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Saga of the Pliocene Exile #1
The Many-Coloured Land
In the year 2034, Theo Guderian, a French physicist, made an amusing but impractical discovery: the means to use a one-way, fixed-focus time warp that opened into a place in the Rhone River valley during the idyllic Pliocene Epoch, six million years ago. But, as time went on, a certain usefulness developed. The misfits and mavericks of the future—many of them brilliant people—began to seek this exit door to a mysterious past. In 2110, a particularly strange and interesting group was preparing to make the journey—a starship captain, a girl athlete, a paleontologist, a woman priest, and others who had reason to flee the technological perfection of twenty-second-century life.
Thus begins this dazzling fantasy novel that invites comparisons with the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ursula Le Quin. It opens up a whole world of wonder, not in far-flung galaxies but in our own distant past on Earth—a world that will captivate not only science-fiction and fantasy fans but also those who enjoy literate thrillers.
The group that passes through the time-portal finds an unforeseen strangeness on the other side. Far from being uninhabited, Pliocene Europe is the home of two warring races from another planet. There is the knightly race of the Tanu—handsome, arrogant, and possessing vast powers of psychokinesis and telepathy. And there is the outcast race of Firvulag—dwarfish, malevolent, and gifted with their own supernormal skills. Taken captive by the Tanu and transported through the primordial European landscape, the humans manage to break free, join in an uneasy alliance with the forest-dwelling Firvulag, and, finally, launch an attack against the Tanu city of light on the banks of a river that, eons later, would be called the Rhine.
Myth and legend, wit and violence, speculative science and breathtaking imagination mingle in this romantic fantasy, which is the first volume in a series about the exile world.
Thus begins this dazzling fantasy novel that invites comparisons with the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ursula Le Quin. It opens up a whole world of wonder, not in far-flung galaxies but in our own distant past on Earth—a world that will captivate not only science-fiction and fantasy fans but also those who enjoy literate thrillers.
The group that passes through the time-portal finds an unforeseen strangeness on the other side. Far from being uninhabited, Pliocene Europe is the home of two warring races from another planet. There is the knightly race of the Tanu—handsome, arrogant, and possessing vast powers of psychokinesis and telepathy. And there is the outcast race of Firvulag—dwarfish, malevolent, and gifted with their own supernormal skills. Taken captive by the Tanu and transported through the primordial European landscape, the humans manage to break free, join in an uneasy alliance with the forest-dwelling Firvulag, and, finally, launch an attack against the Tanu city of light on the banks of a river that, eons later, would be called the Rhine.
Myth and legend, wit and violence, speculative science and breathtaking imagination mingle in this romantic fantasy, which is the first volume in a series about the exile world.
415 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
About the author
Julian May
85 books553 followersJulian May was an American science fiction, fantasy, horror, science and children's writer who also used several pseudonyms including Ian Thorne, Lee N. Falconer and many others.
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January 13, 2024
According to the publisher Angry Robot, Julian May has died, age 86.
The sad news has motivated to review this book, which I haven't read in 30 years.
I think it was Julian May who gave me the taste for mixing fantasy and science fiction. This, excellent, series is set mainly in the Pliocene era of Earth, where miscreants from our distant future are exiled via a time portal.
Back in this past, several million years before our time, these futuristic exiles try to make a life for themselves with the hi-tech objects they are allowed to take with them. They are a very eclectic bunch including a man who believes in Narnia and Aslan, a gay nun, a skilled thief who won't give up crime, all sorts.
This is a time of woolly mammoths rather than dinosaurs, but the twist is that psychic aliens are there already and set to enslaving our exiles. There are various factions among the humans and the aliens, and the alien technology wakes psychic powers among the humans too. It all gets complicated but the imagination is unbounded and the writing very good. It's a tale that took hold of me and had me reading the next five or six books in relatively swift order.
I still see people talk about the series, but not as many as there should be. Pick up book 1 and see what you've been missing out on all these years! I read quite a few books in the series and it's a great body of work.
RIP Julian May. Thank you for your stories.
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..
The sad news has motivated to review this book, which I haven't read in 30 years.
I think it was Julian May who gave me the taste for mixing fantasy and science fiction. This, excellent, series is set mainly in the Pliocene era of Earth, where miscreants from our distant future are exiled via a time portal.
Back in this past, several million years before our time, these futuristic exiles try to make a life for themselves with the hi-tech objects they are allowed to take with them. They are a very eclectic bunch including a man who believes in Narnia and Aslan, a gay nun, a skilled thief who won't give up crime, all sorts.
This is a time of woolly mammoths rather than dinosaurs, but the twist is that psychic aliens are there already and set to enslaving our exiles. There are various factions among the humans and the aliens, and the alien technology wakes psychic powers among the humans too. It all gets complicated but the imagination is unbounded and the writing very good. It's a tale that took hold of me and had me reading the next five or six books in relatively swift order.
I still see people talk about the series, but not as many as there should be. Pick up book 1 and see what you've been missing out on all these years! I read quite a few books in the series and it's a great body of work.
RIP Julian May. Thank you for your stories.
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
..
November 8, 2013
Christmas 2010: I realised that I had got stuck in a rut. I was re-reading old favourites again and again, waiting for a few trusted authors to release new works. Something had to be done.
On the spur of the moment I set myself a challenge, to read every book to have won the Locus Sci-Fi award. That’s 35 books, 6 of which I’d previously read, leaving 29 titles by 14 authors who were new to me.
While working through this reading list I got married, went on my honeymoon, switched career and became a father. As such these stories became imprinted on my memory as the soundtrack to the happiest period in my life (so far).
The Many Coloured Land beat Downbelow Station and God Emperor of Dune to win the 1982 Locus Sci-Fi award. It’s one of the six award winners I’d already read before starting this reading list and the opening novel in one of my all-time favourite series.
The Galactic Milieu Trilogy and the Saga of the Pliocine Exile are (for some reason) usually viewed as two separate series, even though they contain significant shared characters and are set in the same universe within one continuous timeline (albeit a sort of figure-8 line what with the time-travel). Personally, I’ve always viewed the whole shebang (including Intervention) as one eight book mega-works.
As you can tell by my 5-star rating, I’m a big fan. I must have first read this series back when I was about twelve or thirteen, fallen in love the way only a teenager can and returned to it half a dozen times since – often nostalgic but never disappointed.
Before I start to wax lyrical about the whys and wherefores, it seems only reasonable to throw up a few warning flags for those with inflated expectations:
• May’s writing style is nothing special, so don’t expect a Miévillian wordsmith.
• The sci-fi element doesn’t stand-up to close examination, so don’t expect Asimovian rigour.
• The concept isn’t razor sharp, so don’t expect a Simmons-esque mind-blowing.
• The themes aren’t powerful and/or meaningful, so don’t expect a Robinson life-lesson.
• The characters aren’t overly deep or psychologically rounded, so don’t expect Le Guin-ish insight.
Now that we’ve got all that out of the way, there’s one big reason to read these books: They are great FUN!
The premise is a sci-fi fantasy cross-over: psychic powers evolving among humans, a galactic society of psychic aliens, thinly veiled faerie references, time-travel, pre-historic animals, outcasts, criminals, slaves and family empires! There are plenty of elements for May to play around with and she creates some excellent characters to explore her world(s).
In terms of scope and style we’re talking about the same sort of ballpark as David Brin’s Uplift series (although I much prefer this scenario).
Because I’m so familiar with the entire series, it’s hard to separate out the events of Book 1 in particular. There are a lot of characters to introduce and a fairly complex universe to get set-up, so I remember it being a touch heavy on the exposition and getting-to-know-you dialogue. But it’s also the origin-story for each of the characters as they move into their Pliocene adventure, and as they’re only just starting out into the great unknown it’s full of varying levels of hope and mystery.
My personal favourites (by a long way) are Aiken and Felice.
Go Trickster! Go Mad-Rhino-Riding-Psycho!
WooooOoooOooOOoo!
I’m delighted to recommend highly.
After this I read: Foundation's Edge
February 9, 2017
This was a surprisingly good read, but I suppose I shouldn't have been that surprised. It won the Locus and was nominated for both the '82 Hugo and '81 Nebula, after all.
I had this odd assumption that it was all fantasy from the bookcovers I'd known and from the comments I'd heard, and that's true as far as most of the story elements are concerned, but at its core, it's Hard SF with a huge dash of space opera, a truly epic amount of world-building in both the future and 6 million years in the past, with, of course, a lot of time-travel, and there's a truly epic amount of psi abilities, too.
The story breaks a lot of long-established SF and Fantasy conventions for the time, focusing almost exclusively on being fun, fun, fun. Julian May has a lot of respect for the genres and has a great time playing with ideas and sub-genres.
I mean, where else can you combine starships and aliens and slightly veiled fae with time travel to the deep past and huge genetic manipulation and high psi abilities, a long commentary on what it means to be human-normal in a perfected galactic society and how that makes us throwbacks, and how long wars can destroy whole genetic lines and the part that culture has in the whole mix.
Sound complicated? Not the way she writes it! Like I said, it's all fun adventure the high-tech magical artifacts, winning epic battles in the deep past, and getting to know and love some very interesting characters who happen to be... us. Flawed, idiotic, us. :)
The bonus in this novel is that there's a lot of great characters and it takes on a lot more scope than I'm used to seeing, lately. Not just 6 million years worth of scope, either, but in space and characters, races, and intentions.
And you've got to love rule-breakers and revolution-starters, too. Like I said, it's all fun. :)
And, of course, if you love epic fantasy but always wanted to see it treated like SF, then this is your book, because a great portion of it is devoted to just that. It's really quite a cool crossover. :)
I had this odd assumption that it was all fantasy from the bookcovers I'd known and from the comments I'd heard, and that's true as far as most of the story elements are concerned, but at its core, it's Hard SF with a huge dash of space opera, a truly epic amount of world-building in both the future and 6 million years in the past, with, of course, a lot of time-travel, and there's a truly epic amount of psi abilities, too.
