In book 2 we meet another young man, Stel, who doesn't fit in. He has married into the most conservative family and they have decided that he must go--permanently. As he realizes this and realizes that either his wife either knows and is letting it happen or that she doesn't know and won't believe him, he decides, after almost dying while cutting ice, that he must leave. So he goes. He simply heads westward. His wife decides to follow him when she does figure out what happened. They both have great adventures, meet more tribal groups, some on the verge of extinction, some very warped and weird. That's the plot. It's lots of fun and I raced through it. On to book 3! **** ( )

This sequel takes place two years after the first novel. Its hero Stel mentions he was taught by Jestak how to make skis, but if Stel appeared in the first novel I don't remember him. Again the city Pelbarigan is too strict for an ambitious young man, but this one chooses to abandon Pelbar entirely and forge into the western wilderness. We get a good look at additional cultures outside of Pelbar, and a definitive answer about exactly what occurred 1,000 years ago. The plot is very thin and mostly a travelogue, but this world is so engaging I didn't mind at all.

Stel is not as enterprising a hero as Jestak, but he has the same heart, resourcefulness and ambition to look beyond the Pelbar model and be open-minded about other ways of life and new perspectives, judging them but judging fairly. The writing is identical in quality and tone to the first novel's and there were fewer awkward scenes, not enough to spoil the broth. If you found "Northwall" engaging, you'll find more of that here. ( )

The Pelbar series is a very enjoyable read for me. The characters deal with dysfunctional societies, which have arisen as a result of a nuclear war that devastated the world. In this second book we encounter Stel who has been almost murdered by the zealous family of his wife for not bending to their all female views. Now he is cast adrift from a largely insular society into a wide open world mostly empty except for some strange societies. Ahroe, his wife, although initially angry with Stel for his non-conformist ways, refuses to let him go and follows him into the outside world. Their journeys change their views of how men and women should treat each other, as well as, effect change in those they meet. ( )

Stel has been exiled from Pelbar for being too independent and stubborn. While outside of the city he has a number of adventures, exploring the world around Pelbar and discovering there's a lot more to it. He discovers strange civilizations, some good, some bad. Meanwhile, his wife, Ahroe, heads off to find him and just barely missing him several times, has her own set of adventures. Just as well written as the first book, this is well worth reading. To fans of 80's fantasy, this is probably well known, but because the author wrote only this series, then vanished, it hasn't gotten anywhere near the interest it should get.
This is short and a quick read, but the world Williams created is very engaging. This isn't epic and complicated, but good. A great exploration of what a post-apocalyptic USA might look like and at times, it isn't good. ( )

"The Ends of the Circle" is book two (of seven) in "The Pelbar Cycle." In it, we are introduced to Stel Dahmen (later changed to "Stel Westrun"), who will be one of the main characters in most of the rest of the books. Newly married to a woman he loves, but who comes from a rigidly autocratic family that cannot abide what they see as his lack of proper respect, he ends up fleeing the walled city of his birth. Travelling across an America drastically changed in the thousand years since "The Time of Fire," Stel's resourcefulness and humble peacefulness are tested again and again, until eventually he is reunited with his wife Ahroe, and the son he didn't know he had, in the midst of a battle.

Stel Westrun/Dahmen is one of the most truly gentle characters you are ever likely to encounter in any post-apocalyptic fiction; he seems to spend his entire life trying to defuse the violence and intolerance of those around him; an engineer, poet, and flute-player, he is considered frivolous by most, but ends up sowing the seeds of vast change in the reunification of the tribes of what was once America.

"The Ends of the Circle" just misses getting a five star rating because it is short and a little shallow; later volumes in the series get better, and I would give five stars to "The Pelbar Cycle" as a whole, as I have re-read and enjoyed them all many times.

From the back cover:
"Some among the Pelbar meant to kill Stel, so the master-craftsman was forced to abandon his love, his family, and the security of Pelbarigan in order to survive.

Because his curiosity about the world outside Pelbarigan's walls had been aroused by the tales of earlier travelers, Stel set out in search of the fabled Shining Sea -- but between him and his goal lay the poisonous cities of the ancients, barbarians who practiced ritual murder, the treacherous
Children of Ozar, a mad exile -- and a host of other perils.

Stel's beautiful and devoted wife followed, determined to return with the man she loved.

__________

A dazzling vision of two quests, two journeys through
a strange and danger-filled world." ( )