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A review by branch_c
Magnificat by Julian May
4.0
The climactic book in the sweeping saga of the Pliocene Exile and the Galactic Milieu - I'm not sure exactly why, but this last volume was less memorable to me than most of the others. In particular I had forgotten the details of Fury's end and even some of the critical events of the final confrontation of the rebellion.
Also if it's not too harsh to say, I felt as if May's impressively polished writing might have slipped just a bit here - yes, some of the cleverness and playful salaciousness was back in evidence here, along with the well plotted machinations of the Concilium, the Rebels, the wild card factors Fury and the remaining Hydra, and Rogi's solid dependable narration. But a few episodes came across as ever so slightly slapdash, not a seamless fit within the sweeping saga.
However, in the end, these are minor complaints. The epic story comes to a conclusion as grand as can be expected from the preceding books, and the fact that May could keep things engaging in spite of the fact that the finale is basically known to the reader almost from the beginning of the series is a significant accomplishment.
So this book still deserves the four star rating I gave it on my first reading, and the entire nine book series remains one of my all time favorite works of SF/Fantasy/speculative fiction; highly recommended for its brilliant writing, creativity, and all around enjoyability.
For anyone not familiar with the series, I recommend reading them all, starting with [b:The Many-Colored Land|378413|The Many-Colored Land|Julian May|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1174312758s/378413.jpg|368245].
Also if it's not too harsh to say, I felt as if May's impressively polished writing might have slipped just a bit here - yes, some of the cleverness and playful salaciousness was back in evidence here, along with the well plotted machinations of the Concilium, the Rebels, the wild card factors Fury and the remaining Hydra, and Rogi's solid dependable narration. But a few episodes came across as ever so slightly slapdash, not a seamless fit within the sweeping saga.
However, in the end, these are minor complaints. The epic story comes to a conclusion as grand as can be expected from the preceding books, and the fact that May could keep things engaging in spite of the fact that the finale is basically known to the reader almost from the beginning of the series is a significant accomplishment.
So this book still deserves the four star rating I gave it on my first reading, and the entire nine book series remains one of my all time favorite works of SF/Fantasy/speculative fiction; highly recommended for its brilliant writing, creativity, and all around enjoyability.
For anyone not familiar with the series, I recommend reading them all, starting with [b:The Many-Colored Land|378413|The Many-Colored Land|Julian May|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1174312758s/378413.jpg|368245].