Julian May: Conqueror's Moon (2003)

Edition: Voyager, 2003
Review number: 1216

May begins her third series (discounting the collaborative Trillium novels) with this story, part one of The Boreal Moon Tale. Like the Trillium series, it is a fairly standard fantasy and even shares one of the main features of these, novels, a system of magic in which stones and crystals play an important role as repositories of power. (This is something which can be seen in a lot of post-Tolkien fantasy, of course.)

The setting is the island of High Blenholme, once part of a large empire but now divided into petty kingdoms. Three are particularly important to May's story: Cathra, which seeks to re-unite the island as a response to a lengthy famine; Didion, the main opponent to this unification; and Moss, home of the strongest magicians where the royal family is divided between supporters of the other two mentioned nations. A lot of the story is structured around the personalities of the members of the royal families of Cathra and Moss, which makes the politics more believable than those in the quest and lost heir stories which are the staples of the genre.

Something else which is unusual is that the novel is written in such a way that the reader is on the side of the aggressor; almost always in fantasy, military matters are arranged so that the reader sympathises with those who are attacked. This is more generally the case at least in post 1945 literature; given that Tolkien wrote at least partly in response to the Second World War in the most influential fantasy novel, it is hardly surprising that I can't actually think of another example in the genre.

There are things which don't quite work. For example, the character of the ambitious teenage prince of Moss, Beynor, is not sufficiently three dimensional. He is so much a stereotypical teenager, whiny and irritating, that it is hard to see why the rulers of Didion take him at all seriously. (This is one of the factors used to cement the reader's sympathy with the Cathran side.) Surely he would not be the kind of person anyone would rest their strategy for defending their kingdom on.

The beginning is dull and formulaic; I suspect that there will be quite a few potential readers who have given up after the first few pages. In the introduction, we are introduced to the idea that The Boreal Moon Tale is the memoirs of a Cathran wizard; this, though is the only part of the novel written in the first person. It is extremely like the arch little historical introductions of which David Eddings is fond, right down to the turns of phrase, and if there is one writer I never expected the author of the Pleistocene Exile saga to remind me of, David Eddings would probably have been it. This describes the problem I had with Conqueror's Moon - it is good, and it has something out of the ordinary about it, but it is not as inventive and unusual as May has been at her best.

Julian May: Sagittarius Whorl (2001)

Edition: Voyager, 2001
Review number: 974

Though the Rampart Worlds series was not announced in advance as a trilogy, it has turned out to be one. The second novel, Orion Arm, didn't read like a typical mid-part of a trilogy, but as a member of a longer series, in my opinion a good thing; now, though, Sagittarius Whorl seems to be a longer narrative squeezed into a single volume, which is less good.

A large part of the story is told as flashback, which reduces the suspense, until the point when this catches up, from where it is a rapid rollercoaster ride to the end. The beginning comes two years after the end of Orion Arm, at the end of a legal battle with Rampart's rival Concern Galapharma masterminded by trilogy central character Asahel Frost. He then sets off alone on a trip to verify his suspicions that the Haluk aliens are not keeping to the terms of their treaty with humanity - something which works only too well when he is kidnapped and an illegal clone takes his place.

While May's aims in this series clearly include writing something simpler than her Galactic Milieu novels, something which will be a series of science fiction thrillers, this novel in particular contains undertones relating to the history of the genre, particularly in the US. During the fifties and sixties, a lot of xenophobic literature was produced, and the idea of an alien invasion (especially when there was a human fifth column) was frequently used as a metaphor for McCarthyite fears of a Communist takeover. The plot of Sagittarius Whorl is very close to these ideas, so that May ends up working quite hard to make it seem less so, with frequent hints that not all the Haluk are evil and dangerous while some humans are. The best that can be said for much of this older science fiction is that it produced exciting stories, and the Rampart Worlds trilogy is obviously a successful attempt to reproduce this. The main way that May makes things palatable to modern sensibilities is by putting much of the blame for the way that the human-Haluk situation develops on greedy human capitalists. (Other ways to re-work the ideas have been appearing recently, an example being the scenario of the Roswell High books and TV series.)

Julian May: Orion Arm (1999)

Edition: HarperCollins, 1999
Review number: 595

At its beginning, Orion Arm reads as though it will just be a repeat of the first of the Rampart Worlds series, Perseus Spur. Having resigned once again from the family corporation after a row with his father and sister, Asahel Frost returns to the Caribbean-style world of Kile-Lockaby, back to his small business as a diving safari guide. There, once again, he just manages to escape a murder attempt prompted by the firm of Galapharm which is out to take over Rampart Starcorp. To this point, the plot is almost identical to that of the first half of Perseus Spur, and there continue to be similarities until near the end.

