked the story in general. I really noticed that the war aspect was less my thing in this read. With all of the different perspectives I was reading I found it really difficult to pick the book back up when I had just a little time for reading. As I had no idea what I would be reading about next even though I remembered the general storyline. I also found it really interesting that even though Tierra got a lot more sympathetic magic in the last two books, in this book the Urabans definitely have the better sympathetic magic idea. Even though this is the only time we hear them use this magic.
September 11, 2011
I have enjoyed the use of alternating chapters to portray multiple perspectives throughout the trilogy. A hopeful creation story which aims to reconcile the "us" and "them" mindset of many religions. The character development and world building developed very excitingly throughout the trilogy. I loved the high seas adventures. I want to find another fantasy with adventure and sea stories. A satisfying conclusion.
February 26, 2012
The dramatic conclusion to the series. Cristan and Saan are battling all sorts of dangers and their own crews in their search for Terravitae. Istar has a surprise from her some village after 20 years living with the enemy. It looks like the 'Hooks are coming out on top in the never ending war but will they ultimately come out on top? Fanatics on both sides may be in for some nasty surprises as the book reaches its conclusion...
February 27, 2014
Well, this one was better than the first two. At the end of the second book, the lot of them could have slaughtered each other and left no one standing for all I cared. This time around there was less preaching about the evils of intolerance and at least a few of the characters started to get a clue. Still, one tolerable out of three volumes doesn't make this series rate high. I guess it's a little unfair to give this one such a low rating when it's the best of the three, but there you are.
Read
February 16, 2015The third book was the best of the series; however, all of the books were a task to read. My husband and I love these types of stories but he quit somewhere in the second book. I stubbornly toiled away until I had finished all three. If you read my previous post, I was just angry at times due to the use of mythological characters with no rhyme or reason other than "our legends mention" them.
July 27, 2012
Awesome conclusion to this series about religious warfare. I loved the split world feeling of watching events unfold from many different perspectives, then coming to a single point for the climax. Thanks, Mr. Anderson, for a great read.
September 5, 2012
Nice but using to cultures to sub for the West and the Islamic World. Very good story line otherwise fun to read and covers a lot of exploring the world and god/monster issues with traveling in small wood boats the great big wide world.
August 12, 2011
Excellent epic story, very complex, and a satisfying and beautiful ending.
May 10, 2025
The Key to Creation provides a satisfying and fitting conclusion to the Terra Incognita trilogy. The themes of forgiveness, cooperation, and reconciliation come through clearly, giving the series a thoughtful and emotional ending that reflects everything it’s been building toward.
By the third book, the series has fully embraced its fantasy identity. What began as a grounded story of politics, religion, and exploration has steadily grown into something larger and more mythic. In this final volume, divine origins and ancient powers take a central role. I enjoyed the shift, though I was equally drawn to the more grounded parts of the story. The political tension, cultural friction, and personal moments between characters remained just as compelling throughout.
The demigods and their mysterious past were especially intriguing. I would have liked to learn more about their world and history, but the limited perspective kept things mysterious in a way that worked well.
Most character arcs ended in ways that felt meaningful, with a good balance of hope and bittersweet reflection. Others were resolved more through the larger forces at play than through individual choices, but that felt in line with the direction the story had taken. The emotional payoff still landed, even if the resolution leaned more into the mythic and symbolic than the personal.
The pacing was once again a highlight. With no major time jumps and short, focused chapters, the book moved smoothly from beginning to end. Even with its larger ideas and expanding scope, it remained easy to read and consistently engaging.
This was a rewarding end to the trilogy. It stayed true to the tone and ideas that made the first two books work, while expanding the world in meaningful ways. I’ve really enjoyed spending time in this setting, and I can absolutely see myself coming back to it for a reread someday.
By the third book, the series has fully embraced its fantasy identity. What began as a grounded story of politics, religion, and exploration has steadily grown into something larger and more mythic. In this final volume, divine origins and ancient powers take a central role. I enjoyed the shift, though I was equally drawn to the more grounded parts of the story. The political tension, cultural friction, and personal moments between characters remained just as compelling throughout.
The demigods and their mysterious past were especially intriguing. I would have liked to learn more about their world and history, but the limited perspective kept things mysterious in a way that worked well.
