Ahira's Hangar

We cant have a Fenestering through Donaldson and not have a Gap page .. can we?

Lets talk ... Gap fiction .. or Gap facts ... whate'er your take on the Gap series is. There are some real ethical issues raised in the series by SRD .. what do you perceive them as being? Like all SRD's work .. you either love it or hate it .. and that is definitely true of the Gap .. would you agree? There are some that through TCTC across the room .. I cant imagine those very same persons .. embracing the Gap .. I myself loathed The Real Story .. for a range of reasons .. most of all the ethical ones.

Have your say ..

Beware Spoilers!! health and healing<i></i>

The rape of Lena in TCTC goes hand and hand w/Angus' much, much, much worse treatment of Morn in the Gap--both r devices 2 test ur (the reader's) mettle and worth as a sensitive, caring human being who has the fortitude and the guts 2 understand human depravity and the incredible strenght of will and purpose that can arise from such terrible incidents. While TC's incident, bad as it was, made him, eventually understand his selfishness, selfpity and responsiblities it was also instrumental in giving him the means 2 eventually establish the reality of a Land he couldn't escape and had every intention of NEVER believing ever existed. Morn has 2 tap her inner, inner depths 2 find a prodigious strenght potent enuf 2 set the universe on fire. If one is human enuf, lucky enuf, or strong enuf 2 get though these "incidents", these tests of ur own mettle and worth as a "human" being will rocket, or summon, u in2 two of the finest adventures ever recorded. Fall Far and Well Pilots!<i>Edited by: danlo60 at: 9/15/02 7:12:15 pm
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wow!! .. beautifully summised and beautifully written!!

cant argue with any of that .. not now anyway health and healing<i></i>

I started reading The Gap series on Friday night. I finished The Real Story on Sat, Forbidden Knowledge on Sun, and am now almost halfway through A Dark and Hungry God Arises.

I am enjoying the twists and turns of the story. I have to say I was turned off by the explicit sexual violence in The Real Story. As always, when I see that sort of technique, I wonder why the author feels the need to be explicit. I think the point could have been made about the way Angus Thermopyle treated Morn Hyland without being so graphic.

The main reasonsI stuck with The Real Story were that I found the story itself interesting, in spite of the distasteful aspects, and I was informed by several members of KW that I had to read The Real Story in order to understand the rest of the series.

Sky, you were so right - I am in no hurry for my 16-year-old daughter to read this book.

~MsMary~

"Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"<i>Edited by: MsMaryMalone  at: 9/25/02 4:15:25 pm
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yes thats a series I intend to keep out of the family library till the children reach adulthood!! .. and even then I dont know how comfortable I will be with them borrowing the books from me

I totally agree with you Ms Mary .. I did not enjoy TRS for the explicitly graphic sexual violence! I also did wonder why SRD would feel the need to be so explicit! Maybe for shock value?? Or to create a genuine loathing for Angus and pity for Morn?? And it seems SRD uses this same kind of tool to draw an enmity between Nick and the reader too .. though with him he adds the illusive element of consent .. which engenders some different kinds of emotions re: Nick .. Maybe it is imperative to the story .. its just really hard to appreciate why.

You are tearing through the series .. I just got 4 and 5 recently so .. have yet to read them .. but having let so much time pass in the interum .. I have lost the flow a bit

oh well ..

health and healing<i></i>

Well, I am now halfway through the 5th and last book of the series.

I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that SRD specializes in writing stories that are torture to read, but which are so compelling you can't stop reading them.

Arrgghh!!!

~MsMary~ "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"<i></i>

I finished reading the Gap series a couple weeks ago, and have been posting about it at KW, but never came back here, for some reason.

I found the series to be really powerful. SRD keeps making the plot more and more complicated, so it was hard to know how the whole thing would come out. And I have to wonder what would happen in the future, with the Amnion and all.

What do others think about this series?

~MsMary~ "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"<i></i>

SRD's research is technically sound, the quantum proposals well worded and plot and character developement outstanding--One of the best Sci-Fi endevours I've ever read. I, personally, love the same type of "exclusive clubhouse" hazing SRD puts us through both in TCTC and the Gap. Which, basically, says if u can't handle the raw emotion and (all too real) human savagery in my 1st book(s) get the Hellfire out of the kitchen!!! The true human being is the meaning of the universe. He is a dancing star. He is the exploding singularity with infinite possibilities. <i></i>

LOL .. this sci-fi series is brilliant!! health and healing<i></i>

4 duchess and to get a Gap discussion going again! *****
Before, you are wise; after, you are wise. In between you are otherwise.
Fravashi saying (from the formularies of Osho the Fool) <i></i>

G'day All...this post is more about Donaldson himself, (and maybe myself,) than any of his books.

Is this dude a sick-puppy or what?

