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Well-Built City Trilogy #3
The Beyond
Jeffrey Ford's World Fantasy Award-winner The Physiognomy introduce Cley, master of a twisted and terming science in a nightmare city. In the brilliantly audacious Memoranda , the reformed physiognomist embarked on a surreal quest through the mind of the monster who imagined the dark metropolis. Now comes the third and final leg of Cley's bizarre life journey. Cley has witnessed miracles, and both he and his world have bee changed by them. But now the former Physiognomist First Class must travel to the inconceivable ends of his world -- and into the perilous heart of a sentient wilderness. Only there, where demons and wraith feed on flesh and terror -- where astonishing sights and circumstance are commonplace -- can amends be made and the old Cley buried. But the Beyond has its needs and a living consciousness that encompasses all the wonders within its boundaries. And each step forward bring, Cley inescapable responsibilities as it carries him deeper into the core of legend and toward a mystery older than time.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 5, 2001
4 people are currently reading
269 people want to read
About the author
Jeffrey Ford
237 books508 followersJeffrey Ford is an American writer in the Fantastic genre tradition, although his works have spanned genres including Fantasy, Science Fiction and Mystery. His work is characterized by a sweeping imaginative power, humor, literary allusion, and a fascination with tales told within tales. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton, where he studied with the novelist John Gardner.
He lives in southern New Jersey and teaches writing and literature at Brookdale Community College in Monmouth County. He has also taught at the summer Clarion Workshop for science fiction and fantasy writers in Michigan. He has contributed stories, essays and interviews to various magazines and e-magazines including MSS, Puerto Del Sol, Northwest Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, Argosy, Event Horizon, Infinity Plus, Black Gate and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
He published his first story, "The Casket", in Gardner's literary magazine MSS in 1981 and his first full-length novel, Vanitas, in 1988.
He lives in southern New Jersey and teaches writing and literature at Brookdale Community College in Monmouth County. He has also taught at the summer Clarion Workshop for science fiction and fantasy writers in Michigan. He has contributed stories, essays and interviews to various magazines and e-magazines including MSS, Puerto Del Sol, Northwest Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, Argosy, Event Horizon, Infinity Plus, Black Gate and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
He published his first story, "The Casket", in Gardner's literary magazine MSS in 1981 and his first full-length novel, Vanitas, in 1988.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 17, 2022
Tercer y último volumen de la trilogía de La Ciudad Bien Construida, que se inició con ‘La fisiognomía’ y ‘Memoranda’, ambas magníficas novelas, y que Minotauro, y por ende Planeta, no se dignó traducir al español.
La trilogía está protagonizada por el fisiognomista Cley, que aplica la ciencia de la frenología para sus deducciones. En ‘The Beyond’, Cley, junto al perro Wood, se adentra en el Más Allá a modo de expiación por sus pecados pasados, sobre todo los remordimientos por lo que le hizo a Arla. Pero lo curioso de la narración es que está contada a través de Misrix, un demonio antropomorfo modificado por Drachton Below, adicto a la Belleza Pura. El viaje de Cley y Wood por las tierras del Más Allá es fascinante. Si bien me impactaron más los otros dos libros, este no desmerece.
La trilogía está protagonizada por el fisiognomista Cley, que aplica la ciencia de la frenología para sus deducciones. En ‘The Beyond’, Cley, junto al perro Wood, se adentra en el Más Allá a modo de expiación por sus pecados pasados, sobre todo los remordimientos por lo que le hizo a Arla. Pero lo curioso de la narración es que está contada a través de Misrix, un demonio antropomorfo modificado por Drachton Below, adicto a la Belleza Pura. El viaje de Cley y Wood por las tierras del Más Allá es fascinante. Si bien me impactaron más los otros dos libros, este no desmerece.
January 3, 2013
Originally posted at FanLit http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
The Beyond is the last book in Jeffrey Ford’s WELL-BUILT CITY trilogy. This bizarre story began with The Physiognomy in which Cley, an arrogant and cruel physiognomist, is sent by the evil ruler Drachton Below on a mission to the mining town of Anamasobia. While there, Cley makes a bad decision which destroys the beautiful face of Arla, the woman he has fallen in love with. This humbles and devastates Cley (drastically changing his personality for the better) and leads to the destruction of Drachton Below’s Well-Built City.