The story breaks a lot of long-established SF and Fantasy conventions for the time, focusing almost exclusively on being fun, fun, fun. Julian May has a lot of respect for the genres and has a great time playing with ideas and sub-genres.
I mean, where else can you combine starships and aliens and slightly veiled fae with time travel to the deep past and huge genetic manipulation and high psi abilities, a long commentary on what it means to be human-normal in a perfected galactic society and how that makes us throwbacks, and how long wars can destroy whole genetic lines and the part that culture has in the whole mix.
Sound complicated? Not the way she writes it! Like I said, it's all fun adventure the high-tech magical artifacts, winning epic battles in the deep past, and getting to know and love some very interesting characters who happen to be... us. Flawed, idiotic, us. :)
The bonus in this novel is that there's a lot of great characters and it takes on a lot more scope than I'm used to seeing, lately. Not just 6 million years worth of scope, either, but in space and characters, races, and intentions.
And you've got to love rule-breakers and revolution-starters, too. Like I said, it's all fun. :)
And, of course, if you love epic fantasy but always wanted to see it treated like SF, then this is your book, because a great portion of it is devoted to just that. It's really quite a cool crossover. :)
March 9, 2020
Do not read this if you are reading it with SFFBC and want to go in without any preconceived notions!
Wow, this is an EXPERIENCE. It is veeeery 80s and did not age well for me.
First I think the author was dared to write a story with: dinosaurs, space travel, pirates, vikings, Catholicism, telepathy, time travel, and sword & sorcery.
So, she did, and then her agent said "listen, only two markets are buying right now--horse girls and men who are reading pulp novels about harems in pleasure domes."
So she added that, too.
What we have is an overly descriptive, overly serious, over the top LSD mash up of cheesy tropes, terms that have become offensive over the years, and a nonsensical geiser of plot points.
Good things:
-If you like D&D, this is a great source of inspiration.
-If you're a horse girl into pleasure domes, boy howdy are you in for a treat.
-There is representation beyond normal racist and homophobic tropes. It still isn't perfect, but it is more than anticipated.
-If you fall asleep while reading it, you won't know what's dream and what's real and it won't matter anyways, because your imagination is just as probable a plot point!
CONTENT WARNINGS:
Wow, this is an EXPERIENCE. It is veeeery 80s and did not age well for me.
First I think the author was dared to write a story with: dinosaurs, space travel, pirates, vikings, Catholicism, telepathy, time travel, and sword & sorcery.
So, she did, and then her agent said "listen, only two markets are buying right now--horse girls and men who are reading pulp novels about harems in pleasure domes."
So she added that, too.
What we have is an overly descriptive, overly serious, over the top LSD mash up of cheesy tropes, terms that have become offensive over the years, and a nonsensical geiser of plot points.
Good things:
-If you like D&D, this is a great source of inspiration.
-If you're a horse girl into pleasure domes, boy howdy are you in for a treat.
-There is representation beyond normal racist and homophobic tropes. It still isn't perfect, but it is more than anticipated.
-If you fall asleep while reading it, you won't know what's dream and what's real and it won't matter anyways, because your imagination is just as probable a plot point!
CONTENT WARNINGS:
December 16, 2019
I first read this book (and the three sequels) sometime in the 1980s, and have fond memories of the series. Why I have never read them again since, I don't now as they are well written and a great story. Well this first one is anyway.
It centres on a situation far into the future of Earth when we have joined with a number of alien races to create a Galactic Federation that reveres life forms with certain ESP talents. In addition a scientist discovers almost accidentally a means by which objects can be transported into the far past.
As it is not a two-way time travel machine and nor is the length of time changeable it seems of little use, until disaffected people decide that it is a potential escape from the modern world into a past with no aliens just pre-historic animals and vegetation. Adventurous soles start flocking to the time portal once it becomes better know. Ultimately it comes under the control of the ruling Galactic Milieu who use it to send to the past people who do not "fit in" with the modern world.
This book follows a group of 8 people who are either being sent or have volunteered to be sent back, and what befalls them on their arrival in the Pliocene period. Needless to say not is all as it should be in the past and so the adventures begin
This was a buddy read with a few other people from the "Time-Travel" group after I had nominated it as a possible read for my partner in the Bossy Book Challenge. part of the "Apocalypse Whenever" Group.
In fact it was so good, I think I'll read number 2 early in the new year.
It centres on a situation far into the future of Earth when we have joined with a number of alien races to create a Galactic Federation that reveres life forms with certain ESP talents. In addition a scientist discovers almost accidentally a means by which objects can be transported into the far past.
As it is not a two-way time travel machine and nor is the length of time changeable it seems of little use, until disaffected people decide that it is a potential escape from the modern world into a past with no aliens just pre-historic animals and vegetation. Adventurous soles start flocking to the time portal once it becomes better know. Ultimately it comes under the control of the ruling Galactic Milieu who use it to send to the past people who do not "fit in" with the modern world.
This book follows a group of 8 people who are either being sent or have volunteered to be sent back, and what befalls them on their arrival in the Pliocene period. Needless to say not is all as it should be in the past and so the adventures begin
This was a buddy read with a few other people from the "Time-Travel" group after I had nominated it as a possible read for my partner in the Bossy Book Challenge. part of the "Apocalypse Whenever" Group.
In fact it was so good, I think I'll read number 2 early in the new year.
September 26, 2008
I read this back in the mid 80's, soon after I had finished all of J.R.R. Tolkien's novels and Stephen R. Donaldson's Covenant series. It so intrigued me that I read the entire four book series in a week or two. I eventually read the rest of Julian May's works, but with less enthusiasm.
The Pliocene Epic was intriguing because it was a time travel science fiction story with psi powers thrown on top. It sometimes felt like fantasy, with what seemed like magic, but you knew it was really science and mind powers behind it. It appealed to the misfits and underdogs who sought to escape a society that didn't want them and wanted to drastically conform them, with a one-way ticket back in time. But the paradise they were expecting six million years in the past was tarnished by alien tenants who used the unsuspecting humans as slaves or playthings and rarely as a privileged peer.
The struggle for survival and freedom starts in this novel and continues through the other four.
I haven't read this in a decade or so, but many of the images are still vivid in my memory. Julian May does an excellent job of blending good character development and thrilling plot developments.
The Pliocene Epic was intriguing because it was a time travel science fiction story with psi powers thrown on top. It sometimes felt like fantasy, with what seemed like magic, but you knew it was really science and mind powers behind it. It appealed to the misfits and underdogs who sought to escape a society that didn't want them and wanted to drastically conform them, with a one-way ticket back in time. But the paradise they were expecting six million years in the past was tarnished by alien tenants who used the unsuspecting humans as slaves or playthings and rarely as a privileged peer.
The struggle for survival and freedom starts in this novel and continues through the other four.
I haven't read this in a decade or so, but many of the images are still vivid in my memory. Julian May does an excellent job of blending good character development and thrilling plot developments.
March 10, 2020
I first read this book in my teens, and have a memory of loving it, as well as the rest of the series, but as I finished this reread (due to it being a selection of the SFF book club) I have no idea why. There were moments — which grew few and far between — in which the gonzo energy of so many weird elements being thrown together more or less worked, but ultimately there’s no depth here to speak of, and the climax falls apart in a deeply unsatisfying manner.
I won’t be rereading the rest of the series. I wonder whether the appeal of other fondly-remembered books from my teen years would also disintegrate if I were to encounter them afresh.
I won’t be rereading the rest of the series. I wonder whether the appeal of other fondly-remembered books from my teen years would also disintegrate if I were to encounter them afresh.
March 11, 2020
A table of boys in a 9th grade English class have an assignment to create an idea for a sci-fi novel and it goes something like this....
Boy 1: "I liked Serenity, we should do something like that, spaceships+old west"
Boy 2: "Yeah! And dinosaurs, it should have dinosaurs!"
Boy 3: "Dinosaurs?! That's stupid, sci-fi does NOT have dinosaurs"
Boy 2: "It could...if we had time travel, yeah! All sci-fi has time travel we should do that!"
Boy 4: "Idiots! You need aliens if it s going to be sci-fi"
Boy 2: "Yeah! Aliens with mind control we NEED those!"
Boy 1: "But the aliens need to be able to fly or somebody needs to be able to fly"
Boy 2: "What about girls, we need girls in the book, like we need some sort of sporty chick"
Boy 3: "I think we need some girls to help us out with this idea"
Boy 1: "Ok, space ships, old west, sentient dinosaurs, aliens, time travel, a sporty chick, we good?"
Boy 2: "What kind of dinosaurs? I just want smart ones"
Boy 4: "All of our characters need something wrong with them so we can make them better or grow or whatever our teacher keeps saying"
Boy 1: "Ok, space ships, old west, merely smart dinosaurs, aliens, time travel, sporty chick and everyone has something wrong with them?"
Boy 2: "This is going to be the best novel EVER!"
Boy 3: "Is it lunch yet..."
Boom! And the novel was made.
Boy 1: "I liked Serenity, we should do something like that, spaceships+old west"
Boy 2: "Yeah! And dinosaurs, it should have dinosaurs!"
Boy 3: "Dinosaurs?! That's stupid, sci-fi does NOT have dinosaurs"
Boy 2: "It could...if we had time travel, yeah! All sci-fi has time travel we should do that!"
Boy 4: "Idiots! You need aliens if it s going to be sci-fi"
Boy 2: "Yeah! Aliens with mind control we NEED those!"
Boy 1: "But the aliens need to be able to fly or somebody needs to be able to fly"
Boy 2: "What about girls, we need girls in the book, like we need some sort of sporty chick"
Boy 3: "I think we need some girls to help us out with this idea"
Boy 1: "Ok, space ships, old west, sentient dinosaurs, aliens, time travel, a sporty chick, we good?"
