Stephen R. DonaldsonForbidden Knowledge: The Gap into Vision: The Gap Cycle, Book 2

[Please note that this is a review of the entire series rather than any individual book within the series.]Stephen R. Donaldson is primarily known for the dark fantasy work The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, which kicked off his career. The Gap Cycle, however, is a space opera. The sub-genre space opera is a form of science fiction traditionally characterized by a focus on grand adventure, melodramatic romance, a war of good versus evil, and characters rather than technology. The setting of outer space tends to be used merely as a backdrop for the action. The Gap Cycle is a space opera in a more literal sense, too: The last four books in the series were inspired by Wagner's Ring Cycle.I should note at this point that the Gap Cycle is a subversive work which viciously tears apart the conventions of formulaic space opera. Technology, while taking a back seat to the characters, is present as more than just a backdrop and the author makes an attempt at a level of realism that goes beyond traditional space opera. Grand adventure is replaced by the simple and brutal reality of the difficulty of survival while engaging in interstellar travel and the dangers and widespread influence of politics even on distant regions of space. The characters, too, are complex. There is no black and white morality. The author stated that his intent with the first book in the series "The Real Story" was to display the shifting roles of victim, victimizer and rescuer, and this theme is pervasive throughout. There is no galaxy-wide battle featuring mankind taking on the evil forces of invading aliens--aliens are present and do have a distaste for mankind but their method of warfare is much more insidious than simply sending ships out to blast stuff--humankind are fragmented and in perpetual conflict, both as a result of human nature and of political conflicts.The series starts slowly with a focus on three main characters, all of whom are fighting for survival--physiological and psychological--in their own (sometimes despicable) ways, but slowly expands its scope to reveal a much bigger picture. About half-way through the second one book will see that these people are pawns in a much larger political conflict that is revealed in full later in the series.Donaldson thrives at subverting genre conventions but his greatest strength is in characterization. Of the three starting characters and only one should be the least bit sympathetic. One is nothing short of monstrous and another lies somewhere in the middle, but he is no saint either. And yet these characters--and those that come later--are fascinating. Third person limited viewpoint is used throughout the series with the viewpoint switching from character to character in alternating chapters. The author uses this technique magnificently to peel away layers of lies and distrust and let you peer inside the mind of the main characters and find out who they really are and--more importantly--why. Much like real life, hardly anyone is evil just for the sake of being evil, or good merely for the sake of goodness, they've all had experiences--good and bad--that make their thoughts and actions inevitable and you will find out why.Another of the author's great strengths is in writing action scenes. He generates intelligently written, tense action scenes with a level of skill that most writers couldn't dream of achieving. His work had me flipping pages like a mad man, staring intensely at the text, terrified of what would happen next--would these people survive?--but needing to find out in spite of myself and and needing to find out immediately. I must acknowledge that his skill at pacing assists in making the action scenes so engaging. He knows how to slowly build the story to a climax and feed you just enough details to let you know what might be coming next, but not enough to know how it will play out. You're left wondering if this chase or that plan will work out, if any of your favorite characters will die and, if so, who. That his writing generates this dilemma seems quite appropriate given that Heisenberg's uncertainty principle is used as an analogy for our inability to determine the outcome of human behavior throughout the series. The books are also structured well; they get progressively longer as the series continues but at no point did I feel lost or that there was fat that needed to be cut.Be warned, though, Donaldson is not one to pull punches. