Magnificat [Import] [Paperback]

Julian May (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Collins (September 2, 1996)
• ISBN-10: 0006482252
• ISBN-13: 978-0006482253
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What about Marc?, May 18, 2000

By 

"leda_au" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magnificat (Galactic Milieu Trilogy) (Mass Market Paperback)

I was deeply suprised to read reviews of this whole series on Amazon and find so little mention of Marc. For me Magnificat was solely his tale, and the whole nine books were basically his story as well. He was after all the shaper of all that passed through the two series, for the Saga was post-Revolution and the Milieu books post-Duat. I've never been affected as deeply by a character as I have been by Marc. For this reason, I suppose, I found Magnificat the most engrossing of the books excepting Intervention. Intervention was my favourite but Magnificat was the premium. I think May, unlike some of the other reviewers, depicted the revolution just how I had expected. And realistically too. The way Marc used the deeply held convictions of those humans who (oh so human-ly) refused to sacrifice what they believed were their individual rights for his own self-centered reasons was very realistic. The echoes of horror that were seen in the Saga, the memories of the revolution, did not seem unwarranted to me. Two planets were obliterated. The flower of the metapsychic families in May's genealogies were destroyed. And Marc became the true angel of the abyss. I find it difficult to understand how readers of this series brush off the central character so easily. Perhaps re-reading of the other books would contribute to their awareness of the subtlety with which May presented the choices and regrets (or lack thereof) which her characters made, particularly during the Rebellion. Little things like the 'scent of pine' that was Jack's last thought had me in tears where pages and pages on the relationship of Jack and Marc at that point would have been crass. The reference to this in the brilliant opening sequence of Intervention where Rogi is in the pine glade brought this home so strongly for me. I think the comment by another author about these super brains being basically children was very relevant.It rings true in the light of the eternal issue in this series about the true nature of humans. Is it in our immense brains and mental capacity or in our physical/emotional experience of life? Thi sis not an issue resolved in the novels but definitely something to think on. Marc is a hater of the body (cf Nietzsche "Zarathustra' - On the Haters of the Body) and Jack is trapped within his mind. The Lylmik, the embodiment (excuse the pun) of Mental Man, are urged towards the experience of the flesh in Magnificat, yet the humans are simultaneously being shuffled along the path of Jack's radical evolution towards discoporality. Which is right? Is Marc's denial of his flesh the inhuman flaw from which he never redeems himself? Can the freedom of discoporality be anything less than a disaster until we gain the psychological maturity to deal with the chains of the body? Cycles within cycles within cycles, just as the books themselves are.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Grand Finale...or is it just the beginning?, April 15, 1999

By 

fellicity (Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magnificat (Galactic Milieu Trilogy) (Mass Market Paperback)

Allow me to give out one or two helpful hints to anyone who is reading Julian May's books for the first time. First off, do NOT begin with Magnificat. For that matter, don't even start with the Galactic Milieu series. May's nine book collection is a story cycle; meaning, the last book leads immediately to the first, and so on. For those who read Magnificat and felt "let down" and "confused", or that the book was too predictable, remember this: Rogatien Remillard first began the familly history in The Surveillance, and much of Marc's (and the Family's) history was disclosed in The Adversary. I knew what would ultimately take place in the final confrontation, who would die, and who would be spared. With intuition, I knew who Fury and The Family Ghost were from reading the previous books. I knew how the story began and ended- and yet, I read on. I put myself (figuratively) in Uncle Rogi's shoes- he lived though it once, and had to relive it, reluctantly, through the memoirs. I was saddened that this ten year long journey I'd taken with May was finally at an end. And then I remembered: It's not over! The story continues! It may be a little while, but I'll soon be dusting off The Many Colored Land, and starting all over again...

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Holds together well, but seems to end too quickly., February 25, 2004

By 

Harvey H. Meeker (Shelton, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magnificat (Galactic Milieu Trilogy) (Mass Market Paperback)

Magnificat is the ending of the Galactic Milieu trilogy and for the most part the end of the overall series which started in the Saga of the Pliocene Exile and continued in Intervention. This book will be nearly unreadable for those who have not read the previous books in the Galactic Milieu trilogy and it is further recommended that you read the aforementioned series (Saga and Intervention) as well. My review is predicated on having read all of that material.

Having said that, Magnificat is a wonderful conclusion to a great series of books. The only unfortunate part is the ending which is foreshortened because the real ending for many of the characters in this book is actually what happens in the Saga of The Pliocene Exile. Despite this I can't help agreeing with the other reviewer that we could have benefited from a more detailed denouement involving Rogi, the Remillard family and the returned Pliocene Exiles. Some more details to wind us down after the momentous events at the end of the book would have been welcome.

As it is this book gives us the final disposition of humanities position within the Galactic Milieu, the fate of Marc Remillard, Mental Man and the Metapsychic Rebellion, as well as Jack The Bodiless and Diamond Mask. In addition it resolves the Fury and Hydra plotline. All in all there is a lot happening in this book and it is easy to see why people might be dissatisfied with the conclusion of all these plots in one book. Many writers would have had this book be twice the size, but Julian May manages to not jam too many details into the mix here, maybe to the detriment of the story, but in the end the pacing remains quick and focused. For those who have read the Saga of The Pliocene Exile those books give a more satisfying conclusion to the events begun in this series even though Saga actually circles back around and is actually the beginning. All the more reason to read the other series before this one to gain a full understanding of why things end the way they do and why and how the Family Ghost came back to have Rogi write these memoirs.

I can't agree with those giving this book a 1 star review as this book is very consistent with the themes and plots of the previous books and closes the circle of the three series in an above average fashion. The only gripe keeping this from being a five star book would be the aforementioned lack of detail at the finale.