Boy 2: "What kind of dinosaurs? I just want smart ones"
Boy 4: "All of our characters need something wrong with them so we can make them better or grow or whatever our teacher keeps saying"
Boy 1: "Ok, space ships, old west, merely smart dinosaurs, aliens, time travel, sporty chick and everyone has something wrong with them?"
Boy 2: "This is going to be the best novel EVER!"
Boy 3: "Is it lunch yet..."
Boom! And the novel was made.
December 25, 2010
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
The Many-Colored Land, a classic (1981) science fantasy novel by Julian May, wasn’t too high on my TBR list until I noticed that Blackstone Audio released it last month. I like science fantasy, so I gave it shot, and I sure am glad I did. I loved every moment of The Many-Colored Land and my only disappointment is that the rest of The Saga of Pliocene Exile is not available on audio.
The story begins on Earth and the rest of the Galactic Milieu in our 22nd century. Professor Guderian has opened a time tunnel that goes back 6 million years to Earth’s Pliocene period. He can send objects or animals through the gate, but when he attempts to bring them back, they age 6 million years and decay during the journey. When Guderian dies, his wife discovers that she can pay her debts by selling passage through the tunnel to nice people who are unhappy with their lives and want to escape. It seems that there’s no law against sending people back in time, and there are lots of people who are willing to give Madame Guderian their money for a chance at a new and adventurous life.
As the history of the portal is explained to us, we meet eight men and women who we’ll follow through the tunnel: Bryan, a middle-aged anthropologist who’s in love with a woman who’s already gone through; Stein, who fantasizes about being a Viking; Richard, the black sheep of a rich family of spaceship captains who’d rather be a pirate; Aiken who, despite careful genetic engineering, became an incorrigible — yet charming and creative — sociopath who chooses “exile” over brain surgery or euthanasia; Claude, an elderly but “rejuvenated” paleontologist who just lost his wife; Sister Amerie, a medic and counselor who helped Claude during his wife’s long convalescence, and wants to become a religious hermit; Elizabeth, who was once a widely respected meta-psychic but lost her powers after a traumatic accident; Felice, a 17-year-old ring hockey player (gladiator) who has some coercive powers and a penchant for S & M; Each is a fascinating character but things get even more fun when they become “Group Green” as they get trained in survival skills and useful trades before they all go through the gate together.
Each of these characters is quickly and deeply developed, and I was fascinated by them and the anticipation of what they would find and who they’d become 6 million years in the past. All of the set-up and backstory, which is often the dullest part of a novel, moved quickly and was exciting as the tension built. What will it be like when they get to the other side? What’s happened to all the people (90,000 by this time) who’ve gone on before? Have they worked together to develop a new civilization? Or have they been eaten by beasts that may be waiting for them on the other side as if the portal is a big invisible Skinnerian food hopper? I couldn’t wait to find out, and when I did…. I was shocked. That’s all I’ll say: Shocked.
Besides the excellent characterization and the excitement of a story like this, the writing was excellent, too. The dialogue, in particular, felt so right for each of these diverse characters, and it was often humorous (“'Fuck You!' said the nun.”) My audio version was read by Bernadette Dunn who I liked in Memoirs of a Geisha but didn’t like in Bujold’s Beguilement. Here she was perfect — her voices worked well with all of Julian May’s characters and the subtle humor.
I only have one complaint about Blackstone audio’s version of The Many-Colored Land, and that’s that I’m dying to read the rest of this story and it’s not available yet on audio (and I’m not sure if it will be). This is not a self-contained story and readers will definitely want to have the next volume, The Golden Torc in hand. I've ordered the print version.
The Many-Colored Land, a classic (1981) science fantasy novel by Julian May, wasn’t too high on my TBR list until I noticed that Blackstone Audio released it last month. I like science fantasy, so I gave it shot, and I sure am glad I did. I loved every moment of The Many-Colored Land and my only disappointment is that the rest of The Saga of Pliocene Exile is not available on audio.
The story begins on Earth and the rest of the Galactic Milieu in our 22nd century. Professor Guderian has opened a time tunnel that goes back 6 million years to Earth’s Pliocene period. He can send objects or animals through the gate, but when he attempts to bring them back, they age 6 million years and decay during the journey. When Guderian dies, his wife discovers that she can pay her debts by selling passage through the tunnel to nice people who are unhappy with their lives and want to escape. It seems that there’s no law against sending people back in time, and there are lots of people who are willing to give Madame Guderian their money for a chance at a new and adventurous life.
As the history of the portal is explained to us, we meet eight men and women who we’ll follow through the tunnel: Bryan, a middle-aged anthropologist who’s in love with a woman who’s already gone through; Stein, who fantasizes about being a Viking; Richard, the black sheep of a rich family of spaceship captains who’d rather be a pirate; Aiken who, despite careful genetic engineering, became an incorrigible — yet charming and creative — sociopath who chooses “exile” over brain surgery or euthanasia; Claude, an elderly but “rejuvenated” paleontologist who just lost his wife; Sister Amerie, a medic and counselor who helped Claude during his wife’s long convalescence, and wants to become a religious hermit; Elizabeth, who was once a widely respected meta-psychic but lost her powers after a traumatic accident; Felice, a 17-year-old ring hockey player (gladiator) who has some coercive powers and a penchant for S & M; Each is a fascinating character but things get even more fun when they become “Group Green” as they get trained in survival skills and useful trades before they all go through the gate together.
Each of these characters is quickly and deeply developed, and I was fascinated by them and the anticipation of what they would find and who they’d become 6 million years in the past. All of the set-up and backstory, which is often the dullest part of a novel, moved quickly and was exciting as the tension built. What will it be like when they get to the other side? What’s happened to all the people (90,000 by this time) who’ve gone on before? Have they worked together to develop a new civilization? Or have they been eaten by beasts that may be waiting for them on the other side as if the portal is a big invisible Skinnerian food hopper? I couldn’t wait to find out, and when I did…. I was shocked. That’s all I’ll say: Shocked.
Besides the excellent characterization and the excitement of a story like this, the writing was excellent, too. The dialogue, in particular, felt so right for each of these diverse characters, and it was often humorous (“'Fuck You!' said the nun.”) My audio version was read by Bernadette Dunn who I liked in Memoirs of a Geisha but didn’t like in Bujold’s Beguilement. Here she was perfect — her voices worked well with all of Julian May’s characters and the subtle humor.
I only have one complaint about Blackstone audio’s version of The Many-Colored Land, and that’s that I’m dying to read the rest of this story and it’s not available yet on audio (and I’m not sure if it will be). This is not a self-contained story and readers will definitely want to have the next volume, The Golden Torc in hand. I've ordered the print version.
March 1, 2015
A re-read as a refresher before tackling the rest of the series. I remember reading it while on vacation a number of years ago at a friend’s cabin and staying up far too late in order to finish the book. I originally gave it 5 excited stars from that reading and I think I will leave that score intact to reflect my first excitement about the work. Despite my initial enthusiasm, I am amazed at how many details were completely wiped from my memory banks—as a result, I enjoyed my second read almost as much as the first.
Paleontology has always been an interest of mine and I’ve read a number of sci-fi works that deal with time travel back to prehistoric times to hunt or investigate ancient animals. Julian May gives this a new twist by making the trip a one-way journey. You can go back to the Pliocene, but you can never come home. Part of the interest of this book is the psychology of the people who would choose such an option—the misfits of the Galactic Milieu, those who can’t or won’t abide by the strictures of advanced society as part of a multi-race future. It makes for an interesting mix of personalities for May to work with for the rest of the series.
I did love the Pliocene animals, of course, but there are also interesting aliens to deal with—refugees with much the same outlook as the humans who come to the Pliocene. The Tanu and the Firvulag (two morphs of the same species) also were in flight from a changing society and chose to maintain their ancient ways of life on a new planet far from home. Their society is thrown into imbalance when the humans begin arriving and are just too tempting a resource to be allowed to wander off into the sunset. The translation site is within Tanu territory and they quickly take advantage of the regular shipments of people and goods, giving the Tanu a large advantage over the less organized Firvulag.
There are echoes of Celtic and European mythology woven throughout the novel. The Tanu have “domesticated” the small apes known as Ramapithecines (called Ramas in the novel) which were believed at the time to be human ancestors (I’m not sure what the paleoanthropological doctrine on the matter is today). Perhaps May is suggesting some kind of racial memory passed down from the Ramas in the Pliocene. It is also interesting to speculate on the archaeological record and why none of this activity is discovered in the future which the humans come from.
As a kind of throw-back to the 60s, there is a theme of psi powers (telepathy, telekinesis, etc.) featured in both the Tanu/Firvulag and in those future humans.
In short, there are many interesting threads to follow and I will very much look forward to reading the second book, The Golden Torc.
Paleontology has always been an interest of mine and I’ve read a number of sci-fi works that deal with time travel back to prehistoric times to hunt or investigate ancient animals. Julian May gives this a new twist by making the trip a one-way journey. You can go back to the Pliocene, but you can never come home. Part of the interest of this book is the psychology of the people who would choose such an option—the misfits of the Galactic Milieu, those who can’t or won’t abide by the strictures of advanced society as part of a multi-race future. It makes for an interesting mix of personalities for May to work with for the rest of the series.
I did love the Pliocene animals, of course, but there are also interesting aliens to deal with—refugees with much the same outlook as the humans who come to the Pliocene. The Tanu and the Firvulag (two morphs of the same species) also were in flight from a changing society and chose to maintain their ancient ways of life on a new planet far from home. Their society is thrown into imbalance when the humans begin arriving and are just too tempting a resource to be allowed to wander off into the sunset. The translation site is within Tanu territory and they quickly take advantage of the regular shipments of people and goods, giving the Tanu a large advantage over the less organized Firvulag.
There are echoes of Celtic and European mythology woven throughout the novel. The Tanu have “domesticated” the small apes known as Ramapithecines (called Ramas in the novel) which were believed at the time to be human ancestors (I’m not sure what the paleoanthropological doctrine on the matter is today). Perhaps May is suggesting some kind of racial memory passed down from the Ramas in the Pliocene. It is also interesting to speculate on the archaeological record and why none of this activity is discovered in the future which the humans come from.
