Rating: 
Summary: A convoluted yet predictable conclusion to the pentology
Review: I have loved SR Donaldson since the late 70's and Thomas Covenant mainly due to the bleakness and depth of the character development. The Gap series allowed for an OD of self-loathing, depression and depravity, though the plot was obviously a step up in the convolution scale from previous books by him. The conclusion to this series, though the route it takes is interesting, is ultimately predictable and is a bit "sweeter" than Donaldson has allowed before. Obviously a must read if you have read the previous Gap books but if interested in reading Donaldson start with the best "lord Foul's Bane"
Rating: 
Summary: This Day All Gods Die
Review: I have read all the previous books in the Gap series ,and awaited anxiously to the final book that will sum it all.
Well ,I wasn't disappointed - This book is realy a true Gap story ,continuing the other four.
The charecters have come here to the point that they to risk it all in the name of their goals and commitments :
From Morn ,who has to tell her story to the GCES ,exposing her crimes as well ( The Zone Implant ) ,To Holt who decides ,when all is at last exposed ,to risk everything and attack Suka Bator.
In my own opinion this book is more than a story ,it is an insight to Human nature and behavior - To all the good we are capable of ,and to the bad.
Donaldson here demonstrates again as he did in the chronicles of Thomas Covenant that he can remake the abstractity of Human nature to a story we all can learn something from ,and enjoy a good tale at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: This Day All Gods Die
Review: I have read all the previous books in the Gap series ,and awaited anxiously to the final book that will sum it all.Well ,I wasn't disappointed - This book is realy a true Gap story ,continuing the other four. The charecters have come here to the point that they to risk it all in the name of their goals and commitments : From Morn ,who has to tell her story to the GCES ,exposing her crimes as well ( The Zone Implant ) ,To Holt who decides ,when all is at last exposed ,to risk everything and attack Suka Bator. In my own opinion this book is more than a story ,it is an insight to Human nature and behavior - To all the good we are capable of ,and to the bad. Donaldson here demonstrates again as he did in the chronicles of Thomas Covenant that he can remake the abstractity of Human nature to a story we all can learn something from ,and enjoy a good tale at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: TDAGD was the icing on a cake I wanted to have and eat, too!
Review: I read THE REAL STORY, grimaced, and kept reading. Does this guy hate women? Is he mad at the law enforcement folks? I kept reading. I shelled out $30 I couldn't afford for the hardcover edition of TDAGD. Why? Because even if Morn is unbelievable, Davies annoying, and Warden Dios improbably insightful, Donaldson's writing sci-fi the way it's s'posed to be. Move over, DUNE.
Rating:
Summary: This book was like really groovy and stuff
Review: I thought the book was extremely tight. (That's 'cool' for all of you who don't speak ghetto) Some parts were mildly confusing such as the whole SOD chips and so on and so forth. On the whole though, at every new chapter I would be most upset because I wanted to know what was happening to the people in the previous chapter. At the end of that chapter, you wouldn't care about the other people and would want the chapter to go on. That doesn't make much sense so let me say this: The book was a 'truly excellent piece of liturature.' And the name is tight, too.
Rating:
Summary: Overlooked too often -- One of the best books I've ever read
Review: I was a big fan of Donaldson's previous fantasy novels, but he has almost lost me with this tedious series. I got half-way through the last book, where the least painful character was snuffed, thought "I don't care what bappens to the rest", and never read another page.The neurotic and agonised ramblings of *all* the characters really annoyed me, and made all the characters seem the same in the end. The Thomas Covenant character was bearable in those books because he was the main first person, and unique compared to the rest. But in the "Gap" series, they're ALL Thomas Covenant! All battling for what little sympathy I had for them. I wanted them all to die horribly after book 3, preferably from strokes which they deserved for all their fevered thoughts. And don't get me started on the pseudo-science either. The twists and turns started to seem arbitrary after a while (like "Wild Things", or the "How To Cook For Forty Humans" episode of the Simpsons) That said, there were some cool political setups and aliens. Don't bother with this series, but by all means go for Donaldson's earlier fantasy novels.
Rating: 
Summary: One Thomas Covenant is enough already!
Review: I was a big fan of Donaldson's previous fantasy novels, but he has almost lost me with this tedious series. I got half-way through the last book, where the least painful character was snuffed, thought "I don't care what bappens to the rest", and never read another page. The neurotic and agonised ramblings of *all* the characters really annoyed me, and made all the characters seem the same in the end. The Thomas Covenant character was bearable in those books because he was the main first person, and unique compared to the rest. But in the "Gap" series, they're ALL Thomas Covenant! All battling for what little sympathy I had for them. I wanted them all to die horribly after book 3, preferably from strokes which they deserved for all their fevered thoughts. And don't get me started on the pseudo-science either. The twists and turns started to seem arbitrary after a while (like "Wild Things", or the "How To Cook For Forty Humans" episode of the Simpsons) That said, there were some cool political setups and aliens. Don't bother with this series, but by all means go for Donaldson's earlier fantasy novels.
Rating:
Summary: The final and best of the series
Review: I'm going to assume that people reading this review have read the four books leading up to it. That said...
Two planetoids have been destroyed in the past two books. How can Donaldson match the destruction in this fifth and final addition to the series? A final Amnion/Human confrontation in Earth orbit, of course! This is without a doubt the most intense of the books, while at the same time not as graphic as the first three were.
The internal conflicts on the characters are staggering. Ciro has gone insane, Dios continues his battle against the untouchable Holt Fastner in a desperate struggle to attain restitution. His success will depend on Davies, Morn, Vector and Angus.
As for the person who said that Donaldson became too wimpy to kill off main characters, I say "huh?" I'll not reveal which people die, but main characters DO meet their demises in this book.
I do agree with that reviewer's gripe that some of the 'wrecklessness' has been lost. If you've read the fourth book, and I'm assuming you have, you know that Nick was killed. Succorso, along with Dios (who is extremely well developed in this book) was my favorite character. His absence in The Gap into Ruin is my main gripe...I really miss his temper, his chaotic genius, his unpredictability. Nick Soccorso was one of the best villains ever contrived. Why couldnt he win?!
Other than that, no real complaints--the political intrigues are as complicated as ever, the character development as solid as ever. I just missed Nick!
Rating:
Summary: Like a good ending, this finishes the story.
Review: If you have read the other four books in this series, then you will have to read this one to finish the story. Chances are, if you didn't read the first four books, then you will not read the last book either. Sure its not terribly realisrtic, but if you want realistic science, you should visit your local radioshack.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent Finale!
Review: In 'The Real Story', Donaldson ruminates on how he permuted Wagner's 'Ring' into what would become this series. All through the books I was anxiosuly awaiting to see how it would wind up. I was considerably worried in the in-betweener books (if I see another analysis of what the hell happened on the illegal station again, I'll barf.) However, in this book, we are not bored to tears, and the intrigue is actually exciting and interesting. My doubts were turned to admiration as i closed the last page, after reading extracts from Hashi's diaries, I could appreciate the title even more. Now, I think I'm going to curl up wiht my bilingual copy of the ring and the elder edda.
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