In the second book, Memoranda, we find Cley in a new life — acting as herbalist and midwife in the village of Wenau. When Drachton Below, still living in the ruins of his Well-Built City, poisons the people of Wenau, Cley is the only person who can help, but he has to go into Below’s warped mind to find the antidote. He gets some help from Misrik, Below’s charming demon son.
In The Beyond, guilt-ridden Cley is compelled to seek forgiveness and redemption by searching for Arla, the woman whose face he ruined. To do this, he must traverse the mysterious Beyond, the huge cold wasteland that lies north of the Well-Built City. At first he sets out with Misrix and Wood, his old dog, but the northern wastes are teeming with demons and Misrix, a tame and well-educated demon, must turn back as he feels himself losing the civility and culture he’s learned. Cley and Wood go on without him while Misrix returns to the Well-Built City and uses a hallucinogen to watch their progress. Cley meets a few people and some strange creatures in the Beyond, learns that the Beyond is conscious and has plans for him, and then something weird and profound happens to Cley at the end.
Most of the plot of The Beyond consists of Misrix recounting Cley’s journey, but Misrix has his own subplot, too. He’s been alone and lonely in the decay of the Well-Built City because the people in the few surrounding villages think he and the city are evil. But when Misrix saves the life of a little girl, he makes a friend. This relationship brings him much joy and much pain.
Up to this point, Ford’s WELL-BUILT CITY trilogy has been inventive, exciting, and surreal. There’s so much to like: the pseudoscience of physiognomy, mechanical monsters, revived corpses, polite soul-sucking creatures, an academically-minded demon, a city built to be a memory palace, hallucinogenic drugs, thought-provoking ideas and plenty of symbolism and humor. I was hoping for more of the same creativity and bizarreness in The Beyond.
While I enjoyed the story, The Beyond didn’t quite meet my expectations. Much of the plot involves the mundane aspects of Cley’s journey — acquiring food and shelter, being cold, waiting for snow to thaw, etc, and these parts were sometimes dull. When Cley’s story finally gets going, much of it is so surreal that it’s hard to become engaged. There may have been some connections and symbolism that I missed, but, frankly, I just wasn’t engrossed enough to meditate on it. Misrix’s story, on the other hand, has more impact because it’s lucid, suspenseful and emotional, but it’s definitely the minor plot.
I love Jeffrey Ford’s style and imagination, and the audio version of The Beyond that I listened to was beautifully read by Christian Rummel. The Beyond wasn’t as good as its predecessors, but it was still worth my time.
The Beyond is the last book in Jeffrey Ford’s WELL-BUILT CITY trilogy. This bizarre story began with The Physiognomy in which Cley, an arrogant and cruel physiognomist, is sent by the evil ruler Drachton Below on a mission to the mining town of Anamasobia. While there, Cley makes a bad decision which destroys the beautiful face of Arla, the woman he has fallen in love with. This humbles and devastates Cley (drastically changing his personality for the better) and leads to the destruction of Drachton Below’s Well-Built City.
In the second book, Memoranda, we find Cley in a new life — acting as herbalist and midwife in the village of Wenau. When Drachton Below, still living in the ruins of his Well-Built City, poisons the people of Wenau, Cley is the only person who can help, but he has to go into Below’s warped mind to find the antidote. He gets some help from Misrik, Below’s charming demon son.
In The Beyond, guilt-ridden Cley is compelled to seek forgiveness and redemption by searching for Arla, the woman whose face he ruined. To do this, he must traverse the mysterious Beyond, the huge cold wasteland that lies north of the Well-Built City. At first he sets out with Misrix and Wood, his old dog, but the northern wastes are teeming with demons and Misrix, a tame and well-educated demon, must turn back as he feels himself losing the civility and culture he’s learned. Cley and Wood go on without him while Misrix returns to the Well-Built City and uses a hallucinogen to watch their progress. Cley meets a few people and some strange creatures in the Beyond, learns that the Beyond is conscious and has plans for him, and then something weird and profound happens to Cley at the end.
