Galactus Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 So I finally got around to reading this, just finished the second book, and I knew this was going to be dark, but I was... Something else. If Thomas Covenant for had rape as a major secondary theme it was always more about despair and such, but this seems to have pretty much dug into rape as a theme, in all sorts of ways (physically, psychologically, and in various metaphorical ways) it is both compelling and disturbing, how Morn desperately tries to find some semblance of control but is constantly undermined by the various literal and metaphorical rapists. The thing is, its fairly good: The characters competing sets of neuroses and mental issues are interesting (and suitably operatic, considering the Wagnerian themes) the sci-fi setting feels a bit dated in some ways, but that gives it a kind of texture and interesting limitations of its own. I have absolutely no idea how the physics and such match up, but Donaldsson manages to make it sound sciency enough that it feels vaguely workable, which is really all you need for SF: I am not sure I could ever actually recommend this to anyone: The subject matter is too gross, and unpleasant, but thus far I am... I cant say I am enjoying it, but certainly I want to know what happens next. In a lot of ways it feels like what Bakker was trying to do, only with much more empathy and much better written. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unJon Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 Totally agree with your last sentence. I read these years ago and really enjoyed them. I’ve recommended them to people asking for SF where they want something sorta like ASOIAF. I don’t want to spoil things beyond book 2 for you. But will say the rest of the series is action packed and much more like book 2 than book 1. Some really great characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 Yep, the last three volumes really pick up and the series is awesome! But yeah, it is dark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caligula_K3 Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 It's been probably over a decade since I last read this. I really liked the series at the time, but I don't know if I could ever read book 1 again. It is incredibly disturbing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted January 2, 2021 Share Posted January 2, 2021 I've occasionally referred to this as a science-fiction version of ASOIAF, but darker - it even has the same rotating POV structure. I read it about fifteen years ago. I recall some of the middle volumes sagging a bit, as the characters deal with their issues, but the series climax is excellent. There's also that memorable line: "Free Lunch? Conventional wisdom asserts that no such thing exists." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 On 1/2/2021 at 3:22 AM, The Marquis de Leech said: I've occasionally referred to this as a science-fiction version of ASOIAF, but darker - it even has the same rotating POV structure. This is where GRRM got the idea from. IIRC, I believe he was reading Forbidden Knowledge (The Real Story doesn't use the same structure, as I recall?) at the exact moment he got the idea for A Game of Thrones and started writing it in 1991. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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