Adversary

Rating:
Summary: Surpasses Asimov's "foundation" as greatest Series of all
Review: Adversary wraps up the 4-book "Saga" with superior style. JM creates a climax which is the perfect extension of all that came before. No last-minute change of heart 'ala Darth Vader in "Return of the Jedi". May's characters live out the natural extention of who they are and how they came to be. I am unusually sad that we will hear no more of Aiken, Lord Sugoll, Marc and Elizabeth. In the 9 books which make up this story arc there are close to 4000 pages. Who could believe that is not enough. Hollywood could never do justice to this story but lord, how I wish they would try.

Rating:
Summary: Great Genius
Review: Hi, The Exile series is a great burst vision and creativity and originality. I originally read the series 10 years ago when i started uni. I didn't get it. But now it makes sense, i can appreciate the genius. Especially with "magic" being replaced with metaphysics, it updated the tolken genre for recent times. I would rate the Phillip jose pharmer "World of tiers series", as slightly better, but Mays writing style and originality are awesome.

Also, I have been experimenting with lucid dreaming, so i can appreciate the various "meta" powers first hand!

I look forward to the milieu series. I can be contacted on [e-mail] for any comments, and btw where is the julian may web site?

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Novel
Review: I liked this book a lot. I put off reading anything else until I finished this series. My only singular complaint is the order in which they were published in relation to the Galactic Milieu. I made the mistake of reading Jack the Bodiless a couple of years ago and subsequenlty forgot the tittle and author. I then read the Saga of the Pliocence Exile on the prompting of a friend. I found myself vaugely remembering the name Marc Remillard. It took me weeks to figure out what this was all about, and by then I had finished the Pliocene Exile without realizing it might have been easier just to have read Galatic Mileu first so I could figure out what was up with Marc. I just satrted re-reading Jack the Bodiless and plan to then read the Pliocene exile again so I can sort it all out. It is much easier to read them in order of the events taking place than the order of the publication date.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Intervention
Review: I read this series and was not impressed. I found it cliched and badly written. This put me off reading the Intevention series which is connected (though tenuously). When I did read a friends copy of Intervention because I was deperate for something to read I loved it and I find it hard to believe that the same person wrote both series. A lot of people disagree.

Rating:
Summary: The best of science fiction
Review: Juliam May delivers this in final book to the saga of the Many Colored Land. Her ability to create a history and tie it to the 'present' surpasses all other writers who attempt to create an all-inclusive universe. She blends fiction with real life so that the reader can readily believe her fabulous tales.

Rating:
Summary: the culmination of one of sf's most intriguing tales
Review: Like most readers, I read the Exile quartet before the other Galactic Milieu books, and after Adversary, I was hungry for more. I don't believe there is another blend of sf/fantasy quite like May's sweeping vision, and I have read all 9 books in the series several times. I wonder why Hollywood hasn't gotten its blood soaked hands on this saga yet...

Rating:
Summary: Great Stuff
Review: May's sweeping vision of the future and the past linked together is truly unique. Earth, 6 million years ago, dominated by a malevolent alien race, enslaving a time-travelling humanity. This final book of the series handles its climaxes well and raises issues to be addressed in the future or the past -- certainly in the next series of books by May. Julian May's vision of Pleiocine Earth questions the heritage of the human race: past, present and future. It is intensely thought-provoking and draws from influences as varied as mythology, psychology, religion, politics and folklore. One of the best marriages of both hard science fiction and fantasy I've seen to date. The ending could use a bit more of a denouement -- it would be nice to have more time to savor the climax - but all in all, a masterful series that is highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: BLOWS MY MIND
Review: My Dad has had the first three books in The Saga of the Exiles hanging around for as long as I can remember and I finally got around to reading them about 2 weeks ago. And I ate them up, hoo boy. The first three were a literary feast and by the time I finished The Non-Born King I NEEDED to read The Adversary and I finally found it in the library at my university. And let me tell you, folks, this book is the crowning glory on the best achievement in sci-fi writing to date. What an amazing culmination of all May's talents- her wonderful, evocative prose, the flawless creation of her characters, the twisting, thrilling plot, to name a few.
The Adversary details the lead up to the Grand Tourney, Aiken Drum's substitute for the Grand Combat, the contest itself and its repercussions. And what repercussions. I'm not gonna tell you, you'll have to read the book ;). Such a short summary is hardly worthy of the novel itself, but to go into more detail would be to ruin May's carefully crafted work- and by the time you finish the last page, you'll be astounded by the depth and breadth of her vision.
Before I read The Saga of the Exiles, my favourite fantasy/sci-fi series was Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun- but I found Julian May's Saga infinitely more gripping, confronting and so much more entertaining. I've heard criticisms of the series, none of which I agree with, the two foremost that 1. it's difficult to understand a lot of her language without a dictionary by your side, but to this I say: even if it's so for you, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T BE PUT OFF. You'll never find a series more rewarding than this one.
The second criticism I've heard was 2. that it's clear cut good vs. evil. I've never heard anything sillier in my life. One of the main things I loved about the Saga was its ambiguity in terms of where the reader's loyalty can lie- I wanted EVERYONE to win at some point, `elfin' Tanu, `demonic' Firvulag, Lowlife humans; and I've heard a lot of people express their love for Marc Remillard, the infamous Adversary himself.
All I can leave you with is this: wow. What a beautiful series. The Adversary- what a BRILLIANT bloody ending. So satisfying. Oh. God. I think I'm going to go start The Many-Coloured Land again and read the whole series a second time. How fabulous. Oh. Wow.


Rating:
Summary: Climactic end of a great series
Review: The Adversary is the last in the Pliocene exile series and delivers fireworks. It is especially interesting to see the evolution and fleshing out of the main players in the Many-Colored Land, Marc Remilliard, Aiken Drum, Elizabeth Orme, etc. The writing style is as rich and colorful as the other books, and Julian May has solidified and expanded many of definitions in her metapsychic universe. In addition, not everything is explained away. The future and past contain unknowns that lead into the Milieu Trilogy and the Intervention series that turn out as surprising and thought-provoking as this first series. This remains one of my favorite books.

Rating:
Summary: Climactic end of a great series
Review: The Adversary is the last in the Pliocene exile series anddelivers fireworks. It is especially interesting to seethe evolution and fleshing out of the main players in the Many-Colored Land, Marc Remilliard, Aiken Drum, Elizabeth Orme, etc. The writing style is as rich and colorful as the other books, and Julian May has solidified and expanded many of definitions in her metapsychic universe. In addition, not everything is explained away. The future and past contain unknowns that lead into the Milieu Trilogy and the Intervention series that turn out as surprising and thought-provoking as this first series. This remains one of my favorite books.