Gods of the Greataway

Song of Earth #2

by Michael G. Coney

Follows the Triad to where the Gods of the Greataway rule the Ifalong and chronicles the battle with the Balewolves for control of the Galaxy and Dream Earth

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

278 pages, Hardcover

First published September 20, 1984

About the author

Michael Greatrex Coney was born in Birmingham, England and educated at King Edward's School.

He started a career as a chartered accountant and went on to become a management Consultant. Then he went into the catering business, managing an inn in south Devon with his wife, Daphne for three years and a hotel in the West Indies for another three. He worked for Financial Services in the B.C. Forest Service for seventeen years before retiring .

He Passed away 4 November 2005. peacefully of Cancer (Mesothelioma). He was married with three children and lived on Vancouver Island.

Reviews

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was ok but I didn’t really “get it”. It also seemed all over the place and hard to follow in spots.

I think you would really struggle if you didn’t read the first one.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

If anything, I like this one better than the first one but, as has been stated in another review, I regard them as one book. I am glad to see a few other people attempt to describe the indescribable haunting power of these books. Sure, you can point to various parts and say you especially liked them but its the whole book that leaves you gobsmacked and dazed and unsure of your current reality. I've been re-reading these books for 25 years now....I've incorporated the notions of 'happentracks' and the 'If-A-Long' into my perceptions of reality. "InnerThink" and Dad Ose practice of longevity has been a perfectly sensible thing to do!!
I wish more people would read this!

[Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a direct sequel to the Celestial Steam Locomotive, and also set in the same universe as Cat Karina, though that book doesn't really have any relation to the events of Gods of the Greataway. I didn't really dig any of the previous books in this series, and I can't say my feelings have warmed any toward this one.

The same problems of the earlier volumes plague this one: meandering sense of plotting without any clear idea about what the goals of the characters are, mini-stories randomly inserted into the book whose relationship to the larger story are never established, and almost entirely absent inner life of any characters. Some of the writing isn't bad, but it just never adds up to anything. I imagine if you were a talented college-aged writer who got very high over the course of a few weeks and wrote but never edited a novel, you might get something like this.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've owned this book for over a decade having never read it. I originally bought the book because I picked up the first, "The Celestial Steam Locomotive" based on it's title and wanted it's sequel.

This book is much better than the first in the series. The first book felt very haphazard but this book mostly has a through line that's easier to follow and feels like it pays off the reader for putting in the effort.

The very end felt a bit slapdash but overall this book was much better than the first one.

Interestingly I didn't realize there was a book 3 or 4 in this series, and it doesn't feel like there were unanswered plot lines or more for the characters to do. I imagine the later books are for other characters in the same universe.

[Joseph Carrabis · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I wrote in my review of The Celestial Steam Locomotive, Gods of the Greataway is a wonderfully confounding read and I don't recommend either book for readers who want linear storytelling and plot lines.
However, if you're the kind of reader who can just let go and literally enjoy the ride, these are great books for a summer's afternoon. Or winter, spring or fall.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a weird, incredibly 80s book. I remember reading this whole series when I was a little kid, so I have a soft spot for it. It's its own book, but it really should be the second half of the bigger novel (with The Celestial Steam Locomotive). If I remember correctly, vols. 3 and 4 are a similar deal.

[Dalibor Dado Ivanovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Malkice mi je slabija od prvog dijela, ali ima momenata u pričama koji su mi super

[International Cat Lady · Rating 5 out of 5]

And excellent sequel to the Celestial Steam Locomotive!

[Jutta · Rating 5 out of 5]

read october 15, 2012:
see the review for Celestial Steam Locomotive. This is the sequel, but i count them as the same book.

read 1993

[Grunthos · Rating 4 out of 5]

2 copies