Now let's get this clear. I'm no God-fearin', bible-thumpin', scum-stranglin' prude. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) In fact, I'm an irreverent, politically-incorrect sick-puppy myself...but, for Gawd'sake, you have to draw the line someplace.

What put me off The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant was Thomas Covenant. He wandered through six books going "Woe is me, woe is me." and anyone who tried to help the selfish, ungrateful little bastard ended up getting screwed...sometimes by Covenant himself.
The Illearth War was different, but it wasn't a difference that appealed to me...and it was a preview of Donaldson's sad mind.

I swore I'd never bother with Donaldson again...until someone talked me into trying The Gap. What a mistake that was.

The last time I read any SF/Fantasy this off-putting was Norman's Gor series, which started out OK, but degenerated into soft porn rubbish suitably only for adolescents...to masturbate over.

If I hear that Donaldson has committed suicide, I won't be surprised. If I hear that he's been arrested for sex-crimes, or has had a sex change, I won't be surprised.
I repeat, this dude is one sick-puppy...and his work is of no interest to me.

Adios
Rockin' & in The Land of Oz
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If you don't have anything nice to say don't say it. Yes you're entitled to your own opinion--and I've really struggled with myself not to delete this post. I have met Mr. Donaldson and I've heard him talk and read and he is the farthest from what you suggest. You really don't get the "it" in his writting, that's too bad but it's not for everyone. So enjoy yourself at the Hangar but maybe you should avoid this forum if you feel this way. I personally have a deep connection to his work and would not have started the board if I hadn't found Kevin's Watch first.

Don't post in a forum you have no interest in-and you don't need to talk about masturbation on this board. *****
Before, you are wise; after, you are wise. In between you are otherwise.
Fravashi saying (from the formularies of Osho the Fool) <i></i>

Danlo, all your details are private, and I'm new around here, so I have no idea who I'm talking to...but it shouldn't matter.

If you want to delete my last post, and this one, then go right ahead. You gotta do what you gotta do...I do.

I was always under the impression that discussion boards were about discussing things. The pros and the cons.

I'm sorry if the Gor series is a bit before your time...my fault not, not yours...but if you'd ever read it you'd know why I brought it into a discussion of Donaldson...particularly The Real Story.
After all, I wasn't suggesting we make masturbation an Olympic sport, or use it as a radical cure for blindness...I simply stated that a hitherto fairly acceptable series had degenerated into something less than readable. My choice of expression may have been a tad colorful but, again, if you knew the the series, you'd understand exactly what I meant.

Anyway, this really isn't about words that you find unacceptable, it's about the purpose of this forum. So I repeat...whille I genuinely didn't mean to offend anyone, I found The Real Story offensive.
No, offensive isn't the word, I'm too old and too been there, done that for that. But...in my opinion...it's just not what SF/Fantasy is about.

Delete away dude, (or dudette,) but your purpose has already been achieved...buggered if I'll be sticking my nose 'round these here parts again. You're far too narrow-minded for tastes. I prefer folks with an IQ and a sense of humour.

Adios
Rockin' & in The Land of Oz




<i>Edited by: DRAGONEMISIS  at: 3/27/04 5:27 am
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I'm sorry I need to be more openminded, I guess. I take back what I said and hope you stick around. I wasn't trying to knock you off the board--I just prefer to keep the board "family oriented" and the "m" word scares me in that regard. I see your point though, Donaldson's strong language calls for strong responses. We do need opposing responses around here, we're just not that used to them. No I won't delete in the hopes that you'll return.

I'm a guy and I'm old enough to remember the Gor series, and yes I was attracted to the covers. I choose Moorcock's Elric instead, at the time, and never got around to reading them (the Gor books). You will find I have a grand sense of humor, once you get to know me better, if I'm defensive of any two authors it's Zindell and Donaldson. Please come back, sorry again... *****
Before, you are wise; after, you are wise. In between you are otherwise.
Fravashi saying (from the formularies of Osho the Fool) <i>Edited by: danlo60 at: 3/27/04 10:52 pm
</i>

I've never heard of the Gor series, so can't really contribute to that part of the exchange...but I can say that The Real Story is a VERY disturbing book. And there are other very disturbing things in the later books of the Gap as well...I find them very hard to read as a result... I have seen in my travels on the internet that Donaldson seems to be one of those authors whose works tend to bring up a lot of passion, both for pro and for con.

Most of us who have been here awhile know that this is a "family" board that takes in kids as young as ezboard allows. That makes us a bit different than some of the other boards out there, where people are free to use whatever language and imagery they wish. Here we generally try not to say things we wouldn't say to a 12 year old neighbor, as we do have members that young.

I don't know that anyone here has a problem with someone saying that their individual tastes do not run to the works of a particular author. But it would probably be a good idea to state it in a way that won't pull protective parents of little kids down on the necks of the administrators. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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