Most character arcs ended in ways that felt meaningful, with a good balance of hope and bittersweet reflection. Others were resolved more through the larger forces at play than through individual choices, but that felt in line with the direction the story had taken. The emotional payoff still landed, even if the resolution leaned more into the mythic and symbolic than the personal.
The pacing was once again a highlight. With no major time jumps and short, focused chapters, the book moved smoothly from beginning to end. Even with its larger ideas and expanding scope, it remained easy to read and consistently engaging.
This was a rewarding end to the trilogy. It stayed true to the tone and ideas that made the first two books work, while expanding the world in meaningful ways. I’ve really enjoyed spending time in this setting, and I can absolutely see myself coming back to it for a reread someday.
December 4, 2023
It's been ages (perhaps a decade) since I read the first two books. Nevertheless, the general shape and feel of the story were still lodged pretty firmly in my mind. There was also 'the story so far' section at the start of the book to jog my memory regarding important details & character names.
While the story has flaws (which were more obvious to me now, after a decade of reading other things), I still had fun reading it. The deus ex machina ending was pretty well executed, though after everything we'd seen in the preceding story it felt a bit hollow. We spend a lot of the story watching a war of extreme escalating violence, so the only way to have the two sides reconcile was to haul a god in to broker a peace treaty. It just felt a bit off that although the book acknowledges not everyone will want to lay down their swords straight away, people pretty much do and characters who were ready to kill by the thousands quickly decide to put all that bloodshed behind them. Similarly, there's an attempt to suggest most people could get along if it wasn't for a handful of hostile priests & priestesses stirring trouble, but that also doesn't ring true to life or the behaviour we've seen from characters in the rest of the story.
Those problems aside, the book still did a great job of making the world feel big and full of wonders and of making a broad range of characters (who we follow hoping between difference places) all feel important.
While the story has flaws (which were more obvious to me now, after a decade of reading other things), I still had fun reading it. The deus ex machina ending was pretty well executed, though after everything we'd seen in the preceding story it felt a bit hollow. We spend a lot of the story watching a war of extreme escalating violence, so the only way to have the two sides reconcile was to haul a god in to broker a peace treaty. It just felt a bit off that although the book acknowledges not everyone will want to lay down their swords straight away, people pretty much do and characters who were ready to kill by the thousands quickly decide to put all that bloodshed behind them. Similarly, there's an attempt to suggest most people could get along if it wasn't for a handful of hostile priests & priestesses stirring trouble, but that also doesn't ring true to life or the behaviour we've seen from characters in the rest of the story.
Those problems aside, the book still did a great job of making the world feel big and full of wonders and of making a broad range of characters (who we follow hoping between difference places) all feel important.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2014
Exploring the oceans for a long lost and fabled land called Terravitae, two ships sail across the world from different directions. One is captained by a Tierran named Criston Vora who, having lost his wife years ago to Uraban raiders, has nothing left but the thrill of the untamed seas. The other ship is led by a young Uraban named Saan who was sent by the Soldan-Shah of Uraba to find the Key to Creation. Their hope is to use the key to end the decades long war with Tierra. Across the oceans, they face fearsome sea creatures and mythical beings as they search for their ancient homeland. While these two captains race against each other in a forlorn hope of ending a war against their hated enemies—each other—what they do not realize is that they are father and son, separated years ago by a cruel village raid. Their journey is but one of dozens in this epic adventure exploring the depths of humanity and the realms of war, religion and discovery. This is The Key to Creation.
As the third book in the Terra Incognita series, this is not a book friendly to new readers. However, if you’re hoping to get an idea of whether this is a series worth diving into and if the third book ends well, then you’re in luck. The Key to Creation has huge payoffs, deep characters, a rich story and brings a great ending to the series. Read no further and save yourself the trouble of spoilers. For those who have already read the first two books, you’re in for a fun rollercoaster ride of emotion. Continuing his character portrait of humanity, author Kevin J. Anderson illustrates the depths of humanity’s hatred and evil as well as it’s neverending ability to show compassion, love and hope. Through the merciless acts of war, the misuse of religion, the inspiring desires of love, and the fundamental truth of cooperation, the book explores a wealth of topics while tying it all into a handful of intriguing character journeys.