That the two novels share a lot of their plots is not really a critical problem; I think Orion Arm is intended to be a repetition of Perseus Spur at a heightened level of intensity. Like the earlier novel, it is a classy thriller with a science fiction background. It is much longer, and yet the excitement doesn't flag - a sign of a well written thriller. The way things are left, there should be at least one more Rampart Worlds novel, and I will expect another enjoyable read even if not innovative science fiction.

Julian May: The Perseus Spur (1998)

Edition: Voyager, 1998
Review number: 481

Compared to the imaginative Galactic Milieu framework which ties together May's earlier novels, the background to The Perseus Spur is unambitious. The novel itself is accessible and enjoyable, and is basically an undemanding thriller with a science fiction setting.

The major powers in this book, the first in a series, are not governments but immense corporations, the Hundred Concerns. Even companies which are not considered important enough to become Concerns control hundreds of planets; one of these is to a large extent run by the Frost family. The central character of The Perseus Spur is Asahel Frost, who was disinherited when he chose to become an investigator for one of the few governmental organisations still in existence and who is now living life as a diving tour operator on a Caribbean style world (whose wildlife is mainly named after creatures from Jabberwocky) after being framed for corruption when his work threatened the plans of one of the Concerns.

Yet, even with his total lack of power, he still becomes the victim of a series of murder attempts which also lead to him uncovering a secret which could destroy a group of Concerns - his only problem in using it is lack of proof.

As science fiction, The Perseus Spur is old fashioned, and could mostly have been written in the fifties. I was particularly reminded of Asimov's The Stars Like Dust. It was probably fun to write, and it is certainly fun to read, but not innovative or ground breaking.

Julian May: Intervention (1987)

Edition: HarperCollins, 1987
Review number: 166

In terms of publication date, Intervention falls between the Saga of the Exiles series and the Galactic Milieu trilogy; in terms of the internal chronology, it comes before either (time travel making later events in the lives of May's characters happen millions of years before earlier ones). It is May's longest work, and has an expository character, filling in much of the background of the other series.

Intervention is the memoirs of Rogatien Remeillard, one of the first of that family to discover their mental powers, and a fond great-uncle reluctantly pushed into action to manipulate his family toward greater mental operancy. (The pushing is done by an invisible presence, which Rogi calls the Family Ghost.) As the mental powers of human beings over a century or so, the excitement of watching aliens mounts; they are waiting for a certain level of operancy to be reached before making their presence known and inviting the human race to apply for membership of the Galactic Milieu.

Intervention is long, sufficiently long that I think the US edition was split into two parts published separately. May manages to keep the interest of the reader, but the book's character is definitely explanatory and is much more aimed at those interested in the two related series rather than those yet to read them.

Julian May: The Adversary (1984)

Edition: Pan, 1984
Review number: 141

In the final book of the Saga of the Exiles series, the rebel metapsychic Marc Remeillard plays a large part; the title of the novel itself is one of his nicknames. His children, and the others of their generation, inhabiting the small settlement set up by the rebels, have gone to Europe, with the intention of setting up a copy of the time gate at the Pleistocene end so that they can return to the future. They were too young to have been involved in the rebellion, and hope for acceptance by the Concilium which rules the human polity.

Marc, however, has his own plans for them The roots of his disagreement with the Concilium were his plans for Mental Man, an entity purely of the mind. He wanted to accelerate human evolution to achieve this, using his own genes as a basis (as a member of the strongest human family of metapsychics, with a unique gene giving self-rejuvenation, he was a not unreasonable choice). But the death of his wife in the fighting occasioned by his refusal to accept the Concilium decision to discontinue his research led to a psychological infertility (his germ plasm no longer appeared to be fertile). Thus his plans relied on the availability of germ plasm from his children, hence his determination not to let them travel six million years into the future. He has been unable to bring himself to tell them, partly because he doesn't know what he would do in case of refusal, and partly because he hopes he himself might recover.

Naturally, the various factions with political interest in the Many-Coloured Land all wish to explot this scenario for their own ends. This provides the main interest of the novel.

Julian May: The Non-Born King (1983)

Edition: Pan, 1983
Review number: 121

The third of May's Saga of the Exiles follows on from the climactic events of The Golden Torc, which ended with the Atlantic flooding in past Gibraltar to begin the creation of the modern Mediterranean. The three communities, Tanu, human and Firvulag, are all seeking to rebuild in various ways, the different factions among them trying to use the chaos - coming more from the deaths of a large proportion of the Tanu ruling class than from the other damage done - to seize power and influence events.

