Synopsis
Tough-as-nails Morn Hyland, pirate-turned-cyborg Angus Thermopyle, and the whole crew from the United Mining Company Police are back in the final book of the Gap series, This Day All Gods Die. The Gap plot has raced through the galaxy at breakneck speeds, and the conclusion is no exception.
Morn, her alien-grown son Davies, geneticist/engineer Vector Sheed, competent Mikka, and her cabin-boy brother Ciro wait aboard Trumpet. Angus lies unconscious, possibly in permanent stasis. Ciro plots to destroy the ship, driven insane by the knowledge that alien mutagens have been shot into him by Nick Succorso's sworn enemy, Sorus Chatelaine. Following nearby, Min Donner, faithful head of the UMCP Executive Division, watches the action and grits her teeth aboard Captain Dolph's battle-fatigued Punisher. Will Morn trust her? Will her voice commands over Angus's programming prevail? Who has survived the strange journey and battles since leaving the Lab? Back at United Mining headquarters, the Dragon and UMCP Chief Warden Dios strange, twisted duel of manipulation, assassination, and corruption comes to a head when an Amnion warship sets course for Earth... and that's just the first few pages.
Get set for more of the action, betrayal, characterization, intrigue, corruption, and adventure you've enjoyed in the previous Gap books. If it has been a few years since you read the last instalment, you may have trouble remembering some names and particularly insidious points of plot and government intrigue; you may even be tempted to reread the preceding books. Also troubling is Angus's continual rumination of a couple phrases, including "We've committed a crime against your soul" and "It's got to stop."
Review
As you would expect of Donaldson's work, the real story is about the characters and their flaws and struggles -- he takes us deep into the well developed personalities of each major character, and how they persevere, or fail, despite their weaknesses. Sadism and back-stabbing wind down as the fifth and last book in the Gap Series closes in on the final showdown between humanity and the Amnion. Caught in the middle of the colossal conflict are Angus Thermopyle and Morn Hyland, the "proteges" of UMCP Director Warden Dios. Angus is a superhuman cyborg devoid of free will, Morn a UMCP cop who has been to hell and back in the worst possible ways. Warden Dios has gambled wildly -- and treasonous -- in engineering their sufferings, but his gambit pays off in the end. Dios is a paradoxical figure, one who brings himself and others down in order to expose Holt Fasner and defeat the Amnion. Although Angus and Morn have been the main characters throughout the series, Warden Dios proves to be the "key" character: On his shoulders rests the fate of humanity.
I feel this series is truly one of the best I have ever read, and the most overlooked by serious science fiction readers. Those who were looking for the Thomas Covenant series would not find it here. I admit, I thought The Real Story was not as strong of a start as it could have been, but in my opinion each book was better than the last, and this climax is truly one of the most incredible books I have read. The characters have depth and expression provided by the contrasts between their flaws and their strengths -- and the complexity of the tale weaving through the books pulls together well. The beauty of the tale is summed up by Warden Dios -- he did not choose Morn because of who she was, but merely because she was conveniently at hand -- but she and the rest of everyone he put his trust in transcended him.
Scifi Underground, for your scifi and fantasy needs.
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