The overall series deserves four stars, even though I've given the third and fourth book three stars. I enjoyed the continuity, the exquisite world-building, enhanced by the cool geological descriptions. The detail of the survival of the humans in the Pliocene and their various trades and specialties was also rendered more than believable. I sometimes felt I was there, with them, in the Pliocene Exile. However, the telepathic powers plot device overshadowed all of the good things, pushing my overall enjoyment of the series down somewhat. I felt it got out of hand and would have liked a more 'mundane' solution to some of the problems between the different races: human, Tanu and Firvulag (including Howlers), and some conclusions about the mixed bloods influencing human evolution - that was never really satisfactorily explained (or I missed it).Many of my problems with the telepathic nature of the various antagonists and protagonists was that some things were just 'too easily' solved because of this. Character A has an insurmountable problem that Character B helps him/her solve using his/her superior telepathic (insert specific type of power here) skills.The series ended rather calmly, but it did have a solid ending so I can't complain too much.
I enjoyed this book, and thought the Pliocene Series was wonderful overall, but I definitely thought this book was the weakest of the four. In addition to losing so many interesting characters, I really wanted the book to end a different way. In fact, I had the ending I wanted to read all worked out in my head half-way through the second book (The Golden Torc), based on something early on in the first book (The Many-Coloured Land). KIND OF A SPOILER BELOW......KIND OF A SPOILER BELOW......KIND OF A SPOILER BELOW......Don't read further if you don't want to find out what DID NOT happen at the end of the series....KIND OF A SPOILER BELOW......KIND OF A SPOILER BELOW......KIND OF A SPOILER BELOW......Don't you think it would have ROCKED if Karl Josef RIchter, the first (and very insistent) exile who demanded to step through the Guderian device, had either shown up somewhere in the series OR BETTER YET was actually an older Aiken Drum or a much, much, much, much (times about 5.9 million) older Mark Remillard?
What do You think about The Adversary (1987)?
(view spoiler)[I thought this book was pretty average. It felt too long, but in spite of its length it left a couple of plot strings dangling badly. One was that she took a major character, Felice, out of thestory but rather than killing her left her in sort of limbo. There was also this subplot about two infants that apparently were destined to do something but never did. These were dwelled on in book 3 at considerable length but never mentioned at all in book 4. The author may have been trying to tie this series into another. If so, the connection was not obvious and I never read it. The author's style was average, not impressing me one way or the other. I did like the setting and some of the characterizations. The story showed a lot of imagination but overall it was not a very satisifying read. (hide spoiler)]
—Jim
Product Description The fourth and final volume of The Saga of Pliocene Exile.Until the arrival of Aiken Drum, the 100,000 humans who had fled backward in time to Pliocene exile on Earth knew little but slavery to the Tanu -- the humanoid aliens who came from another galaxy. But King Aiken's rule is precarious, for the Tanu's twisted bretheren are secretly maneuvering to bring about his downfall. Worse -- Aiken is about to confront a man of incredibly powerful Talents who nearly overthrew a galactic rule. He is Marc Remillard. Call him . . . The Adversary.
—Ward Bond
Ken wrote: "Julian May is a woman."I know! There was an extensive and amusing discussion in the Science Fiction Group about May.see http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/6...
—CD
