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josephine_1's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
bagelman's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
neilrcoulter's review
1.0
I don't often read sci-fi, and reading [a:Julian May|23284|Julian May|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1340457886p2/23284.jpg]'s [b:The Many-Coloured Land|378639|The Many-Coloured Land (Saga of Pliocene Exile, #1)|Julian May|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1174314750s/378639.jpg|368245] reminded me why. Some intriguing ideas (I like the idea of an uncertain, one-way time portal; a story about that doesn't need all of the alien politics cluttering it up), obscured by bland writing style, obnoxious characters, and inane dialogue. The writing seems to me about the same level as [a:Stephen Lawhead|7152942|Stephen Lawhead|https://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png] (complete with torcs and moustaches), a little below [a:C.J. Cherryh|989968|C.J. Cherryh|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1244675150p2/989968.jpg]; and as for the quote on the back cover, I seriously doubt that the Saga of the Exiles "will rival [b:The Lord of the Rings|33|The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388181159s/33.jpg|3462456] and [b:The Foundation Trilogy|46654|The Foundation Trilogy (Foundation, #1-3)|Isaac Asimov|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1316412178s/46654.jpg|41350]." The many typos and the irrelevant cover art don't help. The last hundred pages were quite a difficult trudge. If May hadn't already lost me before the explanation of possible alien origins of "Danny Boy," she definitely would've lost me there.
synoptic_view's review against another edition
Good popcorn reading. It is a perfect example of a "D&D story": it follows a small party of adventurers who are all broadly drawn archetypes (some might say stereotypes). The party finds itself thrust into an adventure with stakes that could include the end of the world. The characters have differing skills, jobs, and interests that ensure they will all have a role in the adventure. There is even a classic side quest to obtain upgraded weapons.
justiceofkalr's review against another edition
3.0
You might look at the cover and imagine that some bored illustrator made up the most ridiculous cover they could. But oh no, this book is really that and then some. This book is so ridiculous it's fun with a cool concept to help hold it up. Also, now I really want to know more about the pliocene after reading this.
docpacey's review against another edition
5.0
This is a classic of sci-fi world building that I have, quite uncharacteristically, reread many times. Julian May just recently passed, and quite coincidentally I have been reading a bit on nonfiction about paleontology and our ancestral and geological past, so a trip back to the Pliocene fit quite naturally. There is nothing about this saga that has aged poorly, and the characters are just as vibrant and compelling as they've always been. No doubt i will pick up the second book today.
orlion's review against another edition
4.0
The Many-Colored Land is a time travel/alien invasion/political intrigue/what-the-genre-is-this? novel. It is the first of four books comprising the Saga of the Pliocene Exiles. As the first book, it sets up the setting and some of the conflicts for the following books.
We begin our story six million years ago when some alien refugees and their dying space ship from another galaxy land on a planet (presumably Earth).
We then jump forward six million years to 2110, when the human race is part of a Galactic Milieu that is composed of five other alien races. This is a Golden Age for humanity, one that pisses off humans yearning for a simpler time when they could just speak French and be xenophobic assholes. Luckily for them, a "one way" time portal has been made on Earth that can transport these social outcasts six million years in the past to the Pliocene era, where they can leave behind the galactic civilization behind that they hate so much and pursue their individual dreams...
But once in the past, they find that the human time travelers have been enslaved by a new race of aliens known as the Tanu. They use humans to grow their food, mine their minerals, fight their battles, and be impregnated with their children. But some humans have escaped enslavement and joined forces with some of the Tanu's enemies in an attempt to free humanity from the yoke of Tanu servitude... whether they want it or not.
As you can tell, the story and perhaps the mood of the story jumps around a lot in this novel. It centers around eight of the Exile time travelers, each having their own reason to choose or be forced into taking this trip. Not knowing what awaits them, the first part of the novel deals with them making the decision to be Exiled and saying good bye to the worlds they have known and some of the comforts they will be leaving behind forever. It is intriguing, poignant, and sometimes inspirational in its romanticizing.
