[Gap 05] • Ruin · This Day All Gods Die

From the bestselling author of Chaos and Order comes the conclusion of the Gap series. As the crew attempts to pursue the pirate ship Soar and her captain, their hopes turn to Angus Thermopyle. Angus, Morn Hyland, and her son, Davies, race home, unaware that Warden Dios and The Dragon are locked in a final confrontation that may alter the fate of humankind forever. HC: Bantam.**

A new-cover reissue of the fifth and final book in the bestselling sf series created by the world-famous author of the Thomas Covenant chronicles -- and acclaimed as the 'best work of his career'. One of the most exhilarating space epics ever told comes to a shattering climax in a thrilling tale of high adventure, powerful emotion and labyrinthine intrigue. As the conflict between humankind and the Amnion aliens heads for crisis, Morn Hyland, cyborg Angus Thermopyle and the survivors on board the crippled starship Trumpet must return from deep space to Earth. Only they can prevent the titanic struggle between UMCP director Warden Dios and Holt Fasner, the corrupt head of the UMC, from precipitating all-out war with the Amnion -- and leaving humanity to pay a terrible price. As Dios in Earth's orbit and Morn in deep space both make far-reaching decisions, the Amnion act with swift fury, and suddenly Earth stands threatened with fiery destruction!

Amazon.com ReviewTough-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's 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, characterizataion, intrigue, corruption, and adventure you've enjoyed in the previous Gap books. If it has been a few years since you read the last installment, 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." However, you may be reading so fast you won't notice.

From Publishers WeeklyDrawing on a rich vein of science fiction, Donaldson brings to a resounding, though not triumphant, conclusion his Gap series, begun with The Gap into Conflict (1992) and continued through The Gap into Madness (1994). The struggle between Warden Dios, director of the United Mining Companies Police, and Horst Fasner, CEO of United Mining Companies itself, reaches a climax here. So does the tension between the human race and the alien Amnion, exacerbated by human development of a drug that prevents people from being mutated into the aliens. Meanwhile, much-victimized Morn Hyland and her motley crew are heading for Earth and arrive at the same time as an Amnion warship. The first third of the novel wins no marks for pacing, but later portions pick up speed, with the final battles near Earth satisfying all requirements for logic, excitement and catharsis. Donaldson's usual weaknesses are in evidence: substitution of scenery-chewing and angst for characterization, and an abundance of prolix passages. Too, this volume may confound those new to the series. But it's a crowd-pleasing story told on a grand scale, SF adventure with a genuinely galactic feel. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.