Spearpoint (colloquially called the Godscraper) is built on the surface of a vast artificial spire made of a nameless, nearly impermeable black substance.

Within Spearpoint itself, individual zones designate different precincts within the city; further away, they become much larger, with some on the opposite side of the world encompassing entire geographic regions.

Spearpoint consists of six precincts of ascending technological advancement: Horsetown, Steamville, Neon Heights, Circuit City, the cybertowns/cyborg polities, and the Celestial Levels.

Deep inside Spearpoint's spire is a theorized core, called the Mire or the Eye of God, near which the zones become exponentially smaller.

The terrain is primarily a vast, sparsely forested plain crisscrossed by ancient roads, disused railways, and the semaphore towers responsible for relaying communication between Spearpoint and the towns.

Opposing the Skullboys is Swarm, a conglomeration of several hundred airships that formerly served as Spearpoint's military arm, before splitting from the city over a thousand years previously.

Quillon and Meroka escape the city, pursued by "Ghouls"- angels with similar, but less sophisticated, inter-zonal modifications that allow them to survive in lower state zones for short periods of time.

They venture on and run into an overturned carriage with several bodies having been consumed by the vorgs, carnivorous cyborgs, that harvest brain tissue to feed on.

Quillon asks Ricasso and a few of his most trusted allies to head back to Spearpoint to help out the millions of needy and sick people still living there.

Spatha demands that Quillon release a vorg to make everyone think that bringing him aboard and letting him loose in the laboratory was a bad idea.

The Painted Lady, Curtana's ship on which Quillon and Meroka are living, is instructed to scope out the object whilst the rest of the Swarm carries on its normal course.

Ricasso and Quillon elect to take a closer look at the building in a balloon as normal airships can't reach the top of the object.

Once they get close to Spearpoint they intercept semaphore lines that tell of zone changes on the boundary of their destination which are so low state it would inhibit powered flight.

There is a fierce battle into which Quillon and Meroka are enlisted, many of the guns and engines fail as they cross into the lower state zones but eventually they triumph.

Tulwar agrees to let them travel to the nearest tunnel entrance and suggests that they stay the night to rest after their chaotic journey.

After talking to Fray they get lead to meet with the Mad Machines, long thought to be an urban myth about the even more mythical tunnel systems by many living in Spearpoint.

He is informed that an angel was sent out to meet with the rest of the Swarm, which had hung back before the zone boundaries, and has told them that they have allies in the celestial levels.

Near the beginning of chapter 6, at night time, the book describes celestial features specifically referring to Venus in the sky as well as "the golden eye of Mars shone balefully in the east".

There are also references to people in the past being similar in size to children; this could indicate that the lower Martian gravity has led all humans to be taller than their Earth-based ancestors.

[3] Another factor is where, toward the end of the book powerful machines which have a major part to play refer to the location as Earthgate "this ancient, once-dead world" and distinguish it from Earth itself.

The story focuses on the adventures of Quillon, a pathologist forced into exile from Spearpoint, and involved a "terrible catastrophe" befalling the city.

[6] Reviews have compared the novel to Vernor Vinge's Zones of Thought series, which also takes place in a universe split into areas where different levels of technology are possible.

[7] Reynolds has repeatedly said in interviews and on his website that although he did consider incorporating Terminal World's material into a series while planning it, the novel is complete in its own right and he does not anticipate writing a sequel.

[11] Eric Brown reviewed the book for The Guardian and concluded "The novel works as a rousing adventure in a wildly original setting, and Quillon's transformation from cold loner to caring human being is effectively charted.