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ottopivnr's review
5.0
There is really no letup in this series, the world is well established, the pieces are in place and this third book brings not one, but two big showdowns. Satisfying every time.
missmultitasking's review
2.0
A la que llega el tercero, la cosa empieza a flojear. Los personajes más interesantes se han perdido y varias escenas las lees en diagonal porque los que quedan no son la mitad de interesantes de lo que se creen.
internpepper's review
3.0
The adventure continues and things got quite intense by the end. I'm curious to see how this will all close out! One book left to go.
stefhyena's review
1.0
This book is the third in the series. I don't think it matters which one you start with I am guessing they are all as dehumanising as this one.
There was a lot to dislike about this book. It was quite pretentious in the way it was written (obligatory poem in there and a lot of allusions or direct quotes from elsewhere, too many ethnic or plain strange ways of talking, diversity as exoticised stereotype, etc)
There were too many groups of characters and each group had a LOT of characters. Despite the overlong and over-explainy synopsis (is it still authentically called a "synopsis" when it is 36 small-print pages long?) it was very hard to remember who various characters were or what they had to do with each other. There did not seem to be a central plot or a main character although from the title I guess it was meant to be all about Aiken Drum who was possibly the most unlikeable character in the book Marc Remillard being the other contender for the title.
But what I hated most was the misogyny and rape culture throughout the book. Women apparently are attracted to being scared and abused. Men apparently have a drive toward power and no capacity for seeing anyone's point of view but their narcissistic own (and this is painted as just fine). For example Culluket who turned his torture of Felice into sexualised violence as everyone knows (and with deadly consequences for the world) is still seen by men and women alike as a really good guy. Also Aiken's relationship with Mercy was disgusting.
Women are valued for how attractive they are and...the list goes on
I somewhat liked Amerie for all that she was as anachronistic as nearly everything else in the book (and don't say "time travel" because that is not what I mean, she doesn't fit into EITHER time). She was a female and a catholic priest (see what I mean?), said the mass in Latin (??) and was a lesbian. Unfortunately although there are two lesbians in the book they fit the two stereotypes with Amerie being the functionally asexual one and Felice being the psychotic product of abuse as a child one.
After all those pages I hung on in case the ending gives it all some meaning or a ray of sunshine in a world where the men are hypermasculine and noone actually seems to give a shit about other people at all.
It doesn't. That's not a spoiler just a warning. I won't be reading any of the others in the lengthy series!
(oh if you don't take my advice and do read it count how many hilariously phallic references there are)
There was a lot to dislike about this book. It was quite pretentious in the way it was written (obligatory poem in there and a lot of allusions or direct quotes from elsewhere, too many ethnic or plain strange ways of talking, diversity as exoticised stereotype, etc)
There were too many groups of characters and each group had a LOT of characters. Despite the overlong and over-explainy synopsis (is it still authentically called a "synopsis" when it is 36 small-print pages long?) it was very hard to remember who various characters were or what they had to do with each other. There did not seem to be a central plot or a main character although from the title I guess it was meant to be all about Aiken Drum who was possibly the most unlikeable character in the book Marc Remillard being the other contender for the title.
But what I hated most was the misogyny and rape culture throughout the book. Women apparently are attracted to being scared and abused. Men apparently have a drive toward power and no capacity for seeing anyone's point of view but their narcissistic own (and this is painted as just fine). For example Culluket who turned his torture of Felice into sexualised violence as everyone knows (and with deadly consequences for the world) is still seen by men and women alike as a really good guy. Also Aiken's relationship with Mercy was disgusting.
Women are valued for how attractive they are and...the list goes on
I somewhat liked Amerie for all that she was as anachronistic as nearly everything else in the book (and don't say "time travel" because that is not what I mean, she doesn't fit into EITHER time). She was a female and a catholic priest (see what I mean?), said the mass in Latin (??) and was a lesbian. Unfortunately although there are two lesbians in the book they fit the two stereotypes with Amerie being the functionally asexual one and Felice being the psychotic product of abuse as a child one.
After all those pages I hung on in case the ending gives it all some meaning or a ray of sunshine in a world where the men are hypermasculine and noone actually seems to give a shit about other people at all.
It doesn't. That's not a spoiler just a warning. I won't be reading any of the others in the lengthy series!
(oh if you don't take my advice and do read it count how many hilariously phallic references there are)
minty_crackers's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
smcleish's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on my blog here in September 1998.
The third of May's Saga of the Exiles follows on from the climactic events of [b:Golden Torc|1018538|Golden Torc|Julian May|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180278263s/1018538.jpg|1270171], 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, [b:Intervention|378366|Intervention|Julian May|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174312404s/378366.jpg|6602402] 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 [b:The Many-Coloured Land|378639|The Many-Coloured Land (Saga of Pliocene Exile, #1)|Julian May|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174314750s/378639.jpg|368245] was a preparation for the dramatic events of The Golden Torc, this novel is a scene setter for the climax of the series in [b:The Adversary|41334|The Adversary (Saga of Pliocene Exile, #4)|Julian May|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1250339064s/41334.jpg|1004657]. 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.
The third of May's Saga of the Exiles follows on from the climactic events of [b:Golden Torc|1018538|Golden Torc|Julian May|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180278263s/1018538.jpg|1270171], 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, [b:Intervention|378366|Intervention|Julian May|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174312404s/378366.jpg|6602402] 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 [b:The Many-Coloured Land|378639|The Many-Coloured Land (Saga of Pliocene Exile, #1)|Julian May|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174314750s/378639.jpg|368245] was a preparation for the dramatic events of The Golden Torc, this novel is a scene setter for the climax of the series in [b:The Adversary|41334|The Adversary (Saga of Pliocene Exile, #4)|Julian May|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1250339064s/41334.jpg|1004657]. 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.
deebr's review against another edition
5.0
Re-reading the Saga of the Pliocene Exiles after 25 years always ran the risk that the books wouldn't be as brilliant as I thought they were way back then. I needn't have worried. The Non Born King has a little more action than the previous two books, as Aiken's bid for power on elder earth really kicks off. A brilliant book, but you need to start with The Many-Coloured Land.
awamiba's review against another edition
Nonborn King (Saga of Pliocene Exile) by Julian May (1987)
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