Most of the plot of The Beyond consists of Misrix recounting Cley’s journey, but Misrix has his own subplot, too. He’s been alone and lonely in the decay of the Well-Built City because the people in the few surrounding villages think he and the city are evil. But when Misrix saves the life of a little girl, he makes a friend. This relationship brings him much joy and much pain.
Up to this point, Ford’s WELL-BUILT CITY trilogy has been inventive, exciting, and surreal. There’s so much to like: the pseudoscience of physiognomy, mechanical monsters, revived corpses, polite soul-sucking creatures, an academically-minded demon, a city built to be a memory palace, hallucinogenic drugs, thought-provoking ideas and plenty of symbolism and humor. I was hoping for more of the same creativity and bizarreness in The Beyond.
While I enjoyed the story, The Beyond didn’t quite meet my expectations. Much of the plot involves the mundane aspects of Cley’s journey — acquiring food and shelter, being cold, waiting for snow to thaw, etc, and these parts were sometimes dull. When Cley’s story finally gets going, much of it is so surreal that it’s hard to become engaged. There may have been some connections and symbolism that I missed, but, frankly, I just wasn’t engrossed enough to meditate on it. Misrix’s story, on the other hand, has more impact because it’s lucid, suspenseful and emotional, but it’s definitely the minor plot.
I love Jeffrey Ford’s style and imagination, and the audio version of The Beyond that I listened to was beautifully read by Christian Rummel. The Beyond wasn’t as good as its predecessors, but it was still worth my time.
June 22, 2012
I would give this 10 stars if I could. A masterful ending to an extraordinary trilogy. This novel, from Misrix's narration to Cley's survival in The Beyond with only a loyal dog and strong motivation to keep him company, is a triumph. I was a fan of Ford's writing before reading the Well-Built City trilogy, but now I will follow him wherever his writing takes him. Everybody needs to read these books.
February 28, 2018
Every single one of these books starts out so slow then somewhere 50-100 pages in something clicks and they make me want to die (in a good way). Will re-read.
January 3, 2020
And the trilogy now has drawn to an end. This entry was told differently than the first two, not directly from Cley's point of view, but as two stories intertwined (Cley's taking up the lion's share of the book's length) and that of Misrix, the one relaying Cley's story. It didn't have quite the same humor as the first two, but the stories and imaginative nature of the writing remained. I'm glad I read these, they're all pretty great, and we get to see Cley journey from an unlikable scab of a person into a pretty admirable one. Recommend checking the books out!
October 25, 2024
The conclusion to the Well-Built City trilogy is weird and creative but a mixed bag. Ford adopts an different structure here: rather than Cley telling his story in first person, Misrix, the human-like demon from "Memoranda," recounts the final tale of Cley, the Physiognomist protagonist of the previous 2 books. The book alternates sections of Cley's story with Misrix's experiences in the present day.
Cley's story starts as a straightforward survival tale and gets increasingly bizarre as he encounters unusual creatures, people, and situations, some of which are more captivating than others. It has a bit of an episodic feel, though, for most of the book, which makes it somewhat intermittently slow to get through. It does ultimately wrap up his tale in a satisfying conclusion. Misrix's sections are quite brief and interstitiary, but moving, as he befriends a human girl who manages to find him in his hideout.
For better or worse, Cley in this story is reduced to something of a trope or type - the (mostly) silent survivor type. His humor is all gone; his weaknesses are burned out. Ultimately the story is about his redemption, but it all occurs without us being in his head or getting much insight into what he's thinking; we just see his actions. Ford does a good job of making his relationship with the dog Wood effective without any words, and his eventual teaming up with a woman and her child, but it all feels very different than the previous two books.
In some ways, Misrix is the most intriguing character in this book.
Cley's story starts as a straightforward survival tale and gets increasingly bizarre as he encounters unusual creatures, people, and situations, some of which are more captivating than others. It has a bit of an episodic feel, though, for most of the book, which makes it somewhat intermittently slow to get through. It does ultimately wrap up his tale in a satisfying conclusion. Misrix's sections are quite brief and interstitiary, but moving, as he befriends a human girl who manages to find him in his hideout.
For better or worse, Cley in this story is reduced to something of a trope or type - the (mostly) silent survivor type. His humor is all gone; his weaknesses are burned out. Ultimately the story is about his redemption, but it all occurs without us being in his head or getting much insight into what he's thinking; we just see his actions. Ford does a good job of making his relationship with the dog Wood effective without any words, and his eventual teaming up with a woman and her child, but it all feels very different than the previous two books.
In some ways, Misrix is the most intriguing character in this book.
August 7, 2020
Excellent finish to what was an incredibly imagined world throughout the Well Built City trilogy. In this final episode we follow Cley again, only this time, rather than the story being presented from his POV, his story is recounted in a series of vignettes from the mind of Misrix, the demon from Memorandum. At the end of Memorandum we left cley and Misrix just starting their journey into the beyond. Misrix is looking to become fully a demon again and lose himself to the beyond, Cley is looking for Arla, the woman from The Physiognomy who’s face Cley rearranges with horrific results.
I really liked the way Ford wrote this, in the series of vignettes. Misrix is recounting what has happened to Cley in the beyond by eating leaves from different plants in the Beyond, injecting himself with the drug pure beauty and this then brings forth fractured visions of what Cley has been through. The series of vignettes added to the feeling of Misrix’ fractured recounting. Also Fords incredible ability for world building really shone through here, at times his descriptions were like an Attenborough documentary or a diary entry by Darwin during his time on the Galapagos. His imagination conjures up plants, animals and scenery that rival and even surpass Tolkien, I can’t really give much higher praise than that.
The well Built City trilogy is certainly something that will stay with me, it’s not often something in fantasy blows me away but The Beyond did that with spades. 5*, is give it more if I could, perfect and utterly stunning in my opinion.
I really liked the way Ford wrote this, in the series of vignettes. Misrix is recounting what has happened to Cley in the beyond by eating leaves from different plants in the Beyond, injecting himself with the drug pure beauty and this then brings forth fractured visions of what Cley has been through. The series of vignettes added to the feeling of Misrix’ fractured recounting. Also Fords incredible ability for world building really shone through here, at times his descriptions were like an Attenborough documentary or a diary entry by Darwin during his time on the Galapagos. His imagination conjures up plants, animals and scenery that rival and even surpass Tolkien, I can’t really give much higher praise than that.
The well Built City trilogy is certainly something that will stay with me, it’s not often something in fantasy blows me away but The Beyond did that with spades. 5*, is give it more if I could, perfect and utterly stunning in my opinion.
April 24, 2023
I believe that this series is my penance for having so industriously urged so many to read Tolkein's trilogy. I am absolutely sure the whole thing is just stuffed full of meaning and intent and portent and content and everything else ending in -ent, and has to do with eternity and the meaning of life and memory and language and identity and who knows what other deep thoughts, but dear God I did not like it. The 3rd book started out easier to wade through than the first 2, because it had 2 POVs and neither of them was the first person of the initial 2 volumes, but. I hated the ending, which devolved into a quagmire of meaning and imagination and veils. The writing was decent, but I Do Not Recommend this trilogy. Apologies to all those who love it.
July 27, 2019
I wasn't quite as engaged with this novel as I was with the first two, primarily due to the point-of-view shift: Cley no longer tells his own story. The ending, however, is perfect (and appropriately ambiguous). A story this surrealistic and convoluted (in a good way) is wickedly difficult to conclude, but Ford pulls it off with narrative panache--and with feeling.
July 24, 2024
Den sista, avslutande delen i en fantasy serie som förtjänar så mycket mer uppmärksamhet än vad den fått. The Beyond är mer karaktärsdriven än sina två föregångare och känns ofta väldigt pikaresk. Cley söker efter Arla för att få förlåtelse och Misrix, först fullt inställd på att göra sig av med all mänsklighet, blir istället allt mer inblandad med de människor som finns kvar i Wenau.
