Magnificat

Rating:
Summary: Inexplicably weak ending to a wonderful series
Review: I went through high school and college almost idolizing Julian May for the Pliestocene Exile / Galactic Milieu series... some of the best science fiction I had (and have) ever read, superbly characterized and full of clever little philosophical points and subtle ironies...

all until I got to Magnificat, the final Galactic Milieu book. All I can think of is that this last book must have been ghost written. The writing style doesn't comport with that of Jack the Bodiless or Diamond Mask at all. For example, compare Anne's conversation with Paul about her moral dilemma near the end of Diamond Mask with the immeasurably clunkier (and inconsistent) conversation between Anne and Rogatien near the beginning of Magnificat.

There must be some story behind the scenes here. Maybe JM was just tired of the series? But then I don't know why the text of Magnificat is so different from the rest, even down to the level of the grammar and vocabulary.

In any case, I couldn't recommend the other Pliestocene Exile and Galactic Milieu books more highly, but Magnificat is so inferior it is almost impossible to read it through to the end.

Rating:
Summary: Awful ending to a great series
Review: If nothing, one has to read "Magnificat" for the sake of "finishing" the nine-volume saga in which the Pliocene and the Milieu books follow one another in an endless loop - a neat idea. :) However, while the four parts of the colourful Pliocene Exile series had an undemanding, refreshing charm (time-travel, alien beings, mental powers, folk tales and a myriad of other motives all crammed together - and came out much better than one would expect) and the Intervention can well be described as the qualitative peak of the whole, the Milieu trilogy starts to falter.

Not in Jack the Bodiless, which picks up almost seamlessly where Intervention ends and has brilliant moments, excellently profiled characters and truly frightening adversaries; Diamond Mask isn't as good, but I wouldn't put it below average either within the complete cycle. Magnificat I wish I hadn't read.

Simply put, all the Metapsychic Rebellion events hinted at in the Pliocene books together with their godlike protagonists turn out to be a dud. Jack and Dorothea, while amiable, do not strike one as particularly worthy of their later saintly status - not because they're not good enough as people, but because they're not good enough as characters. Even marginal Rebels seem to have more spirit and depth. The Fury/Hydra subplot dissolves too hastily, but it is still complex compared to the Rebellion itself. What started and intrigued in the earlier books ends in a lukewarm and grossly disappointing "finale". Nothing is explained concerning the Carbuncle and its role in fighting the Rebellion fleet. The horrible tragedy that forever burdens Marc's soul happens in a paragraph or two and one has to employ all of one's imagination to give the event the grandeur May intended. It just doesn't deliver. The Mental Man project is likewise imagined, carried through and destroyed too quickly. I cannot help but think of countless Stephen King novels where all the build-up crashes like a house of cards through some deux-ex-machina which in this case is a frankly silly sudden Unification of humanity through all-pervading love.

I do not know if May wanted to give some boost to Pierre Teilhard's ideas by bringing them to a galactic scope, but it not only fails to impress, it annoys. The only plus in the book are the characters of Rogi Remillard and the Atoning Unifex, in which issues of ethics and morality are dealt with less pathos and much more skill.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic.
Review: Julian May is such an imaginative, forward thinking and gifted writer, that it is difficult not to become personally involved in the beautiful and tragic fates of her characters. This is one of the best series that I have ever read, and I recommend it to any one who has a love for intelligent and accurate science fiction. With a meld of hard science, Teilhardian philosphy and some foward thinking, she has examined the foibles of human nature and shown us a fascinating world. All her books have been compulsive reading, and I hope that there are other people out there who appreciate this series as much as I do.

Rating:
Summary: best books i ever read
Review: Julian May's Galactic Milieu trilogy is the best I have ever read. These books are inspiring, beautiful, and just about every other positive adjective I can think of. I would and do reccommend this trilogy to anyone, especially science fiction lovers

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: Like a lot of people, I remember reading the Saga of thePliocene Exile in the 80s, and liking it very much. Her later 'prequels' pale in comparison. Boring. Not only boring but badly written. Reading the prequels prior to reading the saga is painful. There is little to no continuity. Worse, the whole Fury/Hydra plot is painful to read, and executed badly, being strung out for so long. It is a weak plot to hang a trilogy on. Who is Fury? The better question is, who cares?

Continuity plot points that make no sense:

1. In the pliocene saga, people have trouble telepathically speaking across thousands of kilometres, yet in the prequels, they regularly speak across light-years. LIGHT-YEARS! Come on, pick a distance and stick with it.

2. The whole rebellion. It is described one way in the saga, and totally different in the prequels.

3. In general, things seem thrown together, to satisfy plot points she has established earlier. In the saga, Jack and Diamond Mask are seen as revered figures, yet nothing like that is set up in the prequels.

Characterization. Marc in the saga is _bad_. Not a nice person. Here, he is characterized as someone pushed into something that he didn't necessarily want to be a part of. He turns 'bad' in this book at the drop of a hat. It makes no sense.

This was a disappointment to me and I think to anyone who has a fondness for the saga. I would recommend _not_ reading it. It sure shouldn't be seen as part of a whole, but even on it's own it is painful to read. There just doesn't seem to be any heart. It reads like a documentary. _Boring_.

Rating:
Summary: Holds together well, but seems to end too quickly.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Holds together well, but seems to end too quickly.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: 1 Gold, 2 Gold, 3 Coal
Review: May trully excited me with Jack the Bodiless and Diamond Mask. However, after a long wait, my anticipation for Magnificat turned to grief. The detail of the first two books of this trilogy played like a great movie in my head. This last book lacked detail, focus, and failed to flesh out a proper and satisfactory conclusion to previous character development. If you've read the first two novels, read this as well, but beware night light readers, the power of your pillow will defeat your attempts to read very far in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book/series.
Review: The books beginning with The Many-Colored Land are my all-time 2nd favorite series, following Lord of the Rings. This was one book I simply could not wait to get in the bookstore. Fantastic stuff

Rating:
Summary: A rushed finale to an otherwise terrific series.
Review: The Galatic Milieu series is one of the best I've ever read and May's writing was as sterling as ever in this book. I even bought the hardcover edition since I couldn't wait to see how it all ended.

But Magnificat let me down. It felt rushed, something none of the other books did, and wrapped too neatly. Still she's created some of the most memorable characters I've ever read. They'll stay with me.