As a kind of throw-back to the 60s, there is a theme of psi powers (telepathy, telekinesis, etc.) featured in both the Tanu/Firvulag and in those future humans.
In short, there are many interesting threads to follow and I will very much look forward to reading the second book, The Golden Torc.
October 17, 2020
I don’t write reviews.
I enjoyed this story more than I expected when I started reading. I saw so many whiny lame reviews for this book that I knew it would be pretty decent. Truly why are these people complaining? Most seemed to have confused this title with another book or didn’t really read it. Maybe. Opinions are like... well you know the phrase.
I was happily surprised by the leisurely pace taken with character development. We know who we are traveling with and they aren’t cookie cutter stereotypes. I enjoyed learning more about them and their futuristic-past world.
The world itself was nicely described and my mind could imagine it easily. I’ll probably read the Galactic Milieu series since this story focused on escaping that world. I do get a kick out of dystopian fiction done well.
I felt that May was quite well-read and there were Jungian overtones in this novel for sure. Plus great ways of retelling/reimagining folktales and cultural history. The writing was smooth and flowed like a gentle river. The experience was favourable.
I enjoyed this story more than I expected when I started reading. I saw so many whiny lame reviews for this book that I knew it would be pretty decent. Truly why are these people complaining? Most seemed to have confused this title with another book or didn’t really read it. Maybe. Opinions are like... well you know the phrase.
I was happily surprised by the leisurely pace taken with character development. We know who we are traveling with and they aren’t cookie cutter stereotypes. I enjoyed learning more about them and their futuristic-past world.
The world itself was nicely described and my mind could imagine it easily. I’ll probably read the Galactic Milieu series since this story focused on escaping that world. I do get a kick out of dystopian fiction done well.
I felt that May was quite well-read and there were Jungian overtones in this novel for sure. Plus great ways of retelling/reimagining folktales and cultural history. The writing was smooth and flowed like a gentle river. The experience was favourable.
December 18, 2022
I have long had a soft spot for Julian May's work, but it has been decades since I read this. Thankfully, it still rocks! The Many-Colored Land definitely blends some genres, being on the one hand space opera and the other something akin to sword and planet fantasy. The story is divided into three sections-- the first on a future Earth where the main characters are developed, the second dwells upon their arrival 6 million years into the past, and the last with half of the characters (the group was divided in part two) meeting the members of the human 'resistance' if you will.
This story hinges upon a unique premise of time travel-- not back to the future, but back to the past. It also is something of a 'first contact' story, although the said contact took place long before the story starts. The various races of the 'Galactic Milieu' finally presented themselves to humanity to save them from environmental and economic collapse. 'Now', a 100 years later or so, humanity has spread to the stars under the Milieu's tutelage. Not all humanity is happy with the 'unity and togetherness' behind the Milieu, however, and they find and outlet. It seems a human scientist discovered a way to send objects, including people, back in time 6 million years ago. This existed as a curiosity until various human 'outcasts' etc. starting sending themselves back in time. May has a lot of fun with this!
Now, since there is not, and cannot be, communication between the two eras-- going back in time is a one-way trip-- no one in the current era knows what the distant Earth is really like. In fact, little do they know that another alien race crash landed on Earth 6 million years ago and now call it home. What will happen to the hodgepodge of humanity sent back in time? May can really tell a story and blends science, fantasy and mythology here into a tasty stew. looking forward to the next installment. 4.5 stars!!
This story hinges upon a unique premise of time travel-- not back to the future, but back to the past. It also is something of a 'first contact' story, although the said contact took place long before the story starts. The various races of the 'Galactic Milieu' finally presented themselves to humanity to save them from environmental and economic collapse. 'Now', a 100 years later or so, humanity has spread to the stars under the Milieu's tutelage. Not all humanity is happy with the 'unity and togetherness' behind the Milieu, however, and they find and outlet. It seems a human scientist discovered a way to send objects, including people, back in time 6 million years ago. This existed as a curiosity until various human 'outcasts' etc. starting sending themselves back in time. May has a lot of fun with this!
Now, since there is not, and cannot be, communication between the two eras-- going back in time is a one-way trip-- no one in the current era knows what the distant Earth is really like. In fact, little do they know that another alien race crash landed on Earth 6 million years ago and now call it home. What will happen to the hodgepodge of humanity sent back in time? May can really tell a story and blends science, fantasy and mythology here into a tasty stew. looking forward to the next installment. 4.5 stars!!
March 3, 2020
This is a SF novel that mixed a lot of themes. The book was nominated for Nebula, Hugo and Locus Awards after it was published in 1981. I read is as a part of monthly reading for March 2020 at SciFi and Fantasy Book Club group.
This review contains spoilers for setting up the story, but not of how the story went off. Because it is the first volume of the trilogy, the setting is quite long, roughly a third of the book.
Humans made contact with extraterrestrials in the early XIX century, allowing to solve Earth environmental problems, settle hundreds of colonies and allowing for very long and productive lives due to rejuvenation and regeneration. Moreover, latent psychic powers are liberated, so there are telepaths, kinetics, pyromancers among humans.
On the basis of new knowledge a human scientist created a time travel machine, which can go only in one direction – past, all 6 million years of it – to Pliocene. The scientist dies, but his widow started to use the machine to send to the past all misfits, who ask for it.
There are quite a few characters presented by the author: an anthropologist Bryan, who follows his love; a giant berserk of a man, Stein Oleson, who dreams of going a-Viking; a disgraced space captain Richard Voorhees; a female athlete and emphate Felice Landry from high-gravity world, striving to be accepted as she is; a telepath Elizabeth Orme, who after regeneration lost her talent; a sociopath Aiken Drum; Sister Annamaria Roccaro and Polish exopaleontologist Claude Majewski, who lost his wife and decided to leave the world.
The abovementioned people are grouped together and sent to the past only to find out that there are remnants of extraterrestrial civilization from another galaxy…
I’m sure that I’d have ranked this action-adventure book very high as a teen. It is not a YA novel, most characters are quite mature and there are some adult themes, but the wealth of world-building is great: time travel, psi-powers, aliens, pirates, knights, dwarfs you name it. However right now I see that it is not a serious SF, more an excuse for great adventure with extremely unlikely coincidences and attempts to wove aliens into European folklore (erm, the earliest human ancestor usually assigned to Australopithecus species, who lived 2 million years later than the time period of the book and in Africa, not Europe).
This review contains spoilers for setting up the story, but not of how the story went off. Because it is the first volume of the trilogy, the setting is quite long, roughly a third of the book.
Humans made contact with extraterrestrials in the early XIX century, allowing to solve Earth environmental problems, settle hundreds of colonies and allowing for very long and productive lives due to rejuvenation and regeneration. Moreover, latent psychic powers are liberated, so there are telepaths, kinetics, pyromancers among humans.
On the basis of new knowledge a human scientist created a time travel machine, which can go only in one direction – past, all 6 million years of it – to Pliocene. The scientist dies, but his widow started to use the machine to send to the past all misfits, who ask for it.
There are quite a few characters presented by the author: an anthropologist Bryan, who follows his love; a giant berserk of a man, Stein Oleson, who dreams of going a-Viking; a disgraced space captain Richard Voorhees; a female athlete and emphate Felice Landry from high-gravity world, striving to be accepted as she is; a telepath Elizabeth Orme, who after regeneration lost her talent; a sociopath Aiken Drum; Sister Annamaria Roccaro and Polish exopaleontologist Claude Majewski, who lost his wife and decided to leave the world.
The abovementioned people are grouped together and sent to the past only to find out that there are remnants of extraterrestrial civilization from another galaxy…
I’m sure that I’d have ranked this action-adventure book very high as a teen. It is not a YA novel, most characters are quite mature and there are some adult themes, but the wealth of world-building is great: time travel, psi-powers, aliens, pirates, knights, dwarfs you name it. However right now I see that it is not a serious SF, more an excuse for great adventure with extremely unlikely coincidences and attempts to wove aliens into European folklore (erm, the earliest human ancestor usually assigned to Australopithecus species, who lived 2 million years later than the time period of the book and in Africa, not Europe).
March 5, 2020
I didn’t know about this series beforehand so went in brand new. I enjoyed the adventure quite a lot, especially the meticulous building up to the travel back in time, which certainly raised the suspense. What was really going to happen to them when they arrived in the Pliocene era 5,000,000 million years ago?
Unfortunately I didn’t really care for any of the characters, despite the time devoted to introduce each. As usual my main problem with multiple character stories is I can’t tell them apart and I lose track of - and interest in - each invidiual. My reasons for enjoying this one lie in the writing and in the storytelling, which I found highly engaging, despite one unanswered, glaring plot hole, but as there are more books, perhaps it will be explained? Being from 1981 there are some dated words and gender ideas, but I’ve certainly seen and read worse.
Overall a great work of sf.
Unfortunately I didn’t really care for any of the characters, despite the time devoted to introduce each. As usual my main problem with multiple character stories is I can’t tell them apart and I lose track of - and interest in - each invidiual. My reasons for enjoying this one lie in the writing and in the storytelling, which I found highly engaging, despite one unanswered, glaring plot hole, but as there are more books, perhaps it will be explained? Being from 1981 there are some dated words and gender ideas, but I’ve certainly seen and read worse.
Overall a great work of sf.
March 7, 2020
I am very pleased to find a science fiction series by yet another wonderful book club recommendation! 'The Many-Colored Land' by Julian May is thrilling, exciting and most of all fun! It is new to me, but this novel, the first in a series, was first published in 1981. Familiar character stereotypes populate the novel - but what the hell! It is well-done. Do readers really mind that? What do you say, Star Wars fans?
Misfits and unhappy people compete to be selected for access to a time machine in a basement of a house in France. People like:
Stein Oleson, Viking wannabe.
