Kevin's Watch

Yeehaw Y'all,
My lovely wife found the entire Gap series on E-bay, I bought it, and it arrived today.
They don't look new (the edges look a little yellow) but they're in otherwise pristine condition (paperback) They won't look this good when I'm done with them
If'n it wasn't for this site, I wouldn't even have know that they existed, so...
Thanks all,
BillA

Grats on finding the books.

No matter what you think of the first book... keep reading. The later books are some of the best science fiction I've ever read.

Ditto to Aka, almost missed a spectacular story cuz first book was...lacking, compared to other SRD.

Be interested in your impressions BillA - keep us informed!

Enjoy.

--A

You're in for a treat mate, a real treat!

My favorite series ever. The rich world of the Land meets Mordants needs politics blown into something I cant describe.

Some of the most innocent words will send a shiver down your spine for the rest of your life.

A bit like Misery and 'I'm your biggest fan"

StevieG wrote:Be interested in your impressions BillA - keep us informed!

Ditto. I'd love to hear your reactions

Rigel wrote:

StevieG wrote:Be interested in your impressions BillA - keep us informed!

Ditto. I'd love to hear your reactions

Howdy Folks,
Well, I'm done. And that was fun.
From where I sat and read, it felt like the series was written by 3 different authors.
Book 1... Simple but interesting. Sorta' like Stephen King's "Dragon's Eye" is to "The Dark Tower"..."The Real Story" is to the "The Gap". And I didn't have to get up, find a dictionary and look up any words.
Books 2,3, and 4... Intriguing. A spider's web of schemes interwoven with other schemes. I did have to look up some words.
Book 5... Linear. All loose ends tied in a nice neat bow. So much that I found the ending somewhat predictable. But, I find unpredictable endings a tad overrated. What can I say? I'm also a Stephen King fan. I didn't need to look up many words because SRD seemed to fall in love with a few words, that I'd never seen before, and use them over and over and.............................
I also enjoyed the parallels between;
Angus and Covenant...Both haunted by a past that was beyond their control and dealing with them through cynicism.
Morn and Linden...Both committed to high ideals that are shadowed by their own actions. Hell, they even each brought about the demise of their fathers. And they both got into a "nothin' to it but to do it" mindset.
All in all...a fun read. I will suggest it to others.
BillA

Glad you enjoyed it.

My favorite entry in the series was maybe #4, just because of the prolonged chase scene through the asteroid field. Cool stuff.

The UMC and UMCP (do I have the abbreviations right?) parts are some of the best in the series IMO, but I can't remember what parts come in which book...

My favorite has got to be "Dark and Hung," but I've only been through the series once. I need to do a re-read and see how my perceptions change (as almost always happens with SRD's stuff).

Dunno if I have a favourite book in the series. I love them all.

--A

My favorite part of the series is the ADAHGA as well. Angus showing up and rescuing Morn ... duping the Amnion and the Bill ... Nick getting some competition ... treachery everywhere ...

Avatar wrote:Dunno if I have a favourite book in the series. I love them all.

--A

It's easy enough to pick a least favorite: Chaos and Order. This series was almost a book too long. I love the asteroid field battle. I love Nick getting the codes (and how they beat him). I love the immunity drug stuff. But emotionally this one was the most draining--and not in a good way. After everything they had gone through, I didn't really want to see them go through another version of Nick on top/Nick defeated. I can't think of a better way to do it, but this was just too much. [Didn't SRD say this was the low point for him, in terms of writing the series?]

I think my favorites are probably a tie: ADAHGA and TDAGD. I love TRS for what it is ... deceptively simple and complete, but it's on a different level than the rest. Somehow I always forget about FK; it doesn't suck enough or shine enough to warrant much comment, compared to the others.

Zarathustra wrote: Somehow I always forget about FK; it doesn't suck enough or shine enough to warrant much comment, compared to the others.

It sucked enough for me to stop reading the series there at least twice. I really don't know what is it I dislike about it so much though. I do have an abiding soft spot for TRS, which I read several times trying to summon up the resolve to tackle FK again. Other than that, I have favourite parts in all of them, but not really an overall favourite.

Yeah, I don't have a least favourite either. It may well be that I don't read as critically as some though...Never felt the Nick thing was too much. Possibly because of all they'd been through.

--A

TRS is unlike anything SRD has written. I've always thought of it as a prelude to the real story, rather than TRS.

FK is also different from most of the GAP, simply because the majority takes place on a single ship, and the immediacy that he crams into the last 3 books is almost entirely absent in the first half of FK.

I think Dark and Hung is so good because there are so many moving pieces that were merely stationary or gearing up in FK.

Chaos might be a let down for some because most of those moving pieces are suddenly stationary again. Actually this is my favorite book.

I agree with Bill's initial assessment of This Day. Because all the loose ends are coming together, a level of predictability seeps in. I certainly felt that after my first read. The second time, without the anticipation of how the story might unfold, I just read and enjoyed the artistry.

H'scan, I too find FK to be a bit too hard to read. The degredations heaped on Morn are too hard to bear. Also, I consider FK to be a bridge work, connecting TRS to the "real story" (if you excuse the term), and as such, all set-up and no fun.

I loved TRS. I like how he starts from the perceptions of others, and fades into what's actually happening. what you see is not always what you get.

--A

Yeah, I kinda understand why some people may have a problem with it, but I couldn't put it down until I was done. It also thematically offers a perfect starting point. You start out thinking this is about events that affect a small group of characters... but as you read on and find out the real story ( )...