The Gap Series by Donaldson..

My comparison is not really with regards to subject matter and direction, but rather to the fact that both are big, sweeping, multi-book epics and both are brilliant triumphs of the imagination.

And I loved both of them.

So there.
 
Yeah, the main similarity between Gap and Otherland for me is that they are both excellent science fiction series. This is an unusual find for me, as i tend to love stand-alone scifi novels, but find the series too family-saga-set-in-space, or murder-mystery-set-in-space esque. (Whether or not it is space is not what makes it 'proper' science fiction, imo. )
 
Originally posted by Sammie
(Whether or not it is space is not what makes it 'proper' science fiction, imo. )
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So... The Caves of Steel, Neuromancer, Cryptonomicon and others of the genre are not SF?
 
Err....think you've missed my point - being set in space doesn't make sth decent scifi. Doesn't preclude it, either. Scifi can be set anywhere, no? :)

(btw....i haven't read any of those!)
 
Just thought I'd jump and and mention I'm rereading this series at the moment - I'm up to the first few viewpoints in book 5.
And it's just as dark, exciting and well written as I remember.
The fact that Donaldson can actually have you caring about what happens to a guy like Angus Thermopyle, cheering on Nick Succorso and questioning the motivations of nearly every character attests to his great skill as a writer.
And as you guys have already mentioned, the intensity is amazing. It seems that every time we think we know where th stories going it veers off somewhere else (pretty much what Hashi spends most of book 4 thinking about - the Uncertainty principle)
 
Every character in the book has some flaw, is in some way deplorable, yet most also have some redeeming value. Over the span of 5 books almost all have committed both good and evil acts. It is up to us to decide which outweighs the other.
 
And it's a surprisingly difficult decision to make, in some cases!

Nearing the end now..... I'm gonna miss these guys..*sniff*
 
I know how you feel... Its a very immersive series. Two times through have taught me that.
 
It's infuriating me at the moment cos i'm three fifths of the way through the last book - everything is going nuts in an extremely intense way, and i'm having to read it in ten/fifteen minute bursts, which is really spoiling the atmosphere. Think might have to take it to bed this eve and just read straight throught to the end, for best effect :)

*yawning in anticipation*
 
Ah yes, the intensity at that point is just mindblowing, and it drives you to turn page after page, trying to find what happens next to these characters....
 
Think might have to take it to bed this eve and just read straight throught to the end, for best effect
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I was going to do that last night,but having an examtoday, thought better of it. I'll have it finished up tonight, which is a shame.

I've actually forgotten a few of the details on how it finishes, which makes the rereading well worth it.

What a coincidence that we're both at the same stage of reading the book at the same time?
 
Yeah it's pretty cool. Hope the exam went well!

I've finished, but have no energy to comment now!

Will write concise and thrilling spoiler-free blurb-like impresion of the series as a whole that encourages all people everywhere to read it immediately ........just as soon as i've got y life together enought that i remember how to string to coherent sentances together!

Gimme 3 weeks!! :rolleyes:
 
Its been a while, but I found The Gap series to be terrific reading, despite the already mentioned violence. Donaldson does an incredible job of developing characters who are intensely flawed, yet still sympathetic to the reader.

I'd love to see some more SF from Donaldson, especially if he were to set the book in this universe he created, which is as fine as the excellent characters developed in the Gap series.

I also notice that someone compared this work with Otherland by Tad Williams. I thought the Dragonbone Chair series was terrific, but I've picked up the Otherland series in bookstores and libraries many times, hoping to be enticed, but nothing seems to hook me. It just does not seem like the story is all that great from the jacket, would anyone care to give me a good reason to give it a try?
 
This thread has put The Gap series near the top of my reading list. Thanks!

NeonKnight, I read the Otherland series and loved it. I found the characters to be very enjoyable, and if you're at all interested in virtual reality-type stories, almost the entire series takes place in one. It's kind of like an epic fantasy series with a SF setting? I don't know, there are threads discussing it around here somewhere.

PS: Are you a big fan of Dio's Black Sabbath?
 
Originally posted by trentdick2882
This thread has put The Gap series near the top of my reading list. Thanks!

NeonKnight, I read the Otherland series and loved it. I found the characters to be very enjoyable, and if you're at all interested in virtual reality-type stories, almost the entire series takes place in one. It's kind of like an epic fantasy series with a SF setting? I don't know, there are threads discussing it around here somewhere.

PS: Are you a big fan of Dio's Black Sabbath?
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Last things first: How'd you guess? :D I was at CD world today and I noticed Dio has a new 2CD retrospective including, Rainbow, Sabbath and solo material. Looks like fine stuff, but I was there to scoop up the new Live Zeppelin DVD/CD! Holy s**t is THAT great stuff!

Virtual reality? Its usually not my favorite type of story, maybe that why the jacket turned me off.

Does it compare to the quality of the Dragonbone series?
 
Originally posted by NeonKnight

Does it compare to the quality of the Dragonbone series?
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Certainly it does. It is BIG, chock-full of ideas with brilliant characters you can relate to. Although it does drag at times (particularly through Book 2) the pace does pick up significantly later on. Certainly worth a try.
 
Hehe, I love Dio/Rainbow/Sabbath. If the double-CD you're talking about is "Last in Live" I have it, it's really good. It's mostly Dio solo stuff, with some Rainbow and Sabbath thrown in. I've seen Dio twice live! (maybe not something to brag about :D)

I haven't read any Memory, Sorrow and Thorn yet, so I can't compare quality of the two series. All I can say is that I really, really liked Otherland, though it started off slow for me. I didn't really notice any drag anywhere else, but a lot of people do, I was probably just really into it by then.
 
Hehe, I love Dio/Rainbow/Sabbath. If the double-CD you're talking about is "Last in Live" I have it, it's really good.
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Nope it is something new, with what I believe are new unreleased live tracks and remastered studio tracks. Again, looks like good stuff.

I've seen Dio twice live! (maybe not something to brag about )
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:D In my book, its something too brag about, big time! I've seen Dio solo and with Sabbath ahem, several years ago!;) I also saw Sabbath with Ozzy a few times, the first time in 1975 at MSG with Aerosmith opening.

Dragonbone is an excellent read, you should pick it up, although unfortunately most of these virtual reality type series like Otherland sounds like it is ususally bore me.

Rock on!:cool:
 
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