Richard Voorhees, xenophobic pilot of starships
Felice Landry, viciously competitive athlete
Elizabeth Orme, brain-damaged ex-psychic
Aiken Drum - genius crook
Claude Majewski - grieving exopaleontologist
Sister Annamaria ‘Amerie’ Roccaro - burned out and losing her religion
Entering the machine sends people six million years back (only one way available) into Earth's past - the Pliocene Epoch. The inventor, Professor Théo Guderian, a genius in dynamic-field physics, invented the machine and built it in Lyons, France, in the year 2034.
Scientific interest waned as it was realized its use was limited to one-way trips to a primitive era of earth, but as the decades passed, as did eventually the Professor, Madam Guderian permitted access to the machine to the slowly growing flow of visitors to her house wanting to leave modern Earth and the rest of the scientific advances and races of known universe. As more and more people begged to go back to a period of time where hunting and camping and fighting the wildlife without any benefits of civilization was required, psychological standards were established by official committees after Madam died, using the psychic abilities which had been developed by many exotic races and humans to measure inner minds. Being a misfit was no problem. Misogynists, racists, violent tendencies, etc. are welcome if they are within certain perimeters. Most people intended to live alone by their wits, education and knowledge, and their own skill sets. They knew there probably was some sort of society established after the decades of sending people back, but most intended to live on their own.
However, no one really knows what happened to people or how they were doing after arrival in the Pliocene Epoch. One-way trip only. Anything could be going on. Anything.
*play ominous music here*
Crazy times are in store for our protagonists. They will be tested by the historical earth in a way that is unexpected and much more dangerous than hunting overlarge fauna or in discovering poisonous flora, or in dealing with active volcanos and continents which still are moving into the positions we all know today. Another, alien, life form discovered the Pliocene Epoch of earth....
I loved this novel! It ends in cliffhangers, so going on to the next book in the series is required. However, that is a very pleasant anticipation, gentle reader! May’s book is mostly hard science fiction, but it is slyly mixing in some fantasy elements as well. Most science fiction fans shouldn’t mind. The novel is a grand old-fashioned entertainment of adventure and thrills! Updated to liberal sensitivities, of course.
Misfits and unhappy people compete to be selected for access to a time machine in a basement of a house in France. People like:
Stein Oleson, Viking wannabe.
Richard Voorhees, xenophobic pilot of starships
Felice Landry, viciously competitive athlete
Elizabeth Orme, brain-damaged ex-psychic
Aiken Drum - genius crook
Claude Majewski - grieving exopaleontologist
Sister Annamaria ‘Amerie’ Roccaro - burned out and losing her religion
Entering the machine sends people six million years back (only one way available) into Earth's past - the Pliocene Epoch. The inventor, Professor Théo Guderian, a genius in dynamic-field physics, invented the machine and built it in Lyons, France, in the year 2034.
Scientific interest waned as it was realized its use was limited to one-way trips to a primitive era of earth, but as the decades passed, as did eventually the Professor, Madam Guderian permitted access to the machine to the slowly growing flow of visitors to her house wanting to leave modern Earth and the rest of the scientific advances and races of known universe. As more and more people begged to go back to a period of time where hunting and camping and fighting the wildlife without any benefits of civilization was required, psychological standards were established by official committees after Madam died, using the psychic abilities which had been developed by many exotic races and humans to measure inner minds. Being a misfit was no problem. Misogynists, racists, violent tendencies, etc. are welcome if they are within certain perimeters. Most people intended to live alone by their wits, education and knowledge, and their own skill sets. They knew there probably was some sort of society established after the decades of sending people back, but most intended to live on their own.
However, no one really knows what happened to people or how they were doing after arrival in the Pliocene Epoch. One-way trip only. Anything could be going on. Anything.
*play ominous music here*
Crazy times are in store for our protagonists. They will be tested by the historical earth in a way that is unexpected and much more dangerous than hunting overlarge fauna or in discovering poisonous flora, or in dealing with active volcanos and continents which still are moving into the positions we all know today. Another, alien, life form discovered the Pliocene Epoch of earth....
I loved this novel! It ends in cliffhangers, so going on to the next book in the series is required. However, that is a very pleasant anticipation, gentle reader! May’s book is mostly hard science fiction, but it is slyly mixing in some fantasy elements as well. Most science fiction fans shouldn’t mind. The novel is a grand old-fashioned entertainment of adventure and thrills! Updated to liberal sensitivities, of course.
May 18, 2021
3.5 - 4 stars
The Saga of the Pliocene Exile is classic science-fantasy that scratches the itch when you don’t know if you’re in the mood for a little high-tech chocolate, or maybe some swords-n-magic peanut butter…why not go with both? After all, they’re two great tastes that taste great together! The series draws from many sources and displays the earmarks of a number of influences: a little of sword-and-planet here, a dash of psionic sci-fi there, a soupçon of time travel hijinks, mix in a huge dose of Celtic mythology, and a leavening of historical fiction with some soap opera thrown in for good measure just to name a few. Add to that the fact that it grows into (or grows from, depending on whether you’re looking at the external ‘real world’ timeline of publication or the internal one that May creates in her timey-whimey future history) the Galactic Milieu Series and the overall achievement (in my eyes at least) is impressive.
The Coles Notes intro to May’s world is that humanity has newly become part of a galactic society built upon the existence of psionic powers. The elder races that are shepherding humanity into this civilization have opened up to them the secrets of interstellar travel, nearly limitless energy, the ability to ‘rejuvinate’ from old age, and the chance to unlock the race’s unprecedented potential in the mental powers they were only starting to discover in themselves. It is, to all appearances, the beginning of a Golden Age. Of course there’s a catch and humanity has to make a few concessions in order to become a part of this brave new world: they must agree to adopt one universal human language (English ‘natch), are generally encouraged to do away with racial-nationalistic distinctions (except in cases where these distinctions have been deemed to be exceptional and beneficial to the overall progress of the species…more on this anon), and must generally buckle under the existing laws of the Galactic Milieu, especially in regards to the use and policing of the afore-mentioned mental powers. For most of humanity, even those not gifted with operant psychic powers, it’s something approximating a utopia. Of course there’s always those misfits that don’t fit in and who squirm under the avuncular hand of Big Brother, no matter how altruistic or well-meaning. What’s a person to do if they don’t fit into the mould required of humanity? What do you do if utopia makes you want to kill yourself? Luckily for these misfits a wayward scientist discovered a seemingly useless, though still astonishing, miracle: a one-way time portal to the Pliocene era of earth’s pre-history. There’s no telling what’s on the other side, or how harsh life might be, but if you want to forge your own path without a bunch of know-it-all E.T.s telling you what’s best for you then it can be a pretty attractive option. Thus are born the Exiles.
The main group of characters we follow, known as Group Green due to the designation assigned to them when they arrive at the Auberge du Portail where the time portal is maintained, is made up of the following cast-offs: Claude Majewski, an aged paleontologist recently bereft of his wife; Bryan Grenfell, perhaps the most ‘normal’ of the exiles after Claude, he is a successful, but heartsick, anthropologist only going to the Pliocene to follow his lost love; Elizabeth Orme, a former masterclass psionic operant whose great powers were lost in an accident that also killed her husband (her apparent inoperancy being the only reason she is allowed to go into Exile); Felice Landry, a borderline psychotic athlete with severe anger management issues and latent psychic powers; Aiken Drum, an ingenius trickster and, like Landry, an unrepentant recidivist whose only options were mind-control, euthanasia, or Exile; Stein Oleson, an emotionally and psychologically wounded driller with atavistic dreams of living life as a viking; Annamaria (Amerie) Roccaro, a nun-priest and doctor reaching a vocational and personal crisis; and Richard Voorhees, a disgraced starship pilot and confirmed xenophobe. As you can already see there are quite a number of ‘main’ characters May centers on, and the list is only going to grow as the extended cast of minor (and other major) characters comes onto the scene.
May takes her time with the set-up and the entire first third of the book gives us a good grounding in the world of the Galactic Milieu and also covers the individual circumstances of each of Group Green’s members, both before and during their preparation for translation to the Pliocene. Once in the Pliocene a great shock is in store for our world-weary travellers as they discover the startling fact that an alien species who fled their own galaxy is inhabiting prehistoric Earth (hello chariots of the gods!) and have set up a society in which humans are a valued, and much needed, resource. The relationship of these aliens (the Tanu) to the incoming flood of human refugees is somewhat ambiguous: they are careful to give all new time travellers the best possible view of themselves and it does seem that at least some of the humans are very happy with their new lot in life…there can be some significant advantages to playing ball with the Tanu as they have discovered a way to make latent meta powers operant (by using a device called a torc that, once worn, cannot be removed but brings forth any significant psi powers), and even those who have no viable powers can find a comfortable existence among them (if they have the necessary skills) that is a far cry from the expected harsh realties of roughing it in a more pristince prehistoric wilderness.
Of course, not all humans agree that this pseudo-benevolent partnership is such a great thing, and it can certainly be argued that they have simply moved from one gilded cage to another (those damn paternalistic aliens!) Our stalwart heroes are each tested for latent meta faculties and the group is split up as the wheat are separated from the chaff…the first indication that perhaps not everyone has such a great time of it in the Tanu-dominated Pliocene. We also discover that the shock of temporal translation has jump-started Elizabeth’s own operant powers and she is a unique prize for the Tanu if they play their cards right: a powerful fully operant meta (all of the Tanu are only latent whose powers are brought about by the technology of the aforementioned torcs) who could be a significant boon to the breeding plans of the latent Tanu. Yup, that’s right, it appears as though Tanu and humans can mate to produce viable offspring, something the aliens took advantage of when they discovered that the background radiation of the earth was detrimental to their own reproductive processes and refugees from the time-stream starting appearing on their doorstep. We’ve got a real recipe for trouble: eugenic breeding of humans and aliens, wild psionic powers, and, as we discover, a nearly foolproof way for the Tanu to maintain their hold on any discontented humans: mind control via torc.
