Eternity Road
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
2 journalers for this copy...
Purchased from BetterWorldBooks.com
Former Keene Public Library book (NH)
Description:
The Roadmakers left only ruins behind -- but what magnificent ruins! Their concrete highways still cross the continent. Their cups, combs and jewelry are found in every Illyrian home. They left behind a legend,too -- a hidden sanctuary called Haven, where even now the secrets of their civilization might still be found.
Chaka's brother was one of those who sought to find Haven and never returned. But now Chaka has inherited a rare Roadmaker artifact -- a book called A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court -- which has inspired her to follow in his footsteps. Gathering an unlikely band of companions around her, Chaka embarks upon a journey where she will encounter bloodthirsty river pirates, electronic ghosts who mourn their lost civilization and machines that skim over the ground and air. Ultimately, the group will learn the truth about their own mysterious past.
Former Keene Public Library book (NH)
Description:
The Roadmakers left only ruins behind -- but what magnificent ruins! Their concrete highways still cross the continent. Their cups, combs and jewelry are found in every Illyrian home. They left behind a legend,too -- a hidden sanctuary called Haven, where even now the secrets of their civilization might still be found.
Chaka's brother was one of those who sought to find Haven and never returned. But now Chaka has inherited a rare Roadmaker artifact -- a book called A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court -- which has inspired her to follow in his footsteps. Gathering an unlikely band of companions around her, Chaka embarks upon a journey where she will encounter bloodthirsty river pirates, electronic ghosts who mourn their lost civilization and machines that skim over the ground and air. Ultimately, the group will learn the truth about their own mysterious past.
Set nearly 2,000 years in the future, Eternity Road follows the second expedition from Memphis/the Mississippi Valley to find the mythical placed called Haven. Haven is the location of a reservoir of knowledge from the time of the Roadmakers, who disappeared so fast they left behind everything including machines still going about their daily business, gathered by the legendary William Polk and his amazing underwater ship. The first expedition ended in disaster with only the leader returning in shame. Nine years later, he commits suicide and leaves behind tantalizing mysteries that spur the creation of a second expedition and a journey up the Mississippi River, to a city protected by a dragon, on to an awe-inspiring waterfall, and many sights unbelievable until seen.
A few weeks prior to reading this novel, I read Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse which contained the short story Never Despair by Jack McDevitt which turned out to be a snippet from this novel or maybe that snippet inspired this novel. I'm not sure. There is a bit of difference between the scene in the short story and the scene in this novel that caused me to dread what was going to happen in the novel. The difference made it mostly moot. :|
Anyway, I did like the story. I don't think it's one that I will remember much if anything about it in a year or so. :/
A few weeks prior to reading this novel, I read Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse which contained the short story Never Despair by Jack McDevitt which turned out to be a snippet from this novel or maybe that snippet inspired this novel. I'm not sure. There is a bit of difference between the scene in the short story and the scene in this novel that caused me to dread what was going to happen in the novel. The difference made it mostly moot. :|
Anyway, I did like the story. I don't think it's one that I will remember much if anything about it in a year or so. :/
Journal Entry 3 by 
Spatial
at The Bookbox of the Apocalypse, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases on Monday, September 28, 2020
Spatial at The Bookbox of the Apocalypse, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases on Monday, September 28, 2020
Released 3 yrs ago (9/28/2020 UTC) at The Bookbox of the Apocalypse, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
One of the starting books for The Bookbox of the Apocalypse!
🧟 ☠️ 🧟 ☠️ 🧟 ☠️ 🧟 ☠️ 🧟 ☠️ 🧟 ☠️ 🧟 ☠️ 🧟
✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩
I'm claiming this book from the Bookbox of the Apocalypse, attracted by the cover-art.
Later: I enjoyed the post-apocalyptic setting here, with the societal changes and the reverence for the vanishingly-rare books that survived (usually in hand-crafted copies, with only a few original volumes still existing). The fact that Twain's time-travel novel kicks off the plot is an ironic twist that was amusing, especially as so much of the novel involves the time traveler attempting to bootstrap King Arthur and company into a higher-tech way of living - the goals of most of the communities in this novel.
I was rather hoping, given they "never found the body" of Chaka's brother, that he'd turn up once the adventurers reached their quest-goal; as it turns out things went differently, but the rather fast-paced conclusion did answer a lot of questions, while using some elementary science to save the day. And the clash of cultures seems to have resulted in a boost for all the surviving communities, at least for now... Though I would have liked to know more about their reactions to the contents of some of the more culture-specific books that survived.
That said, Chaka was a nice tough heroine with goals of her own, and the very-much-mismatched group of adventurers had some entertaining scenes, whether stepping up to cope with new challenges or bickering among themselves. The scene where Chaka talks down an automated AI enforcement-bot was highly satisfactory!
[There's a TV Tropes page on the novel, with some entertaining tidbits.]
Later: I enjoyed the post-apocalyptic setting here, with the societal changes and the reverence for the vanishingly-rare books that survived (usually in hand-crafted copies, with only a few original volumes still existing). The fact that Twain's time-travel novel kicks off the plot is an ironic twist that was amusing, especially as so much of the novel involves the time traveler attempting to bootstrap King Arthur and company into a higher-tech way of living - the goals of most of the communities in this novel.
I was rather hoping, given they "never found the body" of Chaka's brother, that he'd turn up once the adventurers reached their quest-goal; as it turns out things went differently, but the rather fast-paced conclusion did answer a lot of questions, while using some elementary science to save the day. And the clash of cultures seems to have resulted in a boost for all the surviving communities, at least for now... Though I would have liked to know more about their reactions to the contents of some of the more culture-specific books that survived.
That said, Chaka was a nice tough heroine with goals of her own, and the very-much-mismatched group of adventurers had some entertaining scenes, whether stepping up to cope with new challenges or bickering among themselves. The scene where Chaka talks down an automated AI enforcement-bot was highly satisfactory!
[There's a TV Tropes page on the novel, with some entertaining tidbits.]
Journal Entry 5 by 
GoryDetails
at LFL - Lake St. #4 in Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Thursday, October 21, 2021
GoryDetails at LFL - Lake St. #4 in Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Thursday, October 21, 2021
Released 2 yrs ago (10/21/2021 UTC) at LFL - Lake St. #4 in Nashua, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Guidelines for safely visiting and stocking Little Free Libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, from the LFL site here.I left this book in the Little Free Library outside the Adult Learning Center; hope someone enjoys it!
[See other recent releases in NH here.]
*** Released for the 2021 Tick Tock challenge. ***
*** Released for the 2021 Keep Them Moving challenge. ***
