After several pleasant but uneventful months of life in the Vale of Epthan, Lee Christopher has become bored and restless. At the suggestion of the Childreth Epthan twins, Arwon and Ilan, he and his friends embark on a raft trip down the River Grosht. Their destination is Ipthel Grosht, the greatest city of the Westlands. Their excursion will have unexpected consequences, and their trek will eventually carry them far beyond the Westlands to previously unimaginable locations. Ahead of them lie many episodes of grand adventure-but they must also endure a heartbreaking tragedy, which will turn the Earthlings' lives upside down . . . So opens the second volume in the "Hole in the Universe" saga: BEYOND THE HOLE IN THE UNIVERSE. The Earthlings' quest to get back home has been put on hold for a time, but behind the scenes, a sinister plot is being hatched. The children's presence in the World Next Door has been the cause of turmoil since their arrival; soon a series of carefully orchestrated events will be set in motion, one which will eventually bring about the greatest threat the Westlands have ever faced. The Forces of Darkness are assumed to be leaderless since the defeat of Uldreg at the hands of the Guardians. One day soon, however, they will be on the move, initiating a titanic struggle for domination of the World. Before they can return home, the visitors from Earth must come to grips with their role in bringing about the conflict which will come to be known as the Final War- -and an unforeseen consequence, so calamitous as to be totally unthinkable . . .
About the Author: Kurt Kasner was born in Ohio and moved to Anaheim, California with his family at the age of fourteen. He graduated from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in English and dreams of becoming a published author. Early in 1966 fresh out of college, he accepted a teaching position with the nearby Long Beach Unified School District. For the next three decades, and more, he was kept busy presiding over classes of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. The original story of the Hole in the Universe was conceived early in his teaching career, when he decided to write a story to share with his students; it was intended as an alternative to the often bland elementary school reading textbooks of the day, and it was well received by his audience; many students began to insist that he should try to get it published. After a few futile attempts to do so in the mid-1970s, he allowed the project to languish as he moved on to other interests. By this time, he had become absorbed with motorcycle touring, and he spent his summer breaks crossing and recrossing North America; eventually visiting all fifty states and virtually every Canadian Province. Following his 1984 marriage, these two-wheeled excursions were largely curtailed (although he did rent a motorcycle on his honeymoon in Hawaii, officially bagging his 50th state). They were cut back even more after his wife, Brooke, gave birth to their son, Christopher, five years later. Over the years, the Hole in the Universe story would resurface periodically, to be read to Kurt's current crop of students. He continually tinkered with the manuscript, polishing a bit of wording here and there, occasionally adding or revising whole sequences. (Sometimes, it seemed, the story would never be completely finished.) Over the years, whenever he shared the story, the response from his audience was the same: he really ought to get the thing published. He eventually did so, as you can see. In 1999, after thirty-three and a half years with the Long Beach school district, Kurt retired as a full-time educator and moved his family to a new home in Woodinville, Washington. Since then he has continued to work with young people as a substitute teacher for the Northshore School District. He is also currently working on a sequel to the Hole in the Universe story.