I was afraid of this. Many times, when a long novel series ends, the final book seems almost anticlimactic. Even trilogies can have this problem (one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Fallon, is one for two in ending trilogies with the weakest book in the series). Kage Baker's "The Company" series has been going on for seven books (not counting short story collections) and the eighth book, The Sons of Heaven is now out. Unfortunately, Baker falls prey to this same problem. The book is definitely good, but it fizzles out as an ending to this wonderful series.

Background on Dr. Zeus Inc.
The Dr. Zeus Corporation has invented time travel and the ability to give humanity immortality. Unfortunately, the immortality can only be given in childhood, and it's not always successful. The time travel is limited in that you can only go backwards, and you can only return to where you came. So what's the solution when you want to preserve as much history as possible (both for posterity and for profit)? You send people back to prehistoric times, set up bases all over the world and give immortality to certain people. These agents are then dispersed around the world, recruiting new agents and performing missions for the company to take things that will soon disappear, study and hide them away for awhile, until the present day is reached and they can be "discovered" again.

The Sons of Heaven
This book pulls all the various pieces together into a cohesive whole, as we discover just what the Company plans to do with its immortals, and just how various factions of immortals are going to fight back. The "Time of Silence" is fast approaching, as nobody can see past the year 2355 to discover what's going to happen. Lewis, the bookish immortal who was captured and disappeared a couple of books ago, wakes up unable to see or function, but is discovered by a little girl who may be more than she seems. Joseph and his "father" Budu enlists a powerful ally in his plan to dispense with the Company. Executive Facilitator Suleyman uses his intelligence network to discover the secret of the mortals' continued survival and the Company itself awakens a powerful new AI which they happen to call "Dr. Zeus." But what about Mendoza and her three-in-one body lovers (Edward, Alec, and Nicholas)? What's been going on with them, and how will they affect the coming cataclysm? Will Edward be able to complete his plans for world domination?

I'll talk about that final point first, as it's unfortunately the main crux of the problem with The Sons of Heaven. Through some weird science (and the help of Alec's pirate-like AI, The Captain), Edward has managed to become the dominant personality in Alec's body and then is able to clone two immortal bodies to implant Nicholas' and Alec's personalities. They are babies, though, and must grow up as normal (though with heightened intelligence and some latent memories of their time with Mendoza, who has to give birth to the bodies). They hide in the distant past while they do this, being educated, learning how to get by in life, and finding out what Edward wants to do with them.

Unfortunately, many of these scenes seem to go on forever. I've been growing more and more tired of Mendoza (which is a shame as she used to be my favorite character) and her interaction with the three incarnations of her lover. Some of the scenes between the two boys and their very strict "father" Edward, as well as Mendoza, are quite funny and entertaining. But too often, the scenes just kind of sit there attracting very little interest from me. The scenes are important to the book, so there's no way they could have been excised without greatly modifying the plot, but I wish they weren't so tedious at times. In fact, these sequences were the main reason that I was slow at finishing the book. Baker's writing is still exceptional, though, making these scenes annoying but still interesting enough to keep you reading.

Baker does do a good job of bouncing from scene to scene, giving the reader enough variety that it doesn't get too boring, though it's too bad that the Mendoza sections seem to be longest. Joseph's another favorite character, and I love what Baker did with him and Budu. His clandestine meetings with Randolph Hearst (who has survived this long due to Joseph making him an immortal in a previous novella) were a treat. I even liked his interactions with the former enforcers who are now in stasis as he goes around to wake them up. These scenes were by far the best and I loved it every time Baker went back to him.

In fact, everything but the Mendoza scenes was excellent. Baker has created a cadre of characters that's just interesting to read about. Whether it's Suleyman's network of immortal agents working to find Alpha-Omega and the secret to how the mortals will survive, or whether it's the sinister Labienus and his cohort who are intent on enslaving all mortals, there's some interesting stuff in there and Baker's characterization skills are unmatched. We even get Lewis back! Long-time readers will be happy about that.

There were a couple of plot elements that I found a bit questionable, however. First, the constant "first one faction shows up for something and then the another one shows up after the first leaves" was getting really annoying near the beginning of the book. It seemed almost contrived so that Baker could make sure everybody had the appropriate information so that the plot could be resolved. Maybe Baker intended it to be funny? If so, it was only mildly amusing, and even that was only the first couple of times.

Secondly, a couple of the factions are wiped out seemingly just to make the ending less crowded. Yes, Baker set the groundwork for what ends up happening, so it doesn't come out of nowhere. But after all the buildup they received, their disposal seemed a bit superfluous, though I have to admit that the scene where this happens is delicious.

Even without these two factions, the ending is almost too crowded, with everything coming together at the appropriate time with a mass attack designed to take down the Company once and for all. Baker throws in a couple of nice twists to the end results that makes everything that happened previously worth it. It's a bit convenient, but not overly so. Even better, Baker leaves the world in an interesting place, though I don't think there's anywhere for a new story to go. I would be willing to bet that we'll never see any sequels to this series.

The Sons of Heaven is a flawed gem, like a priceless vase with a big crack in it. Baker's prose is as beautiful as ever and most of the book is riveting. It's too bad the Mendoza scenes just dragged the book to a halt way too often. Without that problem, the book would be almost perfect. Instead, it's just a satisfying conclusion that can be difficult to get to at times. "The Company" series is over, and it's been a fun ride. Just watch that bump in the track right before you get off.

Originally published on Curled Up With a Good Book at www.curledup.com. © David Roy, 2007

The Company books by Kage Baker:
In the Garden of Iden
Sky Coyote
Mendoza in Hollywood
The Graveyard Game
Black Projects, White Knights
The Life of the World to Come
The Children of the Company
The Machine's Child
Gods & Pawns
The Sons of Heaven

Other books by Kage Baker:
Anvil of the World
The House of the Stag
The Empress of Mars
Mother Aegypt & Other Stories

Recommended: Yes