One thing I really appreciated about this book is the introductory primer that kicks off the story. At the very front of the book is a 13 page recap of all the major events that happened in The Edge of the World and The Map of All Things. It’s been a while since I’ve read both of those books so it was really helpful to have a refresher to bring me back up to speed. If it’s been years since you’ve read the previous stories, the primer is just the thing to set you on track to dive into this one.
To give readers a taste of what’s in store for them in this final part of the series, you can expect lots of monsters and battles. The main characters face off against the world serpent, the kraken, Raathgir, and the leviathan. There are battles on land and at sea, between the Urabans and the Tierrans, and between mortals and immortals. Each side has surprises in store for the other as the war escalates. They mighty city of Ishalem comes under siege in a final battle that decides the fate of both nations. Characters die, disasters strike where least expected, and for some, there are happy endings.
With the huge cast of characters at play in this novel, Kevin J. Anderson did a surprisingly good job at resolving all of their stories. But the real accomplishment of the book is how all of those character stories intertwine in their individual roles as part of the greater conflict. One person’s journey across the ocean—fighting sea monsters, discovering mythic beings, dealing with the pain of their past and the hope for the future—has the potential to end the main conflict that drives the entire series. Yet that character’s adventure is kept very personal. It explores their strengths and weaknesses, their hope and despair. For each character in the book, there is a personal journey as they discover themselves. However, they all fit into an intricate plot where their accomplishments drive forward the overarching plot. They all affect each other, progressing the story, bringing about surprises and turmoil. When the climax hits, the final pieces fall into place and each character reaches the end of their journey.
Adding even more depth to the whole experience is the array of themes buried within the story. While the nations of Uraba and Tierra are at war with each other, the story goes to great lengths to show how this conflict came about and why it continues. On one hand, it’s the circle of violence. Victims seek out revenge. When an entire nation seeks revenge, it leads to escalating violence as they try to balance the scales of loss. On top of that is the topic of religion. Both sides are fueled by religious fervor. They each think that they know the truth and that the other is wrong. The two religions battle each other over small discrepancies while the core tenets of each faith is the same. Their unwillingness to be open minded becomes their very downfall and spurs the war to even worse lengths. Then there are matters of love, be it a person who comes to love their captor, a ruler who loves a person beneath their station, or even immortals who love the wives of other gods. The book explores how far people are willing to go for love. On the other hand, the book also looks into how far people are willing to go for duty in defiance of love. With all of those themes threaded into the various character plots, the book becomes something very close to a masterpiece of storytelling.
At over 600 pages, The Key to Creation is a book packed full of adventure and entertaining escapism. It explores a fanciful world full of rich characters, exotics lands and mythical creatures. Emotions run the full gamut as the novel explores the extremes of humanity and everything in between. In the end, it’s a very hard book to put down. The war, the turmoil, the shifting tides of fortune, the depths of kindness, compassion, hatred and violence, it all comes together to form a mosaic illustration of life and history. I give The Key to Creation a five out of five and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a deep adventure to get lost in.
As the third book in the Terra Incognita series, this is not a book friendly to new readers. However, if you’re hoping to get an idea of whether this is a series worth diving into and if the third book ends well, then you’re in luck. The Key to Creation has huge payoffs, deep characters, a rich story and brings a great ending to the series. Read no further and save yourself the trouble of spoilers. For those who have already read the first two books, you’re in for a fun rollercoaster ride of emotion. Continuing his character portrait of humanity, author Kevin J. Anderson illustrates the depths of humanity’s hatred and evil as well as it’s neverending ability to show compassion, love and hope. Through the merciless acts of war, the misuse of religion, the inspiring desires of love, and the fundamental truth of cooperation, the book explores a wealth of topics while tying it all into a handful of intriguing character journeys.
One thing I really appreciated about this book is the introductory primer that kicks off the story. At the very front of the book is a 13 page recap of all the major events that happened in The Edge of the World and The Map of All Things. It’s been a while since I’ve read both of those books so it was really helpful to have a refresher to bring me back up to speed. If it’s been years since you’ve read the previous stories, the primer is just the thing to set you on track to dive into this one.
