The Beyond

Written by Chloe Neill

Narrated by Amy Landon

Sensitive Claire Connolly must journey to another world in the electrifying fourth installment of Chloe Neill's post-apocalyptic urban fantasy series.

It's been a year since the Veil between the human world and the world Beyond was torn apart, and war began again. Sensitive Claire Connolly and bounty hunter Liam Quinn have been helping their human and paranormal allies fight back against the ravaging invaders and save what's left of New Orleans.

But a new enemy has arisen, more powerful than any they've seen before, and even Devil's Isle cannot hold her . . .

When Claire learns of a new magical weapon-one built by paranormals themselves-she knows it could turn the tide of war. But to reach it, she and Liam will have to cross into the Beyond itself. In a world full of hostile magic and dangerous foes, she'll have to channel the powers she once kept hidden in order to survive. New Orleans hangs in the balance, and the storm is growing closer . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jun 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781977337887

Reviews for The Beyond

[dystopiapress · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I was growing up I spent every other Christmas and a couple of weeks each summer at my paternal grandparents’ farm in northern Arkansas. There was a series of things I’d always do every time I was there: have endless adventures in the big red barn my great-grandfather had built shortly after the turn of the century, construct buildings with the set of original Lincoln Logs kept in an old cardboard box at the back of the living room closet, and read the same paperbacks kicking around in that same closet like Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, The Hobbit, anything by Wilbur Smith or even the ancient World Book Encyclopedia that was perpetually bowing the bottom shelf almost to the point of collapse.But, hands down, the book I always looked forward to rereading every time I was there was a thirty-five cent Dell paperback anthology from 1954 edited by Groff Conklin: Six Great Short Novels of Science Fiction.I’ve been thinking a lot about that book lately, especially in light of the recent article “Fresh Hell” by Laura Miller examining the current appeal of dystopian/post-apocalyptic literature to the young adult (YA) demographic. That is, since, as Miller posits, the YA entries into this genre are relatively recent—at least, all of the titles she cites were published well after my teenage years—it’s gotten me wondering exactly how my interest in this genre was set at such an early age.Old age—or at least, middle age—is the process by which you have to construct a history for yourself of the formative moments that you haven’t given any active thought to for years. Sure, when I was ten or twelve I could’ve expressly told you the order in which I read War of the Worlds and The Time Machine which likely to the classic Who Goes There? all the way up to A Canticle for Leibowitz and from there to Make Room! Make Room! and finally, especially, Stand on Zanzibar. Any exact timeline, however, constructed at this late date is just a fiction, a best guess, an unsure recollection.But, one thing I know for sure is that probably the earliest entry was the Conklin-edited anthology that included these novellas: * “The Blast” by Stuart Cloete (from Colliers, April 1947) * “Coventry” by Robert A. Heinlein (from Astounding, July 1940) * “The Other World” by Murray Leinster (from Startling Stories, November 1949) * “Barrier” by Anthony Boucher (from Astounding, September 1942) * “Surface Tension” by James Blish (from Galaxy, August 1952) * “Maturity” by Theodore Sturgeon (from Astounding, February 1947)The book, even when I first start reading it, was so dog eared and torn up that I could only read four of the six stories as big chunks of pages from “Barrier” and “Maturity” were completely missing. But, man, the ones that were left, it was like visiting an old friend every time I made it up there. “The Blast” was my favorite, about a survivor in New York twenty years after a nuclear attack. “Coventry” was probably my first exposure to Robert Heinlein and even then the anti-establishment nature of the narrator appealed to me. “The Other World” was the scariest, being about a crazy amulet of sorts that allowed people to see into a parallel world where Egyptians, as I recall, had their own civilization on Manhattan and were stealing people from our world to be their slaves. And, finally, there was “Surface Tension” with its evolution of a microscopic race of beings trying to break past the barrier of the water they were trapped underneath. Each novella was a compelling story all on its own, completely different from the other ones collected with it, and they never failed to transport me from rural Arkansas to worlds infinitely far away from there (as well as the small Texas town I grew up in).It’s been years since I’ve been up to the farm: there have been funerals, moves to nursing homes, all those types of things. The last time I was there ten years ago I made sure to grab the two wooden pistols my grandfather had carved just for me and a toy plastic canoe I used to float in the creek at one edge of their property, but it didn’t dawn on me grab this book while I had the chance. And, to be honest, I figured I’d never come across a copy of it again. Although I knew the plots of the stories, I could only remember the actual name and author of one: Blish’s “Surface Tension” (although I can’t believe now I’d forgotten about “Coventry”).But, you know, that’s the beauty of the Internet: absolutely almost everything is cataloged on it somewhere. It took a few rounds (and several hours) of searching last week but I finally came across The Locus Index to Science Fiction and a little more poking around turned up the info I was looking for by virtue of finding the complete publication history of “Surface Tension.” From there, it was a quick few clicks at Amazon to turn up a used copy for a little less than four bucks from Hammonds Books (a skosh more than seven dollars total with shipping). Then, it was on its way to me . . . and arrived in the mail this afternoon!So, I’m already looking forward to working my way through it again, beginning with the opening paragraph from “The Blast”:"I am writing this today because I saw two girls. It was very odd after twenty years. I do not know if anyone—the word anyone looks funny—will find this, or be able to read it, or even if it will last, because it is written in pencil. Naturally there is no ink. It all dried up long ago, but there are plenty of pencils, thousands of them, pencils by the hundred thousand gross—all the best kinds, just for the picking up."Don’t worry, man, I’m reading it.

