City at the End of Time

Three young people dream of a city at the end of time. Each of them is a fate-shifter who can move among alternate universes. Each guards an object of unknown origin and purpose that is understood to be vitally important. Charles Leggett's narration flows with the action and maintains a steady pace through the long explicative passages. He is an apt guide through this dense and complex plot, which requires focused attention to follow. Saving the last remnants of intelligence in a distant future with all the countervailing forces one expects in a mission of that size draws in a wide cast of characters. Leggett portrays them with a broad range of personalities, accents, and tones. J.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Starred review from June 23, 2008
In his triumphant return to large-scale SF, Nebula and Hugo–winner Bear (Quantico
) links three young drifters in present-day Seattle with an unimaginably distant future. When the drifters answer an odd newspaper advertisement, they soon find themselves caught up in a war between mysterious and powerful forces. Two not-quite-humans, creations of a million-year experiment, have discovered that their ancient fortress/city, perhaps the last refuge of intelligence in a dying universe, is about to fall before the onslaught of chaos. They have been chosen by beings evolved far beyond mere matter to undertake a dangerous mission to preserve the universe's last vestiges of consciousness. Somehow the two groups engage in telepathic communication despite the eons that separate them. Something of an homage to William Hope Hodgson's classic The Night Land
, this complex, difficult and beautifully written tale will appeal to sophisticated readers who prefer thorny conundrums to fast-paced action.