tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5063783219652142328.post5463181773168261099..comments2024-01-23T02:42:59.021-06:00Comments on Musings of an Omnivorous Intellectual: Book review: The Gap Cycle by Stephen R. DonaldsonSouthern Geologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14884735860655270710noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5063783219652142328.post-58733466814694438732024-01-23T02:42:59.021-06:002024-01-23T02:42:59.021-06:00I haven't read this series of sci-fi but I hav...I haven't read this series of sci-fi but I have read the fantasy, Thomas Covenant book series, I've read and reread through the whole series multiple times, I love the Covenant Chronicle series, but I do have a complaint, a serious one, It almost wrecked the series in those later books for me, the recaps, the constant assumptions made by the author that the reader would have forgotten the important details by now, I am different than most people, I forget names terms dates, details like that, but I don't have any problems remembering the actions of characters and things like that, I disregard the words in favor of what I consider important, It's just my intuitive instinctive behavior, I learnt in my early school years, now I'm too old to change, I have the same issue with the TV series, if there's a "Last time, on Blank" I skip it with frustration why the hell do they have that when those people that forget are not really following the show if they don't recall? I don't know but it seems that authors are considering their fans or consumers as idiots, if they treat us like idiots than they will have idiots as fans but if they treat us as intelligent that we will aspire to be intelligent. Is this the same sort of issue that you guys had with this series The Gap Cycle?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5063783219652142328.post-34369620413440072442015-04-10T13:00:14.852-05:002015-04-10T13:00:14.852-05:00To a point I agree with your statements about the ...To a point I agree with your statements about the preponderance of psychological descriptions. However, I feel that this is the main point of the series. The Gap Cycle is, in my opinion, an examination of the psychological aspects of the individuals presented. Also, the core of the work is a means of humanizing these individuals who are inhumane, examining the method of absolution of past error, especially errors that create characters that are "nothing short of monstrous." The fact that this occurs in a science fiction setting appears to me to be incidental. If a psychological narrative is not what a reader is looking for, this series is not to be recommended.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5063783219652142328.post-7114143629907897592015-03-10T12:58:16.667-05:002015-03-10T12:58:16.667-05:00The strengths of Donaldson's writing in this s...The strengths of Donaldson's writing in this series are well described in the review. There are also difficulties a reader must put up with. In this series, the author propounds long descriptions of each character's inner feelings about what's going on, about past history, and about life in general. Much of this material gets repeated. Every time a character appears, if they are the chapter focus then there are pages of psychological description, and if they are secondary to the chapter, there are still continual indirect references to their emotions. It never stops.<br /><br />While it's important to know the motivations of the characters, the endless psychological descriptions add a burdensome weight to the story. Again and again I found myself wishing Donaldson had trimmed some of it, and thinking the whole story could be told in half the length without losing its power.<br /><br />I suspect the author deliberately undertook that approach here, perhaps in analogy to Wagner, though it is to some extent also a feature of Donaldson's other work. Some of the psychological verbiage seemed useful: for example, the depiction of the already volatile and desperate Angus gradually becoming angrier and more extreme made him seem like a bomb ticking ever louder, and when he finally exploded it felt awesome. But with many other characters (there are quite a few) I grew weary of reading about their self-doubts instead of reading what they did.<br /><br />Overall, I found the series enjoyable and worthy of keeping to reread. However, its great strengths are accompanied by many passages of heavy slogging.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5063783219652142328.post-91618285283943620452014-08-25T06:20:14.249-05:002014-08-25T06:20:14.249-05:00I'm halfway the second book of the Gap cycle, ...I'm halfway the second book of the Gap cycle, and so far it scratches all my sci-fi itches. It's gritty, and quite so. Maybe not for everyone. But I like the level of detail in the description of environment, technology, characters. I can hear the shooosh! of doors, the CLUNK! of a wrench dropping on grate metal floors. I can see the flickering neon signs and I can smell the coffee. It's good! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5063783219652142328.post-41001803183557157242014-08-09T23:01:08.649-05:002014-08-09T23:01:08.649-05:00I just finished reading this thrilling and intense...I just finished reading this thrilling and intense series. I came upon your review here after googling the series so I could read what others thought of it. I agree with your review 100%--you've done an excellent and thorough job of describing the books, and my reactions to them tracked yours. This was a pleasure to read. Thank you!Lianoreply@blogger.com