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tapestry's review
4.0
I generally struggle with "older" scifi/fantasy -- in part because it's occasionally difficult to let my contemporary beliefs skim past ideals or expectations which may no longer be acceptable in today's society (translation: roles pertaining to gender, race or sexuality). And consequently, because so many of these factors color their larger works, it means I can't appreciate tons of otherwise good novels.
Julian May's Saga of the Pliocene skirts on the latter end of these Slightly Problematic Stories (written in the late '70s, early '80s), but barring the occasional jarring moment re: race or LGBTQ situations, I was staggered by how much I enjoyed The Many-Coloured Land and The Golden Torc. The prose was solid, the treatment of thought-speech sucked me right in, and the world both future and past felt fully-realized. There were a lot of quiet moments where I caught myself thinking "oh, this smacks a little of The Dragonriders of Pern", but never in a negative way -- the two series are uniquely their own, barring that fun little future -> past hop.
The main characters can at time be a bit formulaic, but for every too-charming and self-serving trickster (Aiken Drum, I am looking at you), there's the bizarre and entertaining absurdity of the borderline frat boy assholes falling head over heels in love with their ladies of choice -- a nice change of pace, considering that's usually the woman's role.
Julian May's Saga of the Pliocene skirts on the latter end of these Slightly Problematic Stories (written in the late '70s, early '80s), but barring the occasional jarring moment re: race or LGBTQ situations, I was staggered by how much I enjoyed The Many-Coloured Land and The Golden Torc. The prose was solid, the treatment of thought-speech sucked me right in, and the world both future and past felt fully-realized. There were a lot of quiet moments where I caught myself thinking "oh, this smacks a little of The Dragonriders of Pern", but never in a negative way -- the two series are uniquely their own, barring that fun little future -> past hop.
The main characters can at time be a bit formulaic, but for every too-charming and self-serving trickster (Aiken Drum, I am looking at you), there's the bizarre and entertaining absurdity of the borderline frat boy assholes falling head over heels in love with their ladies of choice -- a nice change of pace, considering that's usually the woman's role.
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