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This fourth book in the Devil's Isle novels begins with conditions deteriorating in New Orleans. Already nearly a ghost town since the Veil was opened a year earlier, now a new group of Court paras has come to the city with thoughts of revenge. The seelie are good at controlling the wind and are going to use their powers to halt the newest hurricane, which bids to be as strong as Katrina, over New Orleans until the whole city is destroyed. Claire and Liam and their friends need to find some way to halt the seelie's plans before the city they love is completely destroyed.When they receive news of a possible weapon that can strip the magic from magical beings, they don't think that they have a choice other than to find the plans and the components and use it to get rid of the threat.Finding the components means that they will have to travel through the Veil into the land of Elysium and convince the ruling Consularis to give up the essential piece they hold. The journey is hard and the Consularis unwilling to get involved in a war on Earth. Their trip also gives them a chance to see what the Consularis have made of their world and they aren't impresses. Outwardly perfect and happy, dissent is punished harshly. It seems apparent that the Consularis were glad when their dissentors decided to go through the Veil and take their war to Earth. Claire has to do a lot of soul-searching in this one as she wonders if it is finally time to give up on the city she loves. She does come to realize that what she loves are the people she has made into her new family and, if necessary, she could find a satisfying life elsewhere. The story was engaging. The characters well drawn. And the situation desperate. The plot was fast-paced and I loved the details about New Orleans.

[Alicia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great conclusion to the series. Love the characters and their struggles, love, family, and perseverance in the face of improbable odds.

[murderbydeath · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For my tastes, this series isn't quite as strong as her Chicagoland Vampire series, in terms of either storyline or writing. Not that it's badly written, just that it doesn't quite nail the rich, humorous dialog Neil achieved with Merit and the gang. This one reads as though it might be the final book in the series, and it wraps up all the loose ends nicely, with Claire and Liam venturing beyond the veil into the fae beyond to retrieve an artefact that may help them finally defeat the fae that have waged war on the city of New Orleans. There's a small, bittersweet moment at the end, but generally, everyone gets their happily ever afters or, at least, happily-for-nows if Neil has plans for a 5th book. Not quite Ilona Andrews or Patricia Briggs level of UF, but I enjoy Neil's writing; she offers a slightly less gritty, and very enjoyable, brand of urban fantasy.

[glennis.leblanc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The final book in the series comes to a good conclusion of the storyline. Not everything is roses at the end since New Orleans is still trashed from the war and everything that has happened in the books. But for the most part everyone has a good ending. Nice to read a series that has come to a good end and I’m not left hanging with a ton of questions.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

[stacyatufi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

THE BEYOND felt final and that is how I like to end a series. I fell like all of the characters have grown since they were first introduced throughout the series. Not only individually either, they have grown together as well. I enjoyed meeting them and watching them become who they end up as. I do wish that a few characters would have had a bigger role in the final, but I am still happy with where they ended up.Claire and Liam have been through a lot in their relationship and although they still have some issues, I felt like they finally got on the same page with things and and in a good place by the end of THE BEYOND. THE BEYOND finally takes us behind the Veil. I won't give anything away by telling you about it, but we finally get to see it. There was a ton of action involved in the final book. Just when something goes right, something else seemed to go wrong. I was left content at the end of THE BEYOND. I felt like all the links were connected, questions were answered and story lines were complete. I would read more in the world if Chloe Neill decided to expand, but I was happy with how the Devil's Isle series ended. * This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[carolesrandomlife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had such a great time with this book! I was really excited to get my hands on an early copy of this newest book in the Devil's Isle series. This is a series that really should be read in order since each book builds on previous installments. It has been just under two years since I read the previous book in this series and I have to admit it took me a bit to catch up with everything going on in Claire's world but once my memories started coming back, I was completely hooked. Claire, Liam, and the rest of the gang are just trying to hold what they can together in their home of New Orleans. It was really nice to get the chance to catch up with characters that I have really grown to love over the course of the series. They have really grown individually and as a group and I love the way that they know that they can depend on each other. They are also just a lot of fun with some great banter and completely touching moments.In this installment, the group is battling not only battling supernatural forces but there is also the small matter of a hurricane that threatens the city. Claire, along with a group of her friends, must go on a rather dangerous mission in order to get the tools needed to save the city and the people she cares about. It was really interesting to see the pieces come together as I worked my way through this story. I thought that there was a really nice balance of exciting action, romantic moments, and working on solutions. I would recommend this book to others. This was a book that I didn't want to put down once I got started. I feel like I have been through a lot with this wonderful group of characters and wanted nothing more than to see them successfully deal with the situation they were in. I did think that this book felt a little more final than previous books but I am hoping we will get more of this exciting series in the future.I received a review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group.