But there is no survivalist drama to be had in this series. Unlike in other 'libertarian' time travel stories like [b:Farnham's Freehold|50840|Farnham's Freehold|Robert A. Heinlein|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1170371993s/50840.jpg|2942974] our protagonists face off almost immediately with their antagonists. Any world building is done through the travel done by the characters as they are split into two groups. Eventually, the reader gets caught up in a rebellion storyline which concludes the novel and the setup for the series.
I found this to be an intelligent and quick read. Julian May, aside from having a terrific command of the English language, has also done plenty of research to help make her world of Pliocene Europe seem real to the readers. Even the alien cultures are given life by associating them with various Celtic folklore. The character variety is also satisfying. Each character is unique and rounded, with different races and sexual orientations thrown into the mix in a natural manner. Julian May is not necessarily writing a civilly progressive novel, but the way she treats writing different characters from different cultures as individual human beings with individual desires that define them is very refreshing and probably was/is ahead of its time. Each character is not merely the sum of its femininity/masculinity/homosexuality, rather each of those is part of a bigger whole.
We begin our story six million years ago when some alien refugees and their dying space ship from another galaxy land on a planet (presumably Earth).
We then jump forward six million years to 2110, when the human race is part of a Galactic Milieu that is composed of five other alien races. This is a Golden Age for humanity, one that pisses off humans yearning for a simpler time when they could just speak French and be xenophobic assholes. Luckily for them, a "one way" time portal has been made on Earth that can transport these social outcasts six million years in the past to the Pliocene era, where they can leave behind the galactic civilization behind that they hate so much and pursue their individual dreams...
But once in the past, they find that the human time travelers have been enslaved by a new race of aliens known as the Tanu. They use humans to grow their food, mine their minerals, fight their battles, and be impregnated with their children. But some humans have escaped enslavement and joined forces with some of the Tanu's enemies in an attempt to free humanity from the yoke of Tanu servitude... whether they want it or not.
As you can tell, the story and perhaps the mood of the story jumps around a lot in this novel. It centers around eight of the Exile time travelers, each having their own reason to choose or be forced into taking this trip. Not knowing what awaits them, the first part of the novel deals with them making the decision to be Exiled and saying good bye to the worlds they have known and some of the comforts they will be leaving behind forever. It is intriguing, poignant, and sometimes inspirational in its romanticizing.
But there is no survivalist drama to be had in this series. Unlike in other 'libertarian' time travel stories like [b:Farnham's Freehold|50840|Farnham's Freehold|Robert A. Heinlein|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1170371993s/50840.jpg|2942974] our protagonists face off almost immediately with their antagonists. Any world building is done through the travel done by the characters as they are split into two groups. Eventually, the reader gets caught up in a rebellion storyline which concludes the novel and the setup for the series.
I found this to be an intelligent and quick read. Julian May, aside from having a terrific command of the English language, has also done plenty of research to help make her world of Pliocene Europe seem real to the readers. Even the alien cultures are given life by associating them with various Celtic folklore. The character variety is also satisfying. Each character is unique and rounded, with different races and sexual orientations thrown into the mix in a natural manner. Julian May is not necessarily writing a civilly progressive novel, but the way she treats writing different characters from different cultures as individual human beings with individual desires that define them is very refreshing and probably was/is ahead of its time. Each character is not merely the sum of its femininity/masculinity/homosexuality, rather each of those is part of a bigger whole.
ornithopter1's review
2.0
:::::::::::::::
A clunky plot, with dissatisfying characters; all of which is poorly written in bland prose which skimps on the details and irritates with its pretentious use of unnecessary, labyrinthine vocabulary.
:::::::::::::::
The Many-Colored Land, sees a disparate bunch of misfits deliver themselves through a time-portal to ancient Earth. What they find there is not the wildness paradise they expect.