As the story develops we get further pieces of the puzzle of Pliocene society: there is another member of the alien dimorphic species, the Firvulag, who while less powerful in general than their Tanu cousins, are fully operant; they are also in the midst of a life-long war with their alien confreres, each trying to wipe out the other in a bid to bring about their own alien ragnarok as they practice the battle religion that got them kicked out of their own galaxy in the first place. There are also small pockets of refugee humans attempting to stage a resistance against the ‘Tanu oppressors’ in the hopes of bringing about humanity’s freedom. This volume concentrates mostly on the details of what happens to the ‘rejects’ from Group Green (those that showed no significant psionic latencies and who had no other skills the Tanu wanted to take advantage of): Richard, Felice (who managed to hide her not insiginificant abilities from discovery), Claude, and Amerie as they attempt to escape from their apparent fate as chattel of the Tanu and come across the above-mentioned mysteries. Is it any surprise that their advent to the Pliocene is the trigger to revolt that the ‘Lowlife’ humans have been waiting for? Of course it’s not! We do get a few glimpses of the high life that the remainder of Group Green are treated to as they are taken to the Tanu capital as ‘privileged guests’, but the further development of their story really has to wait until volume two.
I really like the Pliocene saga (and its sibling the Galactic Milieu series). To me it’s a classic and I recall it as one of those series that seemed to be omnipresent in my youth and thus stands as something of a hallmark of days-gone-by. It’s one of the few that I can think of off the top of my head that dealt in any systematic, and interesting, way with psionics, and the combination of old fashioned adventure and personal ‘soap opera’ with fantasy and sci-fi elements was a winning combination. May does seem to have a few hobby horses that may seem a bit questionable: some of her lingo, especially slang, is fairly dated; she has an apparent belief in the cultural distinctness of certain nationalistic groups (esp. Celts, French Canadians, and surprisingly Americans) whose stereotypes she perhaps plays up a bit and who come in for special treatment by the Galactic Milieu because of their ‘specialness’…something that might not sit too well with more modern sensibilities; and a few of her characters (*cough* Aiken *cough*) might be seen as Mary Sues when glimpsed from certain angles. I don’t think any of this is able to significantly distract from the pure pleasure of reading this series (again for me at least) and the intricate twists and turns of the plot as each of the characters grows and comes to terms with the strange new existence they face is a heck of a lot of fun. I definitely enjoyed returning to the Pliocene with Group Green and look forward to the further adventures I know they have in store for them as we continue on to volume two: the Golden Torc!
The Saga of the Pliocene Exile is classic science-fantasy that scratches the itch when you don’t know if you’re in the mood for a little high-tech chocolate, or maybe some swords-n-magic peanut butter…why not go with both? After all, they’re two great tastes that taste great together! The series draws from many sources and displays the earmarks of a number of influences: a little of sword-and-planet here, a dash of psionic sci-fi there, a soupçon of time travel hijinks, mix in a huge dose of Celtic mythology, and a leavening of historical fiction with some soap opera thrown in for good measure just to name a few. Add to that the fact that it grows into (or grows from, depending on whether you’re looking at the external ‘real world’ timeline of publication or the internal one that May creates in her timey-whimey future history) the Galactic Milieu Series and the overall achievement (in my eyes at least) is impressive.
The Coles Notes intro to May’s world is that humanity has newly become part of a galactic society built upon the existence of psionic powers. The elder races that are shepherding humanity into this civilization have opened up to them the secrets of interstellar travel, nearly limitless energy, the ability to ‘rejuvinate’ from old age, and the chance to unlock the race’s unprecedented potential in the mental powers they were only starting to discover in themselves. It is, to all appearances, the beginning of a Golden Age. Of course there’s a catch and humanity has to make a few concessions in order to become a part of this brave new world: they must agree to adopt one universal human language (English ‘natch), are generally encouraged to do away with racial-nationalistic distinctions (except in cases where these distinctions have been deemed to be exceptional and beneficial to the overall progress of the species…more on this anon), and must generally buckle under the existing laws of the Galactic Milieu, especially in regards to the use and policing of the afore-mentioned mental powers. For most of humanity, even those not gifted with operant psychic powers, it’s something approximating a utopia. Of course there’s always those misfits that don’t fit in and who squirm under the avuncular hand of Big Brother, no matter how altruistic or well-meaning. What’s a person to do if they don’t fit into the mould required of humanity? What do you do if utopia makes you want to kill yourself? Luckily for these misfits a wayward scientist discovered a seemingly useless, though still astonishing, miracle: a one-way time portal to the Pliocene era of earth’s pre-history. There’s no telling what’s on the other side, or how harsh life might be, but if you want to forge your own path without a bunch of know-it-all E.T.s telling you what’s best for you then it can be a pretty attractive option. Thus are born the Exiles.
The main group of characters we follow, known as Group Green due to the designation assigned to them when they arrive at the Auberge du Portail where the time portal is maintained, is made up of the following cast-offs: Claude Majewski, an aged paleontologist recently bereft of his wife; Bryan Grenfell, perhaps the most ‘normal’ of the exiles after Claude, he is a successful, but heartsick, anthropologist only going to the Pliocene to follow his lost love; Elizabeth Orme, a former masterclass psionic operant whose great powers were lost in an accident that also killed her husband (her apparent inoperancy being the only reason she is allowed to go into Exile); Felice Landry, a borderline psychotic athlete with severe anger management issues and latent psychic powers; Aiken Drum, an ingenius trickster and, like Landry, an unrepentant recidivist whose only options were mind-control, euthanasia, or Exile; Stein Oleson, an emotionally and psychologically wounded driller with atavistic dreams of living life as a viking; Annamaria (Amerie) Roccaro, a nun-priest and doctor reaching a vocational and personal crisis; and Richard Voorhees, a disgraced starship pilot and confirmed xenophobe. As you can already see there are quite a number of ‘main’ characters May centers on, and the list is only going to grow as the extended cast of minor (and other major) characters comes onto the scene.
May takes her time with the set-up and the entire first third of the book gives us a good grounding in the world of the Galactic Milieu and also covers the individual circumstances of each of Group Green’s members, both before and during their preparation for translation to the Pliocene. Once in the Pliocene a great shock is in store for our world-weary travellers as they discover the startling fact that an alien species who fled their own galaxy is inhabiting prehistoric Earth (hello chariots of the gods!) and have set up a society in which humans are a valued, and much needed, resource. The relationship of these aliens (the Tanu) to the incoming flood of human refugees is somewhat ambiguous: they are careful to give all new time travellers the best possible view of themselves and it does seem that at least some of the humans are very happy with their new lot in life…there can be some significant advantages to playing ball with the Tanu as they have discovered a way to make latent meta powers operant (by using a device called a torc that, once worn, cannot be removed but brings forth any significant psi powers), and even those who have no viable powers can find a comfortable existence among them (if they have the necessary skills) that is a far cry from the expected harsh realties of roughing it in a more pristince prehistoric wilderness.
Of course, not all humans agree that this pseudo-benevolent partnership is such a great thing, and it can certainly be argued that they have simply moved from one gilded cage to another (those damn paternalistic aliens!) Our stalwart heroes are each tested for latent meta faculties and the group is split up as the wheat are separated from the chaff…the first indication that perhaps not everyone has such a great time of it in the Tanu-dominated Pliocene. We also discover that the shock of temporal translation has jump-started Elizabeth’s own operant powers and she is a unique prize for the Tanu if they play their cards right: a powerful fully operant meta (all of the Tanu are only latent whose powers are brought about by the technology of the aforementioned torcs) who could be a significant boon to the breeding plans of the latent Tanu. Yup, that’s right, it appears as though Tanu and humans can mate to produce viable offspring, something the aliens took advantage of when they discovered that the background radiation of the earth was detrimental to their own reproductive processes and refugees from the time-stream starting appearing on their doorstep. We’ve got a real recipe for trouble: eugenic breeding of humans and aliens, wild psionic powers, and, as we discover, a nearly foolproof way for the Tanu to maintain their hold on any discontented humans: mind control via torc.
As the story develops we get further pieces of the puzzle of Pliocene society: there is another member of the alien dimorphic species, the Firvulag, who while less powerful in general than their Tanu cousins, are fully operant; they are also in the midst of a life-long war with their alien confreres, each trying to wipe out the other in a bid to bring about their own alien ragnarok as they practice the battle religion that got them kicked out of their own galaxy in the first place. There are also small pockets of refugee humans attempting to stage a resistance against the ‘Tanu oppressors’ in the hopes of bringing about humanity’s freedom. This volume concentrates mostly on the details of what happens to the ‘rejects’ from Group Green (those that showed no significant psionic latencies and who had no other skills the Tanu wanted to take advantage of): Richard, Felice (who managed to hide her not insiginificant abilities from discovery), Claude, and Amerie as they attempt to escape from their apparent fate as chattel of the Tanu and come across the above-mentioned mysteries. Is it any surprise that their advent to the Pliocene is the trigger to revolt that the ‘Lowlife’ humans have been waiting for? Of course it’s not! We do get a few glimpses of the high life that the remainder of Group Green are treated to as they are taken to the Tanu capital as ‘privileged guests’, but the further development of their story really has to wait until volume two.
