Books that fall in the middle of a series, such as Kay Kenyon's City Without End, face a difficult task: moving the story along without bogging down action, or distracting from the endgame by creating new threads at odds with the original story. City Without End is book three in a four book series about humans in an alien universe called the Bright, with the final novel set to arrive in 2010. Since I picked up the first book a few years ago, I have been drawn to her world by its compelling environs, characters, and the world-destroying dilemma.

The series has evolved from a tight focus on protagonist Titus Quinn's mission to rescue his family from a mirror universe. Kenyon now devotes large swathes of time to former minor characters and other story lines, without losing sight of this goal. Quinn's daughter Sidney, now grown in age as well as power, begins to take a more central role, although it seems her sponsors are merely using her as a pawn to achieve their own ends, something she almost fails to see in her hatred of her father for abandoning her. Quinn, on the other hand, who failed to destroy the engine scheduled to destroy Earth's universe, grapples with trying to save both universes and also destroy the current ruling lords behind the doomsday device. Alas, as with the other books, when Kenyon writes about Earth the colors and characters seem less interesting than in the other universe; this probably speaks more about the latter than the former.

Other characters stepping into the action include Quinn's new wife Ji Anzi, who takes on a complex mission. In trying to find map holes in the universe of the Bright, she instead falls through such a hole into Earth's universe. Here she encounters Caitlin, Quinn's sister-in-law, who still harbors feelings of unrequited love for Quinn. A plot is brewing on Earth, one that will save an elite group of people while sacrificing the rest of humanity.

Other interesting characters abound, such as the Helice, a volatile human who accompanied Quinn into the Bright, now building her own nano Als to use as leverage against the seemingly unkillable dark lords who rule the land. The intricate society of the Bright seems vividly alien, full of surprises. Although the book dips and stutters at times when moving between all these characters and parallel plot lines, the slow process of revealing more about the origins and potential flaws among the lords who rule like gods powers the book along. While Quinn may have lost some of his focus and intensity from the first novel, he remains implacable in his purpose.

I am impressed at Kenyon's creation. She shows the power of world building that maybe only science fiction can produce, and a myriad of surprises that make each book fresh. Though I look forward to how the story ends, and wonder if both universes survive in the end, I will be sad to leave her unique setting.