Rating: 
Summary: A simple prelude to an awesome series.
Review: How to describe this book? It's revolting and it's fascinating. It is simple; a hero, a villain and a fair maiden, and it immensely complex; three versions of the story tell you what seemed to happen, what happened and finally the gut-wrenching truth of what each of them felt while it happenend. The shortness of the book belies the depth of emotion created within. At the end I hated Angus Thermopyle with a vengeance which surprised me, for he is only a fictional character! My heart wailed for Morn; his victim. However, in the sequels pity swiftly vanishes; Morn reacts fiercely to her predicament; like a cat in a trap she sets her claws into every opportunity, however small, to get herself out. And because of what Angus and gap-sickness did to her she is also slightly mad; which makes every leap unpredictable. Add to this a storyline like a rollercoaster, a universe amazingly intricate and Donaldson's usual ruthless psychological displaying of his cast of characters and you have the most awesome series I have ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: It's a ripoff until you read the Afterword
Review: When I finished The Real Story, I was disappointed. The extraordinary prose Donaldson exhibited in the Thomas Covenant series was missing. A short story had been expanded into a $7.00 book.
But I had a bit of time on my hands, and decided to read the Afterword.
Now I understand, and have just begun the second book in this series. I hope it lives up to the promise Donaldson made in The Real Story.
Rating:
Summary: Eat your heart out, Shakespeare!
Review: Donaldson has created something here which I can only describe as a symphony of words. He has a magical ability to orchestrate language that is pure delight, and a story-weaving talent that leaves you gasping for breath at the end of each chapter. You don't read this book, you experience it. Combining the genius of Homer, the intrigue of Jules Verne, the mystery of Arthur Conan Doyle, and the earthy wit of Mark Twain, this series captivates you in a way that few stories can. To say "I couldn't put it down" would be a gross understatement; to call it a "roller-coaster ride" would not do it justice. If this epic can ever overcome the stigma of being named science-fiction, it will surely be praised as a priceless work of literature, set on the shelf alongside TOM SAWYER, if not THE ODDESSY; but on my shelf, it has already reached that honor.
Rating:
Summary: This one gives space opera a good name.
Review: Thomas Covenant fans, brace yourselves. This is not for those who enjoy only clearly defined good battling clearly defined evil.
This one (and its sequels) is a page-turner that has kept me up until 3 AM. The scene is an Earth-dominated system of faraway space stations
where everything is dominated by the ever-present threat of gene-working aliens. Well, it won't do to give the plot away. Suffice it to say that
while there are characters to identify with, few of them are completely good or evil - Donaldson is fiendishly good at
avoiding "character flatness". And the power relationships change dizzingly throughout the series. (Read the author's afterword
on the literary scheme he used.) A masterpiece psychological thriller!
Rating: 
Summary: Disturbing, violent, nightmarish, and occasionally revolting
Review: ...but also an extremely well written beginning to an excellent series. Make no mistake, this book is not for the faint-hearted. There are scenes in here that'll make the blood boil and the stomach turn. And most of the book deals with the relationship (if you can call it that) between Angus Thermopyle and Morn Hyland, with Morn acting as little more than a toy of Angus, who gets most of the character development. Donaldson takes us deep into the recesses Thermopyle's twisted soul, and makes the reader wallow with Morn in those festering sewers. This is actually necessary to understand her motivations later in the series, since The Real Story is mostly set-up for what follows later. Really, it's well-written stuff that stays with you long after you put the book down (whether you want it to or not). If you can get through it, it's worth the read. But make sure you continue the series. But if you're looking for an uplifting, mind-expanding story with a happy ending, look somewhere else.
