As the planetoid Thanatos Minor explodes into atoms, a specially-fitted cruiser escapes the mass destruction and hurtles into space only a step ahe...
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Apr 22, 2010
Suzana
rated it: 
This series is every bit as good as Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and (for me) the even better Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.
Stephen Donaldson's writing style is most suited to the epic novel (or novels). As he progresses through intricately woven plots he builds empathy and antipathy for characters whose roles relative to eachother he gradually reverses over time - almost leaving the reader unawares - until we find that we are rooting for the ones we started More...
Stephen Donaldson's writing style is most suited to the epic novel (or novels). As he progresses through intricately woven plots he builds empathy and antipathy for characters whose roles relative to eachother he gradually reverses over time - almost leaving the reader unawares - until we find that we are rooting for the ones we started More...
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Apr 15, 2011
Like other Donaldson books this a book about the inhumanity of man to man. The story is very dark and foreboding. The intricacies of the plot are deep and have many layers. I have enjoyed this series so far and am on the last book. Everything is starting to come to a giant climax and I am not sure who will be left when it is finished. With Donaldson you really don't know if the good guys will win.
This is a convoluted story with just about everyone being evil and horrid to others. I fou More...
This is a convoluted story with just about everyone being evil and horrid to others. I fou More...
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Feb 17, 2011
Philip
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I'm only going to say this once for all 5 books: they are a stellar sci-fi series that any genre addict should read. They are not as great as the first trio of Covenant books, but they are a lot better than some of the recent sci-fi books churned out. That said, they are also more than a little disturbing, and, by the end, more than a little hard to believe. Even sci-fi character can't bend so far until they break, and the main villain of this "franchise" does such a personality 180
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Jan 17, 2008
Kirt
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I read "The Gap" series, a five-novel saga from Stephen R. Donaldson.
I think Donaldson does better with SF than fantasy. The series is set in a future as created by something called the Gap Drive, an FTL travel method that sometimes drives people mad. It starts out with a complicated little minuet of a story involving the lives of three people who live on the fringes of space (the first novel), but over time the series becomes a complicated tale involving a terrible cold wa More...
I think Donaldson does better with SF than fantasy. The series is set in a future as created by something called the Gap Drive, an FTL travel method that sometimes drives people mad. It starts out with a complicated little minuet of a story involving the lives of three people who live on the fringes of space (the first novel), but over time the series becomes a complicated tale involving a terrible cold wa More...
Aug 29, 2009
Kate
rated it:
This is where this series starts to become the sort of gripping science fiction that you absolutely *have* to read until 3 in the morning on a work night. Tense, well plotted and wonderful, the political machinations between the heads of the UMC and UMCP become overwhelming driving poor Morn, Davies and Angus to greater danger and intense emotions.
This is WHY it is worth reading the first in the series, despite its grimness, it all just gets so good!
This is WHY it is worth reading the first in the series, despite its grimness, it all just gets so good!
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Mar 25, 2011
Dirk
rated it:
This book makes me burn with intensity. I crave the raw emotion and intelligence Donaldson wields here. I read that it was based on Wagner's Ring Cycle and the combination of Donaldson and Wagner is perfect. Both works build tension and just add more and more, reaching impossible levels of dissonance and complexity and refuse to provide resolution. Best sci-fi I've read in years. Gritty, passionate and larger than life.
Dec 16, 2009
Emily
rated it:
Stephen Donaldson's "Gap" series is one my favorite series.
My father handed me the first one, saying, "This is full of violence and rape and you'll probably hate all the characters in this first book, but the story just keeps getting better."
He was right. The story begins with a space pirate attack on a police ship and the "rescue" of the last survivor on the police ship and concludes with the human race fighting the Amnion, an alien species More...
My father handed me the first one, saying, "This is full of violence and rape and you'll probably hate all the characters in this first book, but the story just keeps getting better."
He was right. The story begins with a space pirate attack on a police ship and the "rescue" of the last survivor on the police ship and concludes with the human race fighting the Amnion, an alien species More...
Oct 22, 2010
Murder, mystery, metaphysics, psychology. A sci-fi re-take on Wagner's Ring Cycle. This series is long, dark, absorbing read. Better read together and in order than as individual books, as the many-threaded plot winds through the whole series.
Aug 31, 2011
Craig
rated it: 
A pretty darn thrilling, unpredictable, and ridiculously addictive story. However I must admit I'm starting to get a little tired of the constant repetition of "what has gone before" - each character spends at least as much time thinking about what's already happened as what they're doing at that exact moment. And when you're reading along, on the edge of your seat to find out what happens next, it becomes actively annoying.
Jul 27, 2011
Dave
rated it:
The continuing adventures of Angus Thermopyle the rapist and Morn Hyland his traumatised victim makes for a fascinating, if rather twisted take on the traditional space-opera format.
Dec 09, 2010
Tawny
rated it:
oooh, can't wait to finish this one. Great plot twists, and character developement, although I am still not sure it was worth the violence of the first book!
Aug 03, 2011
I am re-reading this series after a "gap" of 20 years - it is still fantastic, I would recommend it to anyone who like their sci-fi
Mar 22, 2009
dc
rated it: 
absolute chaos, like reading insanity, madness, rage ... deeply disturbing. my soul was dumped in sludge. big time yuck.
Mar 24, 2009
Kim
rated it:
I bought this new almost as soon as it hit the book stores. Then I read it while I was changing duty stations.
Jun 11, 2011
Jon
rated it:
I just can't keep saying enough about this series. I have never been a huge Sci/Fi fan until now.
May 29, 2009
Chaos and Order: The Gap Into Madness (Gap) by Stephen R. Donaldson (1995)
Jun 17, 2009
Jared
rated it: 
Would have gotten higher marks, except for the liberal use of profanity.
Apr 03, 2009
Michael
rated it:
This sci-fi series has some serious brutality. Not for the weak. Disturbing at times, but a really good set.
Jul 21, 2007
Rob
rated it:
This series was amazing constructed using archetypes of the hero, villain, slave, to define main characters roles in each book and then having them switch roles after each one. Built as a tetrahedron the first three books formed a trilogy of character development which was then capped by the fourth. In true Adamsesk fashion he then added a fifth to make it a five book quadrology.
Worth reading.
Worth reading.
Oct 10, 2011
Rob
rated it:
Fantastic action-packed addition to a really good series - this is book four of five - looking forward to completing Donaldson masterful sci-fi epic soon!
Jun 30, 2011
Paul
rated it:
This book, and the entire Gap series is excellent. Almost up there with Dune, and if you know me you know that is high praise.
Feb 11, 2012
Feb 11, 2012
