2nd read - thoughts on TDAGMD (book 5)

[Usivius]

Just some random thoughts put down while reading the last book in the series:

- Angus is Morn’s new zone implant. She relies on him in the same manner as she did her zone implant: to give her the strength to carry our impossible tasks. And she is addicted to him in a sense, the same way Anus is addicted to her.

- Action and tension galore!!! All the action in this last book takes place within a couple hours, no?…. Amazing writing to hold action, and tension all tightly compacted in such a short span of story-time.

-I think in this book, unlike in Book 4 (Chaos & Order), there is a better use of POV. It doesn’t seem useless or filler as it did in 4. And there was a lot less of rehashing of info the reader already knew. It came to an acceptable level. In book 4 I was often talking to the author through the book, “Why on earth did we need to see this from his POV? I already heard this information six times already! Get on with it!” Book 5 is TIGHT! Gripping narration at its best!

-And a great ending. I love the 'image' of Morn watching the council come to their conclusions and then reading Warden's letter and finally putting on clean clothes and going out to face the world. F#cking fantastic!

- Too many great characters to list in detail. But some of my faves are Min Donner!!!! Morn, Warden, Norna Fasner ...
- I can finally see the arch of Angus' character, and as much as I like the way he used as a character in the books, I still can't feel much sympathy for him. But I am now convinced that he is a 'changed' man. Meaning, by the examples such extraordinary people set, like Morn and Warden, and the strength of character they exhibit to set him free, changes him dramatically. His manner of thinking changes and at the very least, he makes more promices to himself, in a similar manner as he made with MOrn at the beginning, in so far as he seems to try and be a 'good boy'. His 'capturing' of Holt was great. Leaving that scene with Holt recognizing this horrible man and screaming...

- I still am at a loss to explain how the man (SRD) who wrote such a great book 5 could be the man responcible for a relatively terrible book 4. Well, perhaps not 'terrible', but I still am of the opinion that book 4 should have been severely edited with book three to make one book ... somehow....

I am still in awe of the tight writing of this book. Granted, it was the pulling of so many things and characters together in to one book, but it was so smoothly done, that the whole thing went by like water! I was FORSED to take a day off work just so I could get through the rest of it!!! I was forsed, I tell you!!!!

Great book. Perhaps one of SRD's best efforts in a single tome.

[Nathan]

the same way Anus is addicted to her.

Hahahha!

I still am at a loss to explain how the man (SRD) who wrote such a great book 5 could be the man responcible for a relatively terrible book 4.

That's interesting, because I thought book 4 was just as good as the others. I also didn't find book 5 to stand out particularly as better than the others! My favourite would probably be book 2, actually...

[Usivius]

"Anus" ... ...OK, that was a mistake. I thought of editing it, but then your post would not make much sense. So...

I also found book 2 great. If I had to put them in order of enjoyment, from best to worst, they would be: 5, 2, 1, 3, 4. As I said in another post about my second reading of book 4, I just found it very frustrating to read. Too many different POV chapters saying the exact same thing, rehashing the same information, and characters asking questions that the reader already knew the answer to. No tension or pasing as far as I was concerned. The stuff that was happening on earth during this book was much better paced and written than the chapters in space.
blech.

[Sorus]

I also found book 2 great. If I had to put them in order of enjoyment, from best to worst, they would be: 5, 2, 1, 3, 4. As I said in another post about my second reading of book 4, I just found it very frustrating to read. Too many different POV chapters saying the exact same thing, rehashing the same information, and characters asking questions that the reader already knew the answer to. No tension or pasing as far as I was concerned. The stuff that was happening on earth during this book was much better paced and written than the chapters in space.
blech.

My best to worst is: 4, 3, 5, 2, 1. This may have something to do with the fact that C&O was the first book in the series that I read, and the redundancy helped prevent me from getting hopelessly lost.
Even so, 10+ years and quite a few rereads later, it's still my favorite.
No tension?! The last fifty or so pages had me almost literally on the edge of my seat.
(Depending on my mood, I might swap 3 for 5 in second place.)

[Nathan]

Yes, the end of book 4 is amazingly tense. So much going on with singularities and defensives and asteroid fields! Oh my!

[Loredoctor]

"Anus" ... ...OK, that was a mistake. I thought of editing it, but then your post would not make much sense. So...

As moderator of this forum, I refuse for the line to be edited.

[Usivius]

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