May, Julian Books - Page 3

The Adversary: Saga of Pliocene Exile (Vol. 4 in the Saga of Pliocene exile)

Julian May

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

An end and a beginning 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This book is the final in the pliocene saga, it deals with the period of time following the subsumation of Mercy and Nodonn, the start of the Nightfall wall (end of the world), the children of the Rebels attempts to escape back to the Milieu. The war between the Firvulag and Tanu has taken on a new focus, an armistice is technically in effect, however the Firvulag are going to war. The time gate back 'home' is possible, the Rebels dreams are threatened by the childrens wish to go the Milieu. Mixed in to all this, Aiken (the King) has problems following the subsumption, there is internal politics making havoc with the whole question. Marc Remillard's role is finally determined and his future role is implied, which then allows the next four books (Intervention, Jack the Bodiless, Diamond Mask and Magnificat) to make more sense. Either set of four can be read by themselves, and one set seems to prelude the other, but in the end the actual order becomes nebulous. A fantastic read, which ties up all the loose ends, and demonstrates some of the more interesting side effects of the meta-abilities.

The Nonborn King: Volume III in the Saga of Pliocene Exile (The saga of Pliocene exile)

Julian May

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Orion Arm (Rampart Worlds)

Julian May

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Not Free SF Reader 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Helly has spat the dummy, and ended up back on his planet of bumming around, after yet another disagreement with family and corporate bigwigs over the alien threat.

Again, someone tries to kill him, so, of course, he has to get involved again and try and do something about it.

Nonborn King (Saga of Pliocene Exile)

Julian May

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Why can't I rate it 6 stars? Bravo! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Julian May continues in her tradition of exotic, colorful,
vivid landscapes and characterizations in the Nonborn King, book three of the Saga of Pliocene Exile. IMO, this is the best writer for descriptive, smooth prose in the business.

Book Three centers on Aiken Drum, a trickster misfit who has emerged with awesome psychic powers, and leader of a faction of Tanu-- those psychic aliens that had enslaved humanity as they traveled back through time to the Pliocene from 22nd century earth.

Aiken maneuvers his faction to attain dominance among the Pliocene-- there are titanic battles, politics, intrigue, nobility, and deception. All in May's wonderfully smooth, adjective-laden writing style that is never too complex, never cluttered, just easy-breathing wonder.

We are also introduced to Marc Remillard, my favorite character in sci-fi. While Aiken is Wagner's Loki, Remillard is Milton's Lucifer. Puissant, noble, the defeated idealist, utterly focused, driven at the expense of those he loves or loved. A magnificent character that plays a role throughout May's later Intervention/Galactic Milieu books as well.

Books One and Two set the stage, were eminently satisfying, left us begging for more. Nonborn King delivers... An epic penultimate climax leaving you wondering how she's ever going to top it.

Editorial Review:

On Earth, six million B.C., two species of alien ruled, the graceful humanoid Tanu and their twisted brethren, the Firvulag. Then men from twenty-second century Earth arrived through a one-way time tunnel -- and soon the aliens were locked in a battle to the death, for the humans had upset the precarious balance of power that existed between them.
But when the tides of combat had receded, no one group held firm control, though Aiken Drum, man of no woman born, had declared himself the Nonborn King . . . .

Perseus Spur (Rampart Worlds)

Julian May

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The Many-coloured Land (The Saga of the Exiles)

Julian May

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Tanu, Firvulag & Humans Disputing the Pliocene! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Ms. May (b. 1931) started her writer career in the early `50s writing two sci-fi short stories. Immediately she changed to writing scientific articles, YA and children literature.
In 1981 she made a dramatic return to sci-fi genre with this book, starting the Pliocene Exile Saga, earning the Locus Award.

The author greatly profit from her scientific background. The descriptions of Pliocene fauna, flora and geography are minutely accurate. Whatever technical subject is used into the story is consistently and believably described: mining, sailing, astronomical orientation, weapon making or hunting.
Does this make the novel boring? By no means! Julian is a wonderful writer and introduces all this stuff with a colorful prose giving substance and deepness to the story.

As to start the tale with sure hand, Ms. May set up every character depicting its entourage, rising, motivations, draw-backs and virtues. Then, with all this neatly tied, she launches the whole bunch into a non-stop adventure in the Pliocene.
You'll be really delighted by this mixture of strange landscape & fauna with alien dimorphic species: Tanu & Firvulag. You'll find people with extraordinary meta-functions active or latent, allying or fending with aliens & kin.
The narration is very straightforward, interesting and never let you down.
In this first volume of the quartet the author close the story very neatly but at the same time leaves enough loose threads as to keep you wanting for more.
Fortunately there IS more to come!
Reviewed by Max

A Pliocene Companion

Julian May

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Only To Complete Your Collection... 2 out of 5 stars.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.

This hard-to-find book is a companion to the four-book Pliocene Exile Saga by Julian May. (The saga itself was followed by two related series, the Great Intervention and the Galactic Milieu.) I remember way back when these first came out, I was but an ignorant lad and I too readily dismissed them as foolish tripe of the most juvenile sort. I mean, one-way time travel back to the past of Earth's Pliocene era? Where strange aliens ruled? And people ran about, zapping each other with mind powers? Yeah, it sounds hokey, but it's actually really good and quite addictive stuff.

In any case, this volume is a reference guide to the saga. It has some nice maps and it reprints three interviews with the author, which are rather informative. It also includes a bibliography of sources that inspired her, references to real poems that were quoted in the saga, and a discussion of why cats are great.

The core material, however, isn't so compelling. By deliberate design, May doesn't give away too much about any characters in these listings, so they tend to be very skeletal. A typical entry will read something like "Joe Bloggs was a powerful redactor who lived in Goriah and fought in the Great Tourney. For details, read his adventures in 'The Golden Torc'." Um...okay. By comparison, most guides of this sort for other series will spill their guts about every tangential detail.

Also, keep in mind that the guide only covers the Pliocene saga and it treats characters from the other two series only insofar as they had relevance to this first set of novels. So, if you want the lowdown on Rogatien Remillard, for instance, you're out of luck.

This is a good book to have if you wish to complete your collection, but is otherwise fairly superfluous.

The Nonborn King (The Saga of the Exiles)

Julian May

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Super Reader 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The rebel attack, engineered by Stein and blasted through by Felice's massive metapsychic powers, has destroyed the old power structure of the Tanu. Many more of them died in the flood, and the operant, more fecund Firvulag now hold a decided advantage.

Aiken Drum steps into the breach to take the reins of power.

The opening of the book shows us a very important factor, how some of Marc Remillard's rebel faction managed to escape and come back in time. This was mostly covered up, and few know about it.

The new society calls for new alliances, including the deformed mutant Firvulag Howlers, humans, rebels and others.

There will be a new Grand Combat, now more a sporting event, as the Tanu can no longer afford the casualties.

As a culmination, Nodonn Battlemaster returns, having survived the flood, and challenges Aiken.

Saga Pliocene #01 the Many-Colored Land

Julian May

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Sagittarius Whorl (Rampart Worlds)

Julian May

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Not Free SF Reader 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Helly is back doing the corporate thing yet again, helping out his very rich family fight off an opponent, by putting his talents for dodgy and sneaky to good use.

There is still the overaching threat of the aliens that he has to get people to realise and deal with. For this, he needs more proof, and this mission is the more important part of the story.

Editorial Review:

The concluding volume of the Rampart Worldstrilogy, this novel concerns the powerful alien race called the Haluk, who intend to seize control of desirable planets in the Milky Way belonging to the Commonwealth of Human Worlds. The secret of their scheme is human greed.