The Key to Creation (Terra Incognita, 3)

Exploring the oceans for a long lost and fabled land called Terravitae, two ships sail across the world from different directions. One is captained by a Tierran named Criston Vora who, having lost his wife years ago to Uraban raiders, has nothing left but the thrill of the untamed seas. The other ship is led by a young Uraban named Saan who was sent by the Soldan-Shah of Uraba to find the Key to Creation. Their hope is to use the key to end the decades long war with Tierra. Across the oceans, they face fearsome sea creatures and mythical beings as they search for their ancient homeland. While these two captains race against each other in a forlorn hope of ending a war against their hated enemies—each other—what they do not realize is that they are father and son, separated years ago by a cruel village raid. Their journey is but one of dozens in this epic adventure exploring the depths of humanity and the realms of war, religion and discovery. This is The Key to Creation.As the third book in the Terra Incognita series, this is not a book friendly to new readers. However, if you’re hoping to get an idea of whether this is a series worth diving into and if the third book ends well, then you’re in luck. The Key to Creation has huge payoffs, deep characters, a rich story and brings a great ending to the series. Read no further and save yourself the trouble of spoilers. For those who have already read the first two books, you’re in for a fun rollercoaster ride of emotion. Continuing his character portrait of humanity, author Kevin J. Anderson illustrates the depths of humanity’s hatred and evil as well as it’s neverending ability to show compassion, love and hope. Through the merciless acts of war, the misuse of religion, the inspiring desires of love, and the fundamental truth of cooperation, the book explores a wealth of topics while tying it all into a handful of intriguing character journeys.One thing I really appreciated about this book is the introductory primer that kicks off the story. At the very front of the book is a 13 page recap of all the major events that happened in The Edge of the World and The Map of All Things. It’s been a while since I’ve read both of those books so it was really helpful to have a refresher to bring me back up to speed. If it’s been years since you’ve read the previous stories, the primer is just the thing to set you on track to dive into this one.To give readers a taste of what’s in store for them in this final part of the series, you can expect lots of monsters and battles. The main characters face off against the world serpent, the kraken, Raathgir, and the leviathan. There are battles on land and at sea, between the Urabans and the Tierrans, and between mortals and immortals. Each side has surprises in store for the other as the war escalates. They mighty city of Ishalem comes under siege in a final battle that decides the fate of both nations. Characters die, disasters strike where least expected, and for some, there are happy endings.With the huge cast of characters at play in this novel, Kevin J. Anderson did a surprisingly good job at resolving all of their stories. But the real accomplishment of the book is how all of those character stories intertwine in their individual roles as part of the greater conflict. One person’s journey across the ocean—fighting sea monsters, discovering mythic beings, dealing with the pain of their past and the hope for the future—has the potential to end the main conflict that drives the entire series. Yet that character’s adventure is kept very personal. It explores their strengths and weaknesses, their hope and despair. For each character in the book, there is a personal journey as they discover themselves. However, they all fit into an intricate plot where their accomplishments drive forward the overarching plot. They all affect each other, progressing the story, bringing about surprises and turmoil. When the climax hits, the final pieces fall into place and each character reaches the end of their journey.Adding even more depth to the whole experience is the array of themes buried within the story. While the nations of Uraba and Tierra are at war with each other, the story goes to great lengths to show how this conflict came about and why it continues. On one hand, it’s the circle of violence. Victims seek out revenge. When an entire nation seeks revenge, it leads to escalating violence as they try to balance the scales of loss. On top of that is the topic of religion. Both sides are fueled by religious fervor. They each think that they know the truth and that the other is wrong. The two religions battle each other over small discrepancies while the core tenets of each faith is the same. Their unwillingness to be open minded becomes their very downfall and spurs the war to even worse lengths. Then there are matters of love, be it a person who comes to love their captor, a ruler who loves a person beneath their station, or even immortals who love the wives of other gods. The book explores how far people are willing to go for love. On the other hand, the book also looks into how far people are willing to go for duty in defiance of love. With all of those themes threaded into the various character plots, the book becomes something very close to a masterpiece of storytelling.At over 600 pages, The Key to Creation is a book packed full of adventure and entertaining escapism. It explores a fanciful world full of rich characters, exotics lands and mythical creatures. Emotions run the full gamut as the novel explores the extremes of humanity and everything in between. In the end, it’s a very hard book to put down. The war, the turmoil, the shifting tides of fortune, the depths of kindness, compassion, hatred and violence, it all comes together to form a mosaic illustration of life and history. I give The Key to Creation a five out of five and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a deep adventure to get lost in.

I really liked the first two books and maybe I'm being hard on this because I had just finished the entire Wheel of Time series in preparation for a Memory of Light and this was never going to compare favorably but this book just didn't work for me.Plans were made that were supposed to be clever because we were told that they were, not because they really made any dang sense. The ending was too pat, too deus ex machina. Nothing was resolved in a meaningful way for me. In large part, the first too books were about the unreasoning hatred and bigotry that religion can foster. This doesn't really show a solution for that problem short of having your bloody god himself come down and shake his finger under your nose.

An amazing trilogy. Loved every bit of this beautifully crafted story. One of those stories that make you feel like you’ve completed a journey. Highly recommended.Thank you Mr. Anderson.

Final installment in the Terra Incognita trilogy. The ship voyages were my favorite part and kept me reading. I was disappointed in pieces of the ending of the book. The character development seemed a bit forced too with certain characters. However, I was kept entertained and wanted to find out what happened in the next chapter so I would recommend this as a decent read.

All three books in this series are captivating and I am keeping them all as a part of my collection of outstanding reads. However, like many of this author's books I have read, there is something about them that still keeps them one step below Orson Scott Card or George RR Martin, in my opinion. I think it has to do with the depth and believability of the characters, but it's hard to pinpoint.Needless to say, however, a very nice, flowing read and well worth the time.

Great story line from the series. I enjoyed every bit of this book, a long with the rest of the other 2 books of the series.

Plenty of action and variety to keep one coming back to finish this trilogy. Good character development, sustained, logical plot lines although each book follows the same formula of skipping from one story line to another by chapter. As the plot lines came together at the end, the chapters became more linear and part of a whole and satisfying conclusion.

This series doesn't live up to Anderson's usual quality writing. The plot lines are thin, very predictable and almost have a 'forced' feel to them. It is a good story line idea, just not fleshed out well. Almost like he was writing it in a hurry.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series. I believe it is encompassing our very present. Dominated by politics and religion. It is totally absorbing the characters are so well described they feel like family and friends, not forgetting the black sheep. I say a big thank you to the author, please write another one. Buy it you will love it.

Just about to start Book 3, wondering how all the threads will pull together at the end. Absorbing and enjoyable cast of characters.

Good yarn

Good read.

Just started this, the third book, having loved the first 2. Disappointed with the page layout, everything is "centred" its really annoying. I'm sure the book will be just as good as the other 2 which rate 5+ at least