I really like the Pliocene saga (and its sibling the Galactic Milieu series). To me it’s a classic and I recall it as one of those series that seemed to be omnipresent in my youth and thus stands as something of a hallmark of days-gone-by. It’s one of the few that I can think of off the top of my head that dealt in any systematic, and interesting, way with psionics, and the combination of old fashioned adventure and personal ‘soap opera’ with fantasy and sci-fi elements was a winning combination. May does seem to have a few hobby horses that may seem a bit questionable: some of her lingo, especially slang, is fairly dated; she has an apparent belief in the cultural distinctness of certain nationalistic groups (esp. Celts, French Canadians, and surprisingly Americans) whose stereotypes she perhaps plays up a bit and who come in for special treatment by the Galactic Milieu because of their ‘specialness’…something that might not sit too well with more modern sensibilities; and a few of her characters (*cough* Aiken *cough*) might be seen as Mary Sues when glimpsed from certain angles. I don’t think any of this is able to significantly distract from the pure pleasure of reading this series (again for me at least) and the intricate twists and turns of the plot as each of the characters grows and comes to terms with the strange new existence they face is a heck of a lot of fun. I definitely enjoyed returning to the Pliocene with Group Green and look forward to the further adventures I know they have in store for them as we continue on to volume two: the Golden Torc!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2011
For me and, I suspect, many others, one of the things that makes SF uniquely fun is being dumped into a world that is far-future or otherwise alien and having to figure out how it all works and maybe how we got there from here: having culture/future shock and coming to terms with it as the book progresses. In this book, May treats us to a prolonged description of the galaxy spanning culture that humans have joined (it reminds me of Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat books, without the humour and with aliens) and lengthy introductions to many of the protagonists, whilst also introducing the key McGuffin of a one-way time-portal to the Pliocene period on Earth. All of this takes approx. 100 pages and does everything it can to eliminate any chance of shock at all.
It's a real chore to hack through, especially as almost all of it is redundant. One could start at the beginning of Part 2 of this book and figure out almost everything of importance easily, I suspect. That would have been much more fun.
There are other problems: four of the people we are introduced to back in the future are just dropped about half way through - never to be heard of again, though supposedly returned to in the inevitable sequel. All the characters are misfits or psychologically damaged and the advanced, psychic clinical psychology of the future can't help them. Going to the Pliocene and having a revelatory conversation with a stand-in therapist figure does wonders for more than one of them, however. My eyes roll.
So we eventually get on to a "rebel freedom fighters take on the mighty overlords" adventure which is amusing enough. The "this explains the whole of Irish Celtic myth and a few other stories besides" set up is not really all that interesting. So as a throw-away paperback to read whilst ill it was just about good enough but I can't say I'm in any hurry to read the sequel.
It's a real chore to hack through, especially as almost all of it is redundant. One could start at the beginning of Part 2 of this book and figure out almost everything of importance easily, I suspect. That would have been much more fun.
There are other problems: four of the people we are introduced to back in the future are just dropped about half way through - never to be heard of again, though supposedly returned to in the inevitable sequel. All the characters are misfits or psychologically damaged and the advanced, psychic clinical psychology of the future can't help them. Going to the Pliocene and having a revelatory conversation with a stand-in therapist figure does wonders for more than one of them, however. My eyes roll.
So we eventually get on to a "rebel freedom fighters take on the mighty overlords" adventure which is amusing enough. The "this explains the whole of Irish Celtic myth and a few other stories besides" set up is not really all that interesting. So as a throw-away paperback to read whilst ill it was just about good enough but I can't say I'm in any hurry to read the sequel.
December 20, 2022
4.0 stars
I loved the time traveling framing surrounding this novel. The story itself read more like a fantasy story than a traditional science fiction narrative. The story was cute, but I wished the science fiction elements has played a larger part of the story.
I loved the time traveling framing surrounding this novel. The story itself read more like a fantasy story than a traditional science fiction narrative. The story was cute, but I wished the science fiction elements has played a larger part of the story.
July 31, 2020
What I liked was the choice of setting. It is rarely (if ever?) that I find an US author chosing my home area for a novel (even if it was in its pliocene state). So each mentioning of Black Forest or Kaiserstuhl gave a little warm feeling in my heart.
Unfortunately the rest of the book wasn't for me. It felt too pulpy, too many characters with too little features that would have made them standing out in my memory. In the end I had the feeling I had been reading something with every available SF topic thrown into a mixer.
Unfortunately the rest of the book wasn't for me. It felt too pulpy, too many characters with too little features that would have made them standing out in my memory. In the end I had the feeling I had been reading something with every available SF topic thrown into a mixer.
May 1, 2018
Really enjoyable mix of fantasy and sci-fi. Takes a bit of patience as it is quite slow to begin with and as it over 30 years old has an older vocabulary and style. I will trying to source a new copy of the second book.
July 21, 2021
This classic time-travel science-fantasy held up well to rereading, decades after I first read it. With a cast of dozens of named characters, the novel sometimes seemed too ambitious, but the pages turn and I had a good time. I'll likely go on to (at least) rereading the second volume -- particularly since the action really just pauses at the end of vol. 1.
Author May made a conscientious effort to get the Pliocene geology and paleontology right for her European setting. While I'm not an expert, I think she did a good job, certainly more than good enough for fiction. One of the thing that drew me into her novel.
Despite the science-fiction and time-travel framing, the alien Tamu and Firvulag are clearly drawn from Celtic mythology, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_of...
Not that there's a problem with that. The novel is remarkably ambitious, and even if parts of it don't make much sense -- how likely is it that the alien fliers would still be functional after sitting out in the weather for a millenium? May was a good enough storyteller that she gets away with that kind of stuff. Recommended for epic-fantasy fans. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
If you are new to the Saga, you'll likely want to have at least the first two on hand before you start reading. I'm pretty sure I'll be reading on at least through #2, the Golden Torc. Fortunately, our library has the omnibus reprint of the first two books.
Author May made a conscientious effort to get the Pliocene geology and paleontology right for her European setting. While I'm not an expert, I think she did a good job, certainly more than good enough for fiction. One of the thing that drew me into her novel.
Despite the science-fiction and time-travel framing, the alien Tamu and Firvulag are clearly drawn from Celtic mythology, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_of...
Not that there's a problem with that. The novel is remarkably ambitious, and even if parts of it don't make much sense -- how likely is it that the alien fliers would still be functional after sitting out in the weather for a millenium? May was a good enough storyteller that she gets away with that kind of stuff. Recommended for epic-fantasy fans. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
If you are new to the Saga, you'll likely want to have at least the first two on hand before you start reading. I'm pretty sure I'll be reading on at least through #2, the Golden Torc. Fortunately, our library has the omnibus reprint of the first two books.
March 29, 2020
***This review contains hyperbole.***
This book might be worse (but almost certainly not better) than my rating suggests.
I zoned out from it frequently. Going back and listening to parts again was no help. It's as if some paragraphs and entire chapters had a stealth spell caste upon them that made me forget them immediately.
What I do recall from this book (that I've just finished reading in a single day with no actual distractions) is that if you tore a page out of every fantasy and science fiction novel that you and your local library own, then collated those pages into a book, you'd still have less ideas than the Many-Coloured Land manages to squeeze in and be only slightly less coherent. I'm all for authors being ambitious with their works but I also want them to give ideas time and room to grow. This book throws (what should be) unrelated and unoriginal ideas at you every couple of pages with the end result being disinterest and apathy.
I read this so you don't have to.
This book might be worse (but almost certainly not better) than my rating suggests.
I zoned out from it frequently. Going back and listening to parts again was no help. It's as if some paragraphs and entire chapters had a stealth spell caste upon them that made me forget them immediately.
What I do recall from this book (that I've just finished reading in a single day with no actual distractions) is that if you tore a page out of every fantasy and science fiction novel that you and your local library own, then collated those pages into a book, you'd still have less ideas than the Many-Coloured Land manages to squeeze in and be only slightly less coherent. I'm all for authors being ambitious with their works but I also want them to give ideas time and room to grow. This book throws (what should be) unrelated and unoriginal ideas at you every couple of pages with the end result being disinterest and apathy.
I read this so you don't have to.
February 1, 2019
This is difficult to review without spoilers. Suffice it to say there is *a lot* going on, with multiple sci-fi and fantasy elements woven together into a story of ambitious scope. Very skilled authors can sometimes make that work, but often such stories collapse under their own weight. That seems to be the case here, although the story works on some levels and still remains somewhat engaging throughout.
The story starts out squarely as science fiction but then evolves into what feels like an epic fantasy, replete with a band of travelers on a quest across a Middle Earth type terrain to recover a legendary weapon. That was a big turn off for me. Ultimately, I felt there was too much going on, too many characters, too many races/species, and too many cliche fantasy trappings.
The story starts out squarely as science fiction but then evolves into what feels like an epic fantasy, replete with a band of travelers on a quest across a Middle Earth type terrain to recover a legendary weapon. That was a big turn off for me. Ultimately, I felt there was too much going on, too many characters, too many races/species, and too many cliche fantasy trappings.
September 16, 2023
This was an interesting story that started out kind of like Hyperion with a group of exiles with their backstories, but then became a strange story of "damnit, we are not the first ones here!" because the prehistoric paradise they are promised is already dominated by strange alien species. The writing was not fantastic and I am not sure to go forward with the other books in the series, but still I guess it was worthwhile for just pure weirdness. But I think I am just not into this genre of backward-looking sci-fi even if once again, it serves as a warning about destroying our own planet in the 21st century as we are doing.
November 6, 2012
The Many-Coloured Land
This is one of the possible starting points in an enormously complex epic covering four thick volumes set mostly in the Pliocene and four more set in something recognisably parallel to our present and near future.
Thick volumes! The paperbacks on my shelves are mostly around 500 pages, and all eight together take up just over a foot of shelf space!
The Many Coloured Land begins in our near future. Earth has been accepted into a galaxy including half a dozen alien races, all highly civilised and active metapsychics - psi-enabled, in various ways. This (along with the general pressures of modern living) causes problems for some humans, some few of whom are able to escape through a one-way time gate to Earth some six million years in the past, where we meet more aliens, also psi-enabled, but socially distinctly primitive/barbarian. As some of our human time-travellers also acquire psi ability, life becomes highly adventurous, in ways that were not, at the original publication date, familiar from anyone else's work.
On the good side, this is inspired and different. I remember eagerly awaiting the publication of each new volume through the 1980s. And I have read the whole epic four or five times - given the total size, something I would only do for what I regard as really great work.
