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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Keepin' the streak alive, May 21, 1998
This review is from: The Golden Torc (Mass Market Paperback)
Following the fascinating first volume of the Saga of Pliocene Exile was probably a difficult affair, but May pulls it off with almost impossible ease. Somehow she manages to continue the story started in the first book while still having The Golden Torc stand mostly on its own as a separate novel. Of course, reading the first is required, but the continuity is not so dense that new readers can't figure out what's going on. May keeps the action moving by shuffling all her plots around, and keeping tight rein on the huge cast of characters. Occassionally there are so many that you lose sight of some, but never enough so you lose the story. Julian May shows that none of her characters are safe, killing off some of the original cast, adding some more, and basically keeping the reader guessing to the end. Better than a sequel, it's a continuation that leaves the reader satisified and at the same time wanting more. Good thing there's a volume three. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I hear it calling my name . . .
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Super Reader, August 29, 2007
This review is from: The Golden Torc (Mass Market Paperback)
None of the Tanu are operant metapsychially, they all use the Golden Torc to utilise their powers, or even communicate if they have no powers. They realise they are becoming more and more reliant on human technologists, as their own offspring are becoming very hedonistic. The Tanu king commissions Bryan, the anthropologist of Group Green to do a study on the long term ramifications.
Meanwhile, Claude, Stein, Felice, Amerie and Richard are aligned with the human rebels and alien sympathisers.
Elizabeth Orme, an operant, comes to the attention of Brede, a mystical figure, and Aiken Drum sees opportunity for advancement through the upcoming Grand Combat, where the Tanu and their Firvulag alien opponents get to ritually slaughter each other at an annual sporting contest.
The rebels see this as an opportune time to strike.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The perfect science fiction fantasy?, February 16, 2004
This review is from: The Golden Torc (Mass Market Paperback)
I first read this series many years ago after a friend recommended it. Ever since, I've been searching in vain for more science fiction fantasy that captures me the way this one did. The four Pliocene books are, in my opinion, May's best. The others in the Galactic Milieu series run a close second. Her other stuff is so-so, readable but not exceptional. I was struck initially by the story, and also by the quality of the writing. It's so different, and much better, than anything else I've read in the genre, and manages to largely avoid the usual time travel anachronistic and self-referential cliches. I've recently finished reading the whole thing (including the other Milieu books) yet again, and I'm still amazed and moved by the experience, from the initial familiarity with the need of the misfits to leave, to the ultimate understanding of Atoning Unifex. Tremendous stuff.
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