The End-Of-Everything Man: Chronicles of the King's Tramp, Bk. 2 - Softcover

De Haven, Tom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0385264313 ISBN 13: 9780385264310

Publisher: Crown, 1991

Synopsis

The imaginative fantasy adventure begun in Walker of Worlds continues.
 
The Order of Things has been fulfilled. Jack, the King's Tramp, has returned to his native world of Lostwithal. With his witnesses from Kemolo—our Earth—he has warned the King about the coming Epicene. Actions can now be taken to stop chaos from overwhelming the universes. 

But can they? The Mage of Four has spirited the Epicene off to some distant place in Lostwithal. Neither can be found. If the Mage cannot be stopped, the Epicene will fulfill the awful purpose for which it was born. 

Plots and problems grow still more complex. Returning from a restive Ramble, Jack discovers Peter Musik, Money Campbell, and his other friends gone—each seeking the answer to his personal quest. Jack must walk once more. Perhaps his skill at causing fortuitous “accidents” will somehow pull everything together. 

“This is a major fantasy story: miss it at your peril”—Locus

“If what you really want is intelligent, lively contemporary fantasy, with a 120-proof story and quirky characters, Walker of Worlds is a beakerful... This guy’s visions are worth putting into your head.”—Orson Scott Card

“A tour de force.”—Publishers Weekly

About this title

About the Author

Tom De Haven is the author of eight novels, including the Derby Dugan trilogy and the nonfiction book Our Hero: Superman on Earth. A frequent contributor to The New York Times, he lives in Virginia and teaches creative writing at Virginia Commonwealth University.

From Kirkus Reviews

De Haven continues his Chronicles of the King's Tramp series. Where book #1 (Walker of Worlds) took place mostly in our own world, this installment is set entirely in the alternate universe (or ``second moment'') of Lostwithal. Rumors of the fearsome Epicene--a golem-like monster that will bring on the End of Everything--are spreading throughout the kingdom, and Jack, the King's Tramp, pursues the evil Mage of Four, Mage of Luck to prevent him from bringing the creature to maturity. Jack's path crosses those of various colorful characters transplanted from our universe in the previous book, and everyone ends up on the Isle of Mites--a pestilential place where the Epicene will be brought to work its mischief. Like many recent fantasies, De Haven's series generates a frisson by juxtaposing elements of our our world with magic and strange beings from another, but the author's inventive, playful, and immensely readable style, plus the quirky world of Lostwithal, set his books above the standard elves-and-street-punks versions. Many genre readers will find Lostwithal underdeveloped--De Haven does't indulge in lengthy descriptions or detailed world-building--and, while his characters have just enough depth to make them believable and sympathetic, the shifting viewpoint makes it hard to identify very strongly with any of them. There's little intellectual depth here, then, but the exuberance, good humor, and technical skill make this an interesting and intelligent diversion. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Crown
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0385264313
• ISBN 13: 9780385264310
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448