Zachary's review

The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order (Gap #4)
by Stephen R. Donaldson

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22871.The_Gap_into_Madness_Chaos_and_Order?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order (Gap #4)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167370482m/22871.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22871.The_Gap_into_Madness_Chaos_and_Order?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12980.Stephen_R_Donaldson">Stephen R. Donaldson</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12200567?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 4 of 5 stars Donaldson's nihilistic Gap universe continues to spiral more and more deeply into chaos. The man knows how to create a convoluted storyline - and then completely twist and turn it even more! Emphasis here: read The Real Story, Forbidden Knowledge and A Dark and Hungry God Arises first, otherwise you'll be completely lost. The motivations and psychological shapings of the characters can't be fully 'appreciated' from this book alone.
 
 The pace which Donaldson had set in the previous books in this series continues steadily, though at times it feels rather frantic. Every now and then it slows down for a few pages, but then picks right back up. The pace seems to pick up the most towards the end, where Donaldson actually begins the spiral of events which lead to the culminating climax of this series in the final book (This Day All God's Die). I would even advise making sure you have the final book in the Gap series on hand so you can just pick it up as soon as you finish this one, because there is barely any resolution to the conflict in this portion of the series.
 
 Overall, it is a very well-written continuation of The Gap story, doing it's forerunners more than justice and near perfectly setting up the climactic events of the final book. The perspective in the book is a very manipulative and (as I've mentioned) rather nihilistic. The glass is never half full, but always half empty, probably full of poison, and the character has to drink it nonetheless - that's about the feeling pervading the mentalities and choices of the characters.
 
 Do I recommend it? Pretty much. This is not a beautiful vision of the future, more like Blade Runner has been meshed with Star Trek in some twisted perspective of man's psyche. But it is very well-written and the characters, though dark, depressing and thoroughly emotionally scarred, are extremely well developed, explored, and their 'maturation' (or, rather, degeneration, in some cases) is rather exhaustive and inevitable. All in all, Donaldson continues to uphold the standards of excellence he began the series with as the story continues to unfold in this book.
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/769001?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Zachary's review
rating:

status: Read in February, 2008

Donaldson's nihilistic Gap universe continues to spiral more and more deeply into chaos. The man knows how to create a convoluted storyline - and then completely twist and turn it even more! Emphasis here: read The Real Story, Forbidden Knowledge and A Dark and Hungry God Arises first, otherwise you'll be completely lost. The motivations and psychological shapings of the characters can't be fully 'appreciated' from this book alone.

The pace which Donaldson had set in the previous books in this series continues steadily, though at times it feels rather frantic. Every now and then it slows down for a few pages, but then picks right back up. The pace seems to pick up the most towards the end, where Donaldson actually begins the spiral of events which lead to the culminating climax of this series in the final book (This Day All God's Die). I would even advise making sure you have the final book in the Gap series on hand so you can just pick it up as soon as you finish this one, because...more Donaldson's nihilistic Gap universe continues to spiral more and more deeply into chaos. The man knows how to create a convoluted storyline - and then completely twist and turn it even more! Emphasis here: read The Real Story, Forbidden Knowledge and A Dark and Hungry God Arises first, otherwise you'll be completely lost. The motivations and psychological shapings of the characters can't be fully 'appreciated' from this book alone.

The pace which Donaldson had set in the previous books in this series continues steadily, though at times it feels rather frantic. Every now and then it slows down for a few pages, but then picks right back up. The pace seems to pick up the most towards the end, where Donaldson actually begins the spiral of events which lead to the culminating climax of this series in the final book (This Day All God's Die). I would even advise making sure you have the final book in the Gap series on hand so you can just pick it up as soon as you finish this one, because there is barely any resolution to the conflict in this portion of the series.

Overall, it is a very well-written continuation of The Gap story, doing it's forerunners more than justice and near perfectly setting up the climactic events of the final book. The perspective in the book is a very manipulative and (as I've mentioned) rather nihilistic. The glass is never half full, but always half empty, probably full of poison, and the character has to drink it nonetheless - that's about the feeling pervading the mentalities and choices of the characters.

Do I recommend it? Pretty much. This is not a beautiful vision of the future, more like Blade Runner has been meshed with Star Trek in some twisted perspective of man's psyche. But it is very well-written and the characters, though dark, depressing and thoroughly emotionally scarred, are extremely well developed, explored, and their 'maturation' (or, rather, degeneration, in some cases) is rather exhaustive and inevitable. All in all, Donaldson continues to uphold the standards of excellence he began the series with as the story continues to unfold in this book....less

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