Rating: 
Summary: No Good
Review: There's a vein of rabid misogyny that runs through most of Donaldson's books. In some stories, such as the Mirror of her Dreams books, it's possible to overlook it. That is not the case in The Real Story. This book is basically a 300 page rape scene. I really can't recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: (series review) Brilliantly twisted roller-coaster ride
Review: This is the first of five books centering around three central characters, each balanced and very well developed (with serious weaknesses, as all of Donaldson's characters seem to have). At times, you might find yourself sympathizing for the antagonist, and feeling unsure of who you want to "root" for. While each book is separate on its own (and each has a prologue summarizing prior books, like Covenant), it is best treated as a single story.
There is sexual content in the series that some may find offensive, especially in the first book. It definitely adds to the story, and the emotional ride Donaldson delivers. If you read the "Thomas Covenant" series, you know how his books sometimes make you feel like you were run over by a Mack-Truck, and this series will definitely do that to you - but there are highs as well as lows (compared to Covenant, which was mostly depressing to me).
The story line of the series is fascinating - much like Strachzynski's "Babylon 5" series, the characters are greatly influenced by political events, maneuvered like pawns until they move in unexpected manners. The first book is a "quickie", more of an introduction to the series. As the series progresses, it becomes increasingly complicated (in a delicious way). It's not hard-core sci-fi, in that the technology is not the focus of the story - it could take place in submarines or pirate ships in the ocean almost as easily.
I enjoyed this series a lot more than The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Another good read by Donaldson is his collection of short stories, "Daughter of the Regal", which I'd highly recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: Embarrassed to admit I read this
Review: I'm embarrassed to admit I read this. So why am I confessing? Maybe it's good therapy. Unbelievable characters. Trite dialog. Flat out stupid plot. And the worst thing is, the 4 book "series" that this begins isn't so much a series of 4 books, but 1 big lame book split into 4 installments. A real series would have distinct stories, a beginning and an end, with some sense of completion to each. This reads like a TV mini-series complete with a cliffhanger at the end of each night's episode.
So, if I hated it so much, why 2 stars instead of 1? Somehow the author managed to trick me into reading every book. I got to the end of the first and thought "oh that was awful, I have to read the next one."
Take my advice and avoid this like crack: it's easier never to start than to try to stop.
Rating:
Summary: Obscenely Compelling
Review: This was not what I expected - a sorta soft porn adventure soap opera among the stars. In this case, the science fiction is only a backdrop to the "real" book, a study in characters. A dark and dreary mood permeates this story (and the following ones). Sure, you don't want a steady diet but for a change of pace...
I loved Morn and in a perverse way, came to feel something for Angus. Their relationship was more than master-slave, involving a deeply disturbing complexity. Actually, I had no trouble getting through the book although I admit that the following works were better.
Rating:
Summary: A Solid Introduction to a Supposedly Grand Series
Review: I picked up this book not because I was a fan of Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series (I wasn't,) but because the controversy shrouding the book intrigued me, not to mention the fact that I'm a fan on the genre. Upon completion of the book, I was more impressed than I thought I'd be, though I hope the series picks up after The Real Story.
The book almost exclusively revolves around two characters (the sadistic pirate Angus and helpless ex-cop Morn) with Nick, a pirate possibly as devious yet infinitely more charismatic than Angus, making appearances here and there. These three characters form a classic victimizer/victim/rescuer trio, though they switch roles somewhat throughout the plot. I thought this a fairly interesting concept, though executed poorly--too much of the book focused on Angus and the atrocities he inflicted upon Morn. The majority of The Real Story was from Angus's point of view, establishing him as a diabolic yet cowardly captor, Morn his anguished captive.
I wanted to keep reading only to learn about Nick, the third main character that isn't a main character. Hopefully, he'll be more developed in the forthcoming books.
As for the brutality that's getting so much attention, it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd imagined it'd be--Donaldson did more telling than showing, as one reviewer mentioned. While this is generally a big no-no in professional writing, it spares us readers the really graphic descriptions. The infamous rape scenes are generally composed of a sentence from Angus's point of view, neglecting to delve into the agony it must have been for Morn.
All in all, a decent, if overly simple, introduction to the series. I just hope the sequels are more encompassing--i.e., more than two characters every hundred pages.
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