Too many characters are introduced in the first section of the book. A muddle of character introductions, giving each character their own chapter turn-by-turn, is a poor structure that gives too fleeting an impression of each protagonist. Partly due to this short-changing of character time and partly because of the poor writing, I found I was constantly forgetting who was who until I was a considerable way through the book. The plot setup is also rather clunky. Although this may be partly forgiven for the story-lines that the opening sets-up later in the book. Yes, some of the ideas were actually pretty decent despite all my other criticisms.
Once I had a grip on the characters I tried to enjoy the story, though there was so much to cause ire and irritation that my approval was only ever half-hearted. The choice of language is pretentious & obscure, and the prose has no rhythm whatsoever. It is a real. effort. to read. Julian May loves vocabulary - no bad thing in and of itself - unfortunately she chooses to use the full extent of her learning in a relentless fashion which makes some of the Physics papers I read for my dissertation look positively transparent! What is a pother? Oh its a 16th century word for a commotion. There is no nuance to the word 'pother' which would delineate from that of the perfectly useful 'commotion'. Thanks, Julian, for making me look that up, completely deadening the rhythm of my reading. But, um, what is an OPAQUE pother? Well, it just bloody pretentious and irritating.
It occurred to me near the end of my epic journey that what I was reading felt like the highlights of a book. Every scene felt rushed. It was as if the author had all the key scenes planned out, felt bored writing the interstitial passages, and was unequal to the task of rendering the dramatic moments in any detail (ironic, considering the breadth of language).
The end, when it eventually jogs into view with a last minute burst of enthusiasm, ISN'T an ending. Half of the characters we dutifully followed through the book are forgotten somewhere around the 2/3 mark. What the hell happened to them? I'll, umm, probably not be rushing to find out if they did anything interesting in the sequels.
A clunky plot, with dissatisfying characters; all of which is poorly written in bland prose which skimps on the details and irritates with its pretentious use of unnecessary, labyrinthine vocabulary.
:::::::::::::::
The Many-Colored Land, sees a disparate bunch of misfits deliver themselves through a time-portal to ancient Earth. What they find there is not the wildness paradise they expect.
Too many characters are introduced in the first section of the book. A muddle of character introductions, giving each character their own chapter turn-by-turn, is a poor structure that gives too fleeting an impression of each protagonist. Partly due to this short-changing of character time and partly because of the poor writing, I found I was constantly forgetting who was who until I was a considerable way through the book. The plot setup is also rather clunky. Although this may be partly forgiven for the story-lines that the opening sets-up later in the book. Yes, some of the ideas were actually pretty decent despite all my other criticisms.
Once I had a grip on the characters I tried to enjoy the story, though there was so much to cause ire and irritation that my approval was only ever half-hearted. The choice of language is pretentious & obscure, and the prose has no rhythm whatsoever. It is a real. effort. to read. Julian May loves vocabulary - no bad thing in and of itself - unfortunately she chooses to use the full extent of her learning in a relentless fashion which makes some of the Physics papers I read for my dissertation look positively transparent! What is a pother? Oh its a 16th century word for a commotion. There is no nuance to the word 'pother' which would delineate from that of the perfectly useful 'commotion'. Thanks, Julian, for making me look that up, completely deadening the rhythm of my reading. But, um, what is an OPAQUE pother? Well, it just bloody pretentious and irritating.
It occurred to me near the end of my epic journey that what I was reading felt like the highlights of a book. Every scene felt rushed. It was as if the author had all the key scenes planned out, felt bored writing the interstitial passages, and was unequal to the task of rendering the dramatic moments in any detail (ironic, considering the breadth of language).
The end, when it eventually jogs into view with a last minute burst of enthusiasm, ISN'T an ending. Half of the characters we dutifully followed through the book are forgotten somewhere around the 2/3 mark. What the hell happened to them? I'll, umm, probably not be rushing to find out if they did anything interesting in the sequels.
fredalily's review
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I've read this book, the first of a series, 4 times. It is one of my favourite reads. It's a clever concept, with interesting characters. It's a great read.