To give readers a taste of what’s in store for them in this final part of the series, you can expect lots of monsters and battles. The main characters face off against the world serpent, the kraken, Raathgir, and the leviathan. There are battles on land and at sea, between the Urabans and the Tierrans, and between mortals and immortals. Each side has surprises in store for the other as the war escalates. They mighty city of Ishalem comes under siege in a final battle that decides the fate of both nations. Characters die, disasters strike where least expected, and for some, there are happy endings.
With the huge cast of characters at play in this novel, Kevin J. Anderson did a surprisingly good job at resolving all of their stories. But the real accomplishment of the book is how all of those character stories intertwine in their individual roles as part of the greater conflict. One person’s journey across the ocean—fighting sea monsters, discovering mythic beings, dealing with the pain of their past and the hope for the future—has the potential to end the main conflict that drives the entire series. Yet that character’s adventure is kept very personal. It explores their strengths and weaknesses, their hope and despair. For each character in the book, there is a personal journey as they discover themselves. However, they all fit into an intricate plot where their accomplishments drive forward the overarching plot. They all affect each other, progressing the story, bringing about surprises and turmoil. When the climax hits, the final pieces fall into place and each character reaches the end of their journey.
Adding even more depth to the whole experience is the array of themes buried within the story. While the nations of Uraba and Tierra are at war with each other, the story goes to great lengths to show how this conflict came about and why it continues. On one hand, it’s the circle of violence. Victims seek out revenge. When an entire nation seeks revenge, it leads to escalating violence as they try to balance the scales of loss. On top of that is the topic of religion. Both sides are fueled by religious fervor. They each think that they know the truth and that the other is wrong. The two religions battle each other over small discrepancies while the core tenets of each faith is the same. Their unwillingness to be open minded becomes their very downfall and spurs the war to even worse lengths. Then there are matters of love, be it a person who comes to love their captor, a ruler who loves a person beneath their station, or even immortals who love the wives of other gods. The book explores how far people are willing to go for love. On the other hand, the book also looks into how far people are willing to go for duty in defiance of love. With all of those themes threaded into the various character plots, the book becomes something very close to a masterpiece of storytelling.
At over 600 pages, The Key to Creation is a book packed full of adventure and entertaining escapism. It explores a fanciful world full of rich characters, exotics lands and mythical creatures. Emotions run the full gamut as the novel explores the extremes of humanity and everything in between. In the end, it’s a very hard book to put down. The war, the turmoil, the shifting tides of fortune, the depths of kindness, compassion, hatred and violence, it all comes together to form a mosaic illustration of life and history. I give The Key to Creation a five out of five and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a deep adventure to get lost in.
February 17, 2022
So, I really gave 1 1/2 stars for the world building and themes of exploration and sailing, not ones you find in fantasy books very often. But really, the story itself, and the characters, barely get the other 1/2 star. This is one of the few books, one of the few series, where it felt like the author had gotten bored and just wanted to finish the job asap. Some of the dialogue, especially toward the end of this book, was almost laughable.
But as I said, the world building and setting, and some of the themes, were really interesting. They just need a more gritty story, and dare I say it, written by a better author.
But as I said, the world building and setting, and some of the themes, were really interesting. They just need a more gritty story, and dare I say it, written by a better author.
April 16, 2018
This is for the whole series as well as this book in particular. I felt that the first two books moved very slow - I am a pretty quick reader and the first two books in this series took me each about a week to read. I would read for around 30 minutes and I would feel mentally exhausted and have to put the book down. The story up to the third book also felt rehashed from other stories. The third book made the series in my opinion, until the end which felt rushed to me. All in all though, I really enjoyed the book and the series.
October 1, 2019
I liked the idea of the novels, but they offered few surprises. Too often the author spoon-fed the thinking and emotions of the protagonists. The mid-story recap also got a bit tedious. The book could have been much shorter. The real challenge was probably the reconciliation at the end. Sure, both sides did bad stuff, but I probably differentiate between soldiers fighting each other and the use of children or slaves. As such it was a straight out all round forgiveness. The "Gods" did the hard work in intervening which was perhaps another disappointment.
August 30, 2017
A perfect end to the Terra Incognita trilogy. Closing of the characters we've known since the beginning, Anderson makes you realize how connected you are to them. The sea battles are enough on their own to suck you. New character come out in this book that have you craving more. Almost impossible to put down. Highly recommended!
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