Den värld som Ford målar upp är långt mer underlig och varierad än i de två tidigare och därmed mer intressant. Språket och stämningen är fortfarande på topp och jag läste denna lika fort som den innan.
Den värld som Ford målar upp är långt mer underlig och varierad än i de två tidigare och därmed mer intressant. Språket och stämningen är fortfarande på topp och jag läste denna lika fort som den innan.
December 20, 2011
Много лет назад физиономист Клей и демон Мисрикс ушли в дебри Запределья на поиски Земного Рая, но назад к людям вернулся из них только один. Опечаленный своей неудачей Мисрикс поселился на руинах Отличного Города и посвятил все свое время тому, чтобы жители близлежащего поселка признали в нем себе равного. Со временем именно так и cлучилось. Люди потянулись к руинам, желая увидеть то, что осталось от их прошлого, поэтому были необычайно рады своему новому гиду. Вот только одна проблема – из-за козней вредной старухи люди абсолютно уверены в том, что в дебрях Запределья Мисрикс убил Клея. Разумеется, они упорно настаивают на том, что за это страшное преступление его следует казнить.
Но сможет ли умереть бессмертное существо? И можно ли повесить человека, у которого есть крылья? Тем более если он совершенно уверен, что его старый друг жив, здоров и по сей день продолжает свой путь в поисках искупления и загадочной зеленой вуали…
По уровню своей депрессивной концептуальности третья и завершающая часть трилогии Джеффри Форда про Отличный Город с легкостью побеждает своих предшественников. В своем новом романе писатель решает наконец проставить последние точки, поэтому мир реальный и мир памяти навсегда теряют грань своего взаимодействия. А чего же вы хотели, если безумный демиург Драхтон Белоу все же скончался и покинул этот мир, поэтому играм с виртуальностью отныне пришел конец. Последнее порождение Драхтона демон Мисрикс уже вторую книгу пытается писать книгу своей памяти, поэтому и покидает в итоге эту реальность вместе со своим старым другом Клеем.
- Почему мой пес так отчаянно защищает эту книгу?
- Он считает, что именно в ней живут все эти истории, а ведь именно из этих историй и создан наш мир. (2006.06.12)
Но сможет ли умереть бессмертное существо? И можно ли повесить человека, у которого есть крылья? Тем более если он совершенно уверен, что его старый друг жив, здоров и по сей день продолжает свой путь в поисках искупления и загадочной зеленой вуали…
По уровню своей депрессивной концептуальности третья и завершающая часть трилогии Джеффри Форда про Отличный Город с легкостью побеждает своих предшественников. В своем новом романе писатель решает наконец проставить последние точки, поэтому мир реальный и мир памяти навсегда теряют грань своего взаимодействия. А чего же вы хотели, если безумный демиург Драхтон Белоу все же скончался и покинул этот мир, поэтому играм с виртуальностью отныне пришел конец. Последнее порождение Драхтона демон Мисрикс уже вторую книгу пытается писать книгу своей памяти, поэтому и покидает в итоге эту реальность вместе со своим старым другом Клеем.
- Почему мой пес так отчаянно защищает эту книгу?
- Он считает, что именно в ней живут все эти истории, а ведь именно из этих историй и создан наш мир. (2006.06.12)
July 23, 2016
The Beyond is the last book in Jeffrey Ford’s WELL-BUILT CITY trilogy. This bizarre story began with The Physiognomy in which Cley, an arrogant and cruel physiognomist, is sent by the evil ruler Drachton Below on a mission to the mining town of Anamasobia. While there, Cley makes a bad decision which destroys the beautiful face of Arla, the woman he has fallen in love with. This humbles and devastates Cley (drastically changing his personality for the better) and leads to the destruction of Drachton Below’s Well-Built City.