The major factions are the main body of the Tanu, led by the extraordinary human Aiken Drum (a test-tube baby, the non-born king of the title); the traditionalist Tanu, looking for a return to the old ways of before the arrival of the humans; the Firvulag, who escaped from the catastrophe relatively unscathed but in uneasy alliance with Drum; the Howlers, deformed Firvulag who have finally discovered that the radioactive stone around their country is causing their problem and desiring re-integration with the main body of Firvulag society; a peace faction, led by the human operant Elizabeth; and the remnants of the Lowlives, human rebels against the Tanu, who have discovered that the aliens are poisoned by iron.

Into the political bickering of these well-established factions erupts a new force. Marc Remeillard is familiar to those who have read May's later published (though earlier conceived) novels, Intervention and the Galactic Milieu trilogy. I don't remember his introduction into the story being confusing the first time I read The Non-Born King, without the benefit of reading the later books, but I can easily see that it might cause a great deal of difficulty for a reader. The story is that after the rebellion's failure (detailed in the Galactic Milieu trilogy), a band of the metapsychics involved escaped through the time gate, lead by Remeillard, who was the main instigator of the rebellion. (Hence, to the people of the Milieu he is known as Abaddon, or the Adversary.) This group settled in Pleistocene Florida, where they have been searching for the early civilizations of the other species who make up the Galactic Milieu. The disorganisation of Tanu society has now convinced some of the younger members of the group that they can take advantage of the confusion to take over the time gate and construct a mechanism to enable them to return to the future.

As The Many Coloured Land was a preparation for the dramatic events of The Golden Torc, this novel is a scene setter for the climax of the series in The Adversary. The plot is less exciting, though the alien politics are interesting. The focus of the book is on establishing new characters and deepening our understanding of old ones. This process does reveal some limitations in May's ability to create characters that differ in depth as well as on the surface; many of the alien characters are extremely sketchy.

Julian May: The Golden Torc (1982)

Edition: Pan, 1982
Review number: 99

The second of May's Pliocene-set Saga of the Exiles series, The Golden Torc continues from where The Many Coloured Land left off. The humans from the group focused upon in the first novel are continuing to make a large contribution to the alien society they have found themselves in. Aiken Drum is insinuating himself into the highest echelons of society; Elizabeth is trying not to let the Tanu take advantage of her newly recovered mental capacity; Richard is still seeking Mercy (who in fact has married one of the Tanu aristocracy); Claude and Felice are with the rebel "Low-Lifes".

The novel builds to a climax at the annual battle between the Tanu and Firvulag; a variety of schemes involving the different members of the group are set to come to fruition at the tournament. They are all upstaged by the actions of Felice, who causes an earthquake which breaches the straits of Gibraltar and floods the Mediterranean with water from the Atlantic (the Mediterranean being a series of salt water marshes and lagoons at around this period, apparently), sweeping away the city of Muriah where the battle is taking place.

The book is well put together, and the climax is in the best traditions of science fiction.

Julian May: The Many-Coloured Land (1982)

Edition: Pan, 1983
Review number: 77

The Many Coloured Land is the first of Julian May's Exiles series set in the Pleistocene, and was one of my favourite speculative fiction books in my teenage years. I've been putting off re-reading it for two reasons: firstly, I was waiting until I had copies of my own of the four books in the series, and secondly, I was rather apprehensive that I wouldn't think it so good this time round.

The book still seems original even fifteen years on. The plot reveloves around time travel. While the book is set at a time when time travel is not understood in general, one working application is sure. In the wilds of Provence, a portal has been successfully set up, allowing one way travel to the Pleistocene era six million years before the present day. (Attempting the return journey causes passed material to age six million years almost instantaneously.)

The portal becomes used by people who don't fit in in the human polity, the commonwealth of human-colonised worlds, to escape to some kind of different world. Since recording equipment is destroyed before it returns to the future, conditions in the past are unknown; prospective exiles need to be desperate enough to consider anything better than their current lives.

The book tells the story of one particular group of exiles - one which will become significant in the history of the time to which they travel. May gives the background to each member's reasons for taking the journey, and the ideas they have for what they might do in the past.

Once they arrive in the Pleistocene, they discover a situation completely different from any they could have imagined. The world is run by two alien races, the Tanu and the Firvulag, who are in conflict though tied together as a single dimorphic species. (Humans are yet to evolve; until the exiles began coming through the portal, the aliens had used the semi-intelligent ramapithecines as servants, controlled through the power of their minds amplified by metal torcs.)

The remainder of the book concerns the different adaptations made by the travellers to this condition.

Why is the book so good? It takes several of the most important themes of science fiction (time travel, alien invasion, psionic powers, first contact) and weaves them together in a new and surprising way. This is complemented by a well-thought-out set of characters, presented in easily readable prose.