An epic fantasy, but instead of medieval Europe this is pre-Elizabethean filled with alchemy and scientific inquiry. In this universe the world is flat, like a paper map. Where the ocean spill over the edge of the world natural laws are broken and fantastical creatures exist. It is an area attractive to adventurers and researchers, including the captain of the Western Star, recently returned to England with all passengers dead from mysterious causes.
Christopher Sinclair is an alchemist (and con artist) who has searched the center of the world for the key to immortality and sees the edge as the place where he could find it and the cursed (and cheap) Western Star his way to get there. Stephen Parris is a physic (doctor) who failed to save his son and is now willing to break religious and societal rules to discover how the body works and the best ways to heal them. During the tumult after the death of the Protestant king and the ascension of the Catholic Queen Mary they, along with the passengers and crew looking to create a colony or escape religious persecution, are rushed out of England and have to discover the secrets of the edge to survive.
I love the imaginative creature and rules of this alternate universe, but I didn't really connect with the characters. I think it was just personal preference, not that I didn't understand them. There are several central characters who were well developed and the story moves forward neatly using their points of view. A larger cast adds excitement and humor. I see a second book listed but this one is a full, though introductory, story on its own.
by David Walton
3 stars
An epic fantasy, but instead of medieval Europe this is pre-Elizabethean filled with alchemy and scientific inquiry. In this universe the world is flat, like a paper map. Where the ocean spill over the edge of the world natural laws are broken and fantastical creatures exist. It is an area attractive to adventurers and researchers, including the captain of the Western Star, recently returned to England with all passengers dead from mysterious causes.
Christopher Sinclair is an alchemist (and con artist) who has searched the center of the world for the key to immortality and sees the edge as the place where he could find it and the cursed (and cheap) Western Star his way to get there. Stephen Parris is a physic (doctor) who failed to save his son and is now willing to break religious and societal rules to discover how the body works and the best ways to heal them. During the tumult after the death of the Protestant king and the ascension of the Catholic Queen Mary they, along with the passengers and crew looking to create a colony or escape religious persecution, are rushed out of England and have to discover the secrets of the edge to survive.
I love the imaginative creature and rules of this alternate universe, but I didn't really connect with the characters. I think it was just personal preference, not that I didn't understand them. There are several central characters who were well developed and the story moves forward neatly using their points of view. A larger cast adds excitement and humor. I see a second book listed but this one is a full, though introductory, story on its own.