The Great Gap Reread

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Zarathustra
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Post by Zarathustra »

SG, is this your first time reading the series? I loved FK.
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Post by Shuram Gudatetris »

Zarathustra wrote:SG, is this your first time reading the series? I loved FK.
No, it's the third. Read it first time twenty years ago (wow 8O ) when I was about 15 or so--and being 15 and immature, I tended to skip over a lot that wasn't action-oriented. I bought it last year, maybe two years ago, and re-read it, enjoying every last word of it. Now I'm unemployed and I have been working my way through the Donaldson library.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I recall really enjoying FK previously, but not so much this time around.

But the way it ended made it all worth it :biggrin:
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Post by DocTox »

Donaldson mentioned his interest in role switching for his main characters - but I think it was originally related to The Real Story novella wherein victim become rescuer, rescuer become villain, and villain becomes victim. But that actually played out much more fully over the course of the whole series, with Angus starting as the shockingly villainous pirate to mostly-helpless welded, zone-implant controlled cyborg. Nick obviously went from Robin Hood/Han Solo space swashbuckler to amoral, narcissistic villain bent on revenge at any cost. And Morn of course goes from pure victim (from pirates, plural, gap-sickness, and corporate pawn), to eventual epic hero saving not just Angus and crew, but also the world (and humanity) in the process.

The other aspect I liked about the Gap series, especially on re-reads, was that The Real Story set about something simple - tell the story, then tell it again, but with a bit more detail, and then tell it again, adding context and new perspective - all in the first book. But then he introduces the Amnion in the second book, raises stakes (and players) with Billingsgate and homeworld politics in the third, to epic struggle for immunity cure and high-stakes political games (sabotage, assassinations, betrayals, etc.), to finally the epic all-in battles in space with winner take all for the various players (Holt, Amnion, Warden, etc.). Every book kept peeling back the onion and I'm not sure there are many series that do that kind of unfolding narrative over the story arc.
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:LOLS:
DocTox wrote:The other aspect I liked about the Gap series, especially on re-reads, was that The Real Story set about something simple - tell the story, then tell it again, but with a bit more detail, and then tell it again, adding context and new perspective - all in the first book.
Agreed, and great post. Every time I read TRS I'm struck anew by how he does that...It;s like the real story is one that nobody can actually know...everybody just has bits of it, and without the right context, every bit is subtly wrong while being apparently true.

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Post by kevinswatch »

Still plugging my way through FK. Been slow though, with real life and my soon to be 1-year-old keeping me busy. Hard to find time to read except for the very end of the day before bed.

At the part where Morn found out she's prego. She just got the **** beat out of her by Nick. Definitely interesting to read about it the second time around knowing what we know later.

It's neat and interesting how much SRD develops Nick's character in the first part of FK. So little was talked about him in TRS.

I find the pacing a little slow around Captain's Fancy. The parts with Angus are too few and far between.

-jay
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Post by Shuram Gudatetris »

I just finished Chaos and Order. The Gap series is one hell of a slow burn, but once it gets going--damn, it really gets going!

I can't put it down now. It makes my heart hurt with anticipation. It took me months of reading here and there to get to Chaos and Order, a week and a half to get half way through it, and about two days to read the second half :P

And there is so much going on! Even on this third re-read, it is still mostly like a brand new story: so many angles and personalities and details to absorb. What a masterpiece!
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Yeah, I love them. Especially the 2nd half of the series.

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Post by Shuram Gudatetris »

Officially finished.
:Hail:
Wow. That is one satisfying read.
Avatar wrote:Yeah, I love them. Especially the 2nd half of the series.

--A


Agreed. I don't recall such an unbalanced perception from previous readings (this was my 3rd time around). This time around, FK was slow going for me, and even though I went into ADAHGA with a ton of enthusiasm, it was fairly slow going as well. But then I burned through the last two books with a fever.

And it works. I called it a slow burn before. But the longer it burns, the bigger and fiercer it gets. Each book builds in intensity and scope. And then it all comes crashing together. It's genius. That's not the word I'm looking for, but it is that and so much more.

Just wow.
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Same for me...FK is always a bit of a slog, but by the time I finish ADAHG, I can't put them down. Must have read them 5 or 6 times by now...always the same. :D

--A
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Post by kevinswatch »

Still working my way through Forbidden Knowledge. Great ride. I love how it keeps building and building. Just finished the escape from the Amnion with Davies and just got to the switch of POV to Angus. Love this scene so much. The transformation of Angus by the UMCP comes out of no where and hits you. Then they hit you in the background with his abuse as a child. Powerful stuff.

Oh, and I think scenes like the last are why Morn was always a more engaging character for me than Linden. Morn effectively takes control and threatens the entire ship with self destruct to get what she wants. So much more interesting then watching Linden plod through 4 books of TLC...

-jay

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Post by kevinswatch »

Finished FK last week. Again, of all of SRD's female characters, Morn is easy the most interesting. Loved how she kicked ass at the end of the book.

Starting up ADAHGA. A little slow so far with Holt and Dios, but I love the characters. Holt Fasner and Warden Dios really carry the rest of the series from here. Forgot how boring Milos was. Working on the first Davies character now. I remember reading a while ago that one of SRD's greatest writing regrets (or something of that nature) was his inability to write the character Davies up to the potential he deserved. I can definitely see that. Lots of potential. But I remember his character fizzling out as the story went on. Unless that's just my bad memory.

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Congrats Jay. :D

--A
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Post by Skyweir »

kevinswatch wrote:
Oh, and I think scenes like the last are why Morn was always a more engaging character for me than Linden. Morn effectively takes control and threatens the entire ship with self destruct to get what she wants. So much more interesting then watching Linden plod through 4 books of TLC...

-jay

...
I completely agree .. Morn had so much more depth, but had also been through a hell of a lot :( Yes Linden had her childhood trauma and her mother - and that kept drawing her back to those points in her life. But Morn championed her trauma, she had to, to survive.

Fave character though for me from the Gap - Angus Thermopyle.
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Post by kevinswatch »

Still plodding my way through. A third of the way through ADAHGA. Angus, Milos, and Nick are scheming. Fun stuff.

And I definitely agree, Sky. Angus is always such a fascinating character. It's like SRD takes the flawed anti-hero of TC and takes it to the extreme.

-jay
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Post by wayfriend »

Can we still call this reread "great" at this point? "Eventual" seems more appropriate. :P
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Post by kevinswatch »

If only Trump was here. Make Rereads Great Again! #MRGA!

-jay
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Post by Avatar »

wayfriend wrote:Eventual" seems more appropriate. :P
:D

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Post by kevinswatch »

Hey, I have a 1.5 year old. I'm exhausted! :Z:

-jay
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Serves you right for having a kid. ;)

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