However, there is a down side. A work of such magnitude implies (requires!) enormous complexity. So we have a lot of characters to keep on top of, and because they are not always all present, there are many parallel threads. The various characters each have their own environment, their own backstory - and after a couple of hundred pages of one or two major characters, a change of thread can cause some confusion in the reader and the switch to another character or group can take a while to fit itself back into the overall flow of the story. When I first read this I was able to read in large chunks - two or three hours at a stretch - but I think that if I had been restricted to the odd half hour on the bus, I would have lost the thread and probably not finished it.
So to any new readers - be warned about the extent to which you will have to immerse yourself in this world: But with that caveat, if you are the sort of reader that enjoys long epics and heavy use of mind-powers in your fiction, then this is something you will enjoy, and I recommend it highly.
This is one of the possible starting points in an enormously complex epic covering four thick volumes set mostly in the Pliocene and four more set in something recognisably parallel to our present and near future.
Thick volumes! The paperbacks on my shelves are mostly around 500 pages, and all eight together take up just over a foot of shelf space!
The Many Coloured Land begins in our near future. Earth has been accepted into a galaxy including half a dozen alien races, all highly civilised and active metapsychics - psi-enabled, in various ways. This (along with the general pressures of modern living) causes problems for some humans, some few of whom are able to escape through a one-way time gate to Earth some six million years in the past, where we meet more aliens, also psi-enabled, but socially distinctly primitive/barbarian. As some of our human time-travellers also acquire psi ability, life becomes highly adventurous, in ways that were not, at the original publication date, familiar from anyone else's work.
On the good side, this is inspired and different. I remember eagerly awaiting the publication of each new volume through the 1980s. And I have read the whole epic four or five times - given the total size, something I would only do for what I regard as really great work.
However, there is a down side. A work of such magnitude implies (requires!) enormous complexity. So we have a lot of characters to keep on top of, and because they are not always all present, there are many parallel threads. The various characters each have their own environment, their own backstory - and after a couple of hundred pages of one or two major characters, a change of thread can cause some confusion in the reader and the switch to another character or group can take a while to fit itself back into the overall flow of the story. When I first read this I was able to read in large chunks - two or three hours at a stretch - but I think that if I had been restricted to the odd half hour on the bus, I would have lost the thread and probably not finished it.
So to any new readers - be warned about the extent to which you will have to immerse yourself in this world: But with that caveat, if you are the sort of reader that enjoys long epics and heavy use of mind-powers in your fiction, then this is something you will enjoy, and I recommend it highly.
September 17, 2011
Once more I picked up an old favorite to see if it still resonated. This time, the inspiration was the trailer for Stephen Spielberg's new series, Terra Nova which, as I watched, reminded me of May's series and I wonder if there is a relationship there? The show hasn't screened in Australia yet and I am looking forward to it starting. In the meantime, however, I found my copy of TMCL. it was marvelous revisiting and once again being captivated by such a powerful novel and idea: that a mixed group of humans can be sent back in time to the Pliocene era, hoping for a fresh start and the opportunity to shed some heavy baggage. Instead, by journeying into the past, they stumble into a nightmare future that nothing, not even their extensive training and various expertise, could have prepared them for. Dense but powerfully written with some marvelous characters - those imbued with hope, despair, courage and cunning - you invest in them and their adventures. The sense of place, of a time at once historically specific and yet only ever imagined is so well conceived. I couldn't put it down the first time and went and read everything written by May as a consequence. Will do so again.
November 17, 2020
Me ha gustado bastante la historia que cuenta Julian May. La premisa es bastante original (viajes en el tiempo hasta el Plioceno, sin posibilidad de retorno, aprovechados por los inadaptados del presente-futuro). Tiene una primera parte bastante larga dedicada a la presentación de los personajes y sus motivos para escapar al Plioceno pero que no se hace pesada. A partir de la segunda parte la cosa empieza a cobrar un ritmo cada vez más rápido y se convierte en una aventura con todos los componentes clásicos. Lo peor es que perdemos la pista a la mitad de los personajes principales, aunque es de suponer que volverán a aparecer en los siguientes tomos de esta saga.
Por otro lado, tiene algún elemento que me suena más a fantasía que a ciencia ficción. No es que la mezcla de géneros me parezca mal, pero en este caso, ese elemento concreto no sé si termina de convencerme. De todas formas es un muy buen libro, de los que te absorben y hacen que te sientas viviendo en ese mundo prehistórico y futurista a la vez.
Reseña completa en Origen Cuántico (q.e.p.d.): https://www.origencuantico.com/la-tie...
Por otro lado, tiene algún elemento que me suena más a fantasía que a ciencia ficción. No es que la mezcla de géneros me parezca mal, pero en este caso, ese elemento concreto no sé si termina de convencerme. De todas formas es un muy buen libro, de los que te absorben y hacen que te sientas viviendo en ese mundo prehistórico y futurista a la vez.
Reseña completa en Origen Cuántico (q.e.p.d.): https://www.origencuantico.com/la-tie...
August 11, 2011
Very original and entertaining, good start to a series.
March 23, 2020
Rating: 3.5 Stars, rounded up to four because it was just... entertaining. Ridiculous at times, but entertaining.
Full disclosure -- I'm not really a fantasy reader, nor am I familiar with a lot of themes or tropes in fantasy. This book was suggested as a book club read in the category of science fiction, but it barely classifies as such.
The negatives first: I very nearly DNF'd The Many Coloured Land at about 15% because of the introduction of a million characters I couldn't keep straight. Every chapter felt like the beginning of a new book, and there was no discernible plot. Usually this wouldn't bother me as I like character studies, but I didn't particularly like any of the characters. I kept going, though.
When the threads finally started coming together, it was interesting. The idea of going back to the Pliocene Era kept me reading, even if the personalities going there didn't. Julian May (a woman!) is adept at descriptive settings, even though her characters are somewhat one-note. Once they pass through the time gate...
That's what hooked me. The narrative and plot are over-the-top and imaginative, and the pace is break-neck. It keeps moving, dragging you along, no matter how ridiculous it gets. Definitely a product of the late '70s/early '80s, with some unfortunate bigotry underlying some of the characterization. The themes (of which there are many) are not terribly deep, nor is the story completely bereft of substance, either. It doesn't matter much -- not to me, at any rate -- because it was fun. I guess I'd classify this as a "popcorn" book, which is what I needed.
Full disclosure -- I'm not really a fantasy reader, nor am I familiar with a lot of themes or tropes in fantasy. This book was suggested as a book club read in the category of science fiction, but it barely classifies as such.
The negatives first: I very nearly DNF'd The Many Coloured Land at about 15% because of the introduction of a million characters I couldn't keep straight. Every chapter felt like the beginning of a new book, and there was no discernible plot. Usually this wouldn't bother me as I like character studies, but I didn't particularly like any of the characters. I kept going, though.
When the threads finally started coming together, it was interesting. The idea of going back to the Pliocene Era kept me reading, even if the personalities going there didn't. Julian May (a woman!) is adept at descriptive settings, even though her characters are somewhat one-note. Once they pass through the time gate...
That's what hooked me. The narrative and plot are over-the-top and imaginative, and the pace is break-neck. It keeps moving, dragging you along, no matter how ridiculous it gets. Definitely a product of the late '70s/early '80s, with some unfortunate bigotry underlying some of the characterization. The themes (of which there are many) are not terribly deep, nor is the story completely bereft of substance, either. It doesn't matter much -- not to me, at any rate -- because it was fun. I guess I'd classify this as a "popcorn" book, which is what I needed.
January 8, 2024
3-stars.
I first tried reading this book many years ago and gave up before it really got anywhere. This time I was determined to give it a proper chance and managed to get to the end this time.
It does take a long time to get going and even when it did I found it wasn't as much to my taste as I had hoped. The author clearly did a lot of research and was obviously multilingual but I found that most of the occasions that she reverted to French threw my interest out the window. The other thing that irritated me was the lack of editing. I think that a lot of the books written pre-1990s never got more than a cursory glance from an editor. I won't bother to note all the instances of words that don't exist or the typos that were missed but I will demonstrate how some of it might grate on the reader:
How effective torcrestraint?
Adequate now while he still unuse fullpotential. Later silver never suffice will seize gold. Educators face dilemma that one. May require termination. Not my decision Tanabethanked.
Capable vastmischief even when latent. Rare old human-type uncommon in Milieu: clownmeddler.
Type not unknown among Tanu alas. Predict kid smashhit Muriah. Query Muriah survive impact.
Ironical justdeserts to you slavemasters. Humanity prey-perilous.
Deny? Laugh. Manipurcraftylators! Desocialization/resocialization exiles shrewdly essayed. Example: castle environment anxietyprovoke. Follows party warmfriendshippowersexgoodies.
I won't bother to go on but you can see how this sort of writing might rankle with some readers.
I have the other 3 books in the series but I'm not all that excited to continue.
I first tried reading this book many years ago and gave up before it really got anywhere. This time I was determined to give it a proper chance and managed to get to the end this time.
It does take a long time to get going and even when it did I found it wasn't as much to my taste as I had hoped. The author clearly did a lot of research and was obviously multilingual but I found that most of the occasions that she reverted to French threw my interest out the window. The other thing that irritated me was the lack of editing. I think that a lot of the books written pre-1990s never got more than a cursory glance from an editor. I won't bother to note all the instances of words that don't exist or the typos that were missed but I will demonstrate how some of it might grate on the reader:
How effective torcrestraint?
Adequate now while he still unuse fullpotential. Later silver never suffice will seize gold. Educators face dilemma that one. May require termination. Not my decision Tanabethanked.
Capable vastmischief even when latent. Rare old human-type uncommon in Milieu: clownmeddler.
Type not unknown among Tanu alas. Predict kid smashhit Muriah. Query Muriah survive impact.
Ironical justdeserts to you slavemasters. Humanity prey-perilous.
Deny? Laugh. Manipurcraftylators! Desocialization/resocialization exiles shrewdly essayed. Example: castle environment anxietyprovoke. Follows party warmfriendshippowersexgoodies.
I won't bother to go on but you can see how this sort of writing might rankle with some readers.
I have the other 3 books in the series but I'm not all that excited to continue.
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