In the second book, Memoranda, we find Cley in a new life — acting as herbalist and midwife in the village of Wenau. When Drachton Below, still living in the ruins of his Well-Built City, poisons the people of Wenau, Cley is the only person who can help, but he has to go into Below’s warped mind to find the antidote. He gets ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
In the second book, Memoranda, we find Cley in a new life — acting as herbalist and midwife in the village of Wenau. When Drachton Below, still living in the ruins of his Well-Built City, poisons the people of Wenau, Cley is the only person who can help, but he has to go into Below’s warped mind to find the antidote. He gets ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
January 14, 2009
The final book in the Well-Built city trilogy is a stunningly imaginative feast of a quest novel. Cley journeys into The Beyond, the surrealistic no man's land where people tend to disappear without a trace. But Cley needs to find out what happened to Arla, a woman he wronged in the first novel, and to seek her forgiveness. Will Cley finally find the forgiveness he has so ardently sought through these books? Will he find his purpose and solve the mysteries of the Beyond? Will he survive?
There aren't any easy answers for him or the readers. I find it impossible to reduce this book to a few paragraphs, but I will say that it needs to be read as the final chapter of the other two books. I'm not sure it would work as a stand alone, but taken as the culmination of the trilogy, the ending packed an emotional wallop that had me thinking about it for days on end.
There aren't any easy answers for him or the readers. I find it impossible to reduce this book to a few paragraphs, but I will say that it needs to be read as the final chapter of the other two books. I'm not sure it would work as a stand alone, but taken as the culmination of the trilogy, the ending packed an emotional wallop that had me thinking about it for days on end.
January 15, 2016
The final part of the Well-Built City trilogy presents two interwoven stories on the search for what it means to be human, in a markedly darker tone than the first two books. We follow the primary story of Cley, once-Physiognomist and now hunter, cast into the wilds of The Beyond on a journey to follow Arla Beaton, the woman he so hideously disfigured, to a mythical paradise. Cley's story is conveyed, in episodic form, through the eyes of the demon Misrix who, fuelled by the drug Sheer Beauty, believes he can 'sense' Cley in the Beyond. Misrix's own story, that of his growing desire for human acceptance, is interwoven and, in a nice touch of ambuguity towards a galloping end to the book, we're left to wonder about Cley's true fate and the terrible price that Misrix will pay for it.
March 6, 2012
What a coincidence. Caused by my ignorance. When buying this book, absolutely by chance, back then in 2008, when getting the information was not that easy for me, I thought it's somehow connected with Tarsem's new movie - the thing is that here in Russia The Fall was released under the title "Запределье" (Zapredelye), which means in Russian exactly The Beyond. Of course just as I started reading the book I realized there was nothing of the kind. And of course I fell in love with Ford's magnificent world immediately. Oh, and much later I found the rest of the trilogy. And.. When reading this marvel I thought that there's only one film director who could've shot The Beyond - Tarsem.
September 23, 2012
Terrible that the end of the trilogy has to be so poor. Luckily, all the books existed largely independent of one another, so the impact is minimal. The problem was that the prose seemed to have changed. Where before the book used the voice of Cley, now Misrix was writing. His character is well read enough to have been clear, but Ford was probably unable to use the different style.
In addition, there was a lot of wasted white space on each page. The whole thing was off, taking way too long to start the interesting part of the book. Nevertheless, besides the boring adventure, the high-level plot seemed reasonable. Will still read Ford: 2/3 isn't bad.
In addition, there was a lot of wasted white space on each page. The whole thing was off, taking way too long to start the interesting part of the book. Nevertheless, besides the boring adventure, the high-level plot seemed reasonable. Will still read Ford: 2/3 isn't bad.
July 23, 2015
I loved it !!! This book is one of my top five unforgettable favorite books. It spoke to me...
I picked it up off the bookshelf years ago and started to read it had no idea it was the third book until after i finished it. Thank you
I picked it up off the bookshelf years ago and started to read it had no idea it was the third book until after i finished it. Thank you
May 26, 2010
I forgot to copy down the passage I wanted to use to illustrate this one. it was about dogs and stories.
August 19, 2012
The final chapter in the Well-Built City trilogy is unfortunately the weakest, but it's still worth checking out if you enjoyed the previous books.
July 1, 2016
I really like this trilogy.
I was so moved, impressed, and surprised.
I respect Jeffrey Ford and his creativity.
I was so moved, impressed, and surprised.
I respect Jeffrey Ford and his creativity.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews