As the second installment in a series, it’s a good thing that AT THE END OF EVERYTHING (The Relevation Trilogy Book 2) by G.W. Lucke is chock-full of reference material. There’s a plethora of maps, a Prologue, a “What Has Gone Before” section preceding the Prologue, an end-of-book Dramatis Personae section which outlines an immense array (almost 30 pages!) of characters, plus an Appendix entitled “Guide to Ostamp,” defining elements of the worlds found in books 1 and 2 such as Babir Birramal, the forest found in the southern part of Enthilen (a fantasy-land in the eastern half of Ostamp, occupied by Ersturmen, Dobunni, stone- and weald-grells, mouldewerps, and other colorful inventions from the author’s vast and vivid imagination.)
The Appendix defines aspects of this world such as Dobunni settlers, along with the Dobunni rebels vowing to overthow the Ersturmen Kingdom, and key aspects of plot such as Volerdie, the one and only Creator some individuals in this dreamt-up universe believe in, while others — at great risk — do not. Explanations for different types of trees and ceremonies are also found in the Appendix; useful information all. But here’s the rub: For anyone coming to the novel without having read (and perhaps memorized) much of its complex-sounding predecessor, it would be far better to weave more of these essential explanations directly, adequately, yet subtly into the actual storyline of book #2 as it unfolds, rather than readers needing to refer, perhaps often, to any back-or-front-of-the-book reference resources.
The plot for AT THE END OF EVERYTHING is relatively straightforward, considering that narration perspective seems to frequently shift. Australian Tom Anderson is rescued from Malphas, the evil King of Enthilen, and Tom is a young man who happens to be in possession of the ‘dark eyes,’ which various other characters covet towards achieving their own ends. Yet what befalls Tom plus an entire army of differently-abled and unusually-gifted cohorts quickly becomes confusing and difficult to keep track of, never mind invest in. Certain characters have more than one name, for instance. Malphas, as an example, used to be known as Oldaric. Plus the novel also introduces new vocabulary like the word “yarles” which does not equate precisely to the similar-sounding concept of years, but is instead the “Ersturmen word for a time-period covering six seasons/three hundred and sixty days.” The addition of ‘Return to Table of Contents’ or ‘See Appendix’ hyperlinks for ease of navigation within this mighty tome would be most helpful.
Much of G.W. Lucke’s expansive fantasy novel AT THE END OF EVERYTHING (The Relevation Trilogy Book 2) is a tale told via lengthy expository description without the benefit of the necessary character development and growth that would allow this potentially wonderful sequel to stand on its own.
~C.S. Holmes for IndieReader