Rating: 
Summary: This SERIES did nothing for me.
Review: A friend bought me these books for a present, and I was none too impressed. I HAD TO KEEP A DICTIONARY BY THE BED the entire time I was reading it. Hey folks, I'm no dummy, college educated and all, but this book's vocab was much higher than mine. Also, the story was VERY broken up into bits that the writer never seemed to fill in. I could not seem to figure out how certain characters got certain powers and were at certain places at certain times. Maybe it just me. Eh, what the heck, READ THE BOOK! Its great! If your IQ is over 160 maybe you'll enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: This SERIES did nothing for me.
Review: A friend bought me these books for a present, and I was none too impressed. I HAD TO KEEP A DICTIONARY BY THE BED the entire time I was reading it. Hey folks, I'm no dummy, college educated and all, but this book's vocab was much higher than mine. Also, the story was VERY broken up into bits that the writer never seemed to fill in. I could not seem to figure out how certain characters got certain powers and were at certain places at certain times. Maybe it just me. Eh, what the heck, READ THE BOOK! Its great! If your IQ is over 160 maybe you'll enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Book 2 0f 4 of the best sci-fi series ever written
Review: As I keep saying, Julian May is unmatched in sci-fi for prose
that is at once flowing and four-dimensional. She makes her worlds seem alive, ultra-real, and her characters are the deepest in the genre. How she somehow managed to create so many characters of such soul in so few pages for this series is beyond me.I laughed with Aiken Drum, cried with Elizabeth Orme, sympathized with Bryan Grenfell, and trembled at Felice Landry's rage. Our heroes embark on escaping the servitude of the alien, psychically-powered Tanu. The plot thickens, the action escalates, the characters evolve-- some even die, sometimes fulfilled, sometimes not. This is space opera at its finest. Even secondary characters-- certain alien Tanu that actually sympathize with enslaved human-- are touching. You understand something of their motivations, their soul. All while reading in disbelief, wondering how May writes such effortless, vivid scenes. Her creativity is unmatched-- the world she sees must have color, sound, texture all magnified to the umpteenth degree. Yes, you might need a dictionary to read some of her books. But what joy, to learn such new, colorful words, and savor how she uses them!
Rating:
Summary: Book 2 0f 4 of the best sci-fi series ever written
Review: As I keep saying, Julian May is unmatched in sci-fi for prose
that is at once flowing and four-dimensional. She makes her worlds seem alive, ultra-real, and her characters are the deepest in the genre. How she somehow managed to create so many characters of such soul in so few pages for this series is beyond me. I laughed with Aiken Drum, cried with Elizabeth Orme, sympathized with Bryan Grenfell, and trembled at Felice Landry's rage. Our heroes embark on escaping the servitude of the alien, psychically-powered Tanu. The plot thickens, the action escalates, the characters evolve-- some even die, sometimes fulfilled, sometimes not. This is space opera at its finest. Even secondary characters-- certain alien Tanu that actually sympathize with enslaved human-- are touching. You understand something of their motivations, their soul. All while reading in disbelief, wondering how May writes such effortless, vivid scenes. Her creativity is unmatched-- the world she sees must have color, sound, texture all magnified to the umpteenth degree. Yes, you might need a dictionary to read some of her books. But what joy, to learn such new, colorful words, and savor how she uses them!
Rating:
Summary: Haiku Review
Review: Celtic myth meets hard
Science six million years ago.
Gibraltar climax.
Rating:
Summary: It just gets better
Review: Continuing with one group of the characters from The Many-Colored Land, this volume in May's Pliocene Exile series introduces us to Tanu society in greater depth. Catch up with Aiken Drum and Co. as they gradually find their places within this new situation. Watch Elizabeth as she struggles with her destiny. Get the first glimpse of a new power which will make the next two volumes so stressful. Never before have I read such a coherent and well-considered setting. Too much series fiction either consists of disparate works later retrofitted to a common universe or poorly-realized attempts to emulate Tolkien, etc. May has created a vigorous and exciting world that sucks the reader in and doesn't let go. Check it out!
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't get into it
Review: Follow-on to the equally difficult Many-Colored Land. Too much philosophy, too many wierd names (hard to pronounce), too much non-action. In short, too many pages.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, original concepts and great intricate plot!
Review: Following the fascinating first volume of the Saga of Pliocene Exile was probably a difficult affair, but May pulls it off with almost impossible ease. Somehow she manages to continue the story started in the first book while still having The Golden Torc stand mostly on its own as a separate novel. Of course, reading the first is required, but the continuity is not so dense that new readers can't figure out what's going on. May keeps the action moving by shuffling all her plots around, and keeping tight rein on the huge cast of characters. Occassionally there are so many that you lose sight of some, but never enough so you lose the story. Julian May shows that none of her characters are safe, killing off some of the original cast, adding some more, and basically keeping the reader guessing to the end. Better than a sequel, it's a continuation that leaves the reader satisified and at the same time wanting more. Good thing there's a volume three. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I hear it calling my name . . .
Rating:
Summary: Keepin' the streak alive
Review: Following the fascinating first volume of the Saga of Pliocene Exile was probably a difficult affair, but May pulls it off with almost impossible ease. Somehow she manages to continue the story started in the first book while still having The Golden Torc stand mostly on its own as a separate novel. Of course, reading the first is required, but the continuity is not so dense that new readers can't figure out what's going on. May keeps the action moving by shuffling all her plots around, and keeping tight rein on the huge cast of characters. Occassionally there are so many that you lose sight of some, but never enough so you lose the story. Julian May shows that none of her characters are safe, killing off some of the original cast, adding some more, and basically keeping the reader guessing to the end. Better than a sequel, it's a continuation that leaves the reader satisified and at the same time wanting more. Good thing there's a volume three. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I hear it calling my name . . .
Rating:
Summary: The perfect science fiction fantasy?
Review: I first read this series many years ago after a friend recommended it. Ever since, I've been searching in vain for more science fiction fantasy that captures me the way this one did. The four Pliocene books are, in my opinion, May's best. The others in the Galactic Milieu series run a close second. Her other stuff is so-so, readable but not exceptional. I was struck initially by the story, and also by the quality of the writing. It's so different, and much better, than anything else I've read in the genre, and manages to largely avoid the usual time travel anachronistic and self-referential cliches. I've recently finished reading the whole thing (including the other Milieu books) yet again, and I'm still amazed and moved by the experience, from the initial familiarity with the need of the misfits to leave, to the ultimate understanding of Atoning Unifex. Tremendous stuff.
| 
