 A review in Publishers Weekly described City at the End of Time as a " complex , difficult and beautifully written tale [ that ] will appeal to sophisticated readers who prefer thorny conundrums to fast @-@ paced action " . A reviewer for the Library Journal said the novel " <unk> [ es ] readers into a visceral experience of cosmological theory and the big creation stories of mythology " . A review in New Scientist described the first half of the book as " a gripping , original tale " with the portrayal of the fate @-@ shifters 's talents as " nothing short of brilliant " , but complained that in the second half Bear over @-@ complicates the story with " too many ideas , images , mythologies and distractions " . The reviewer said that a promising story " whips itself up into a virtually incomprehensible final act " . Science fiction critic John Clute described the book as " cosmological [ science fiction ] without a net " , and complained that Bear rushes through the story too quickly and does not dwell long enough on locations like the Kalpa to make it memorable . He said that the flight to the future of Ginny , Jack and Daniel " gets a touch Frodo @-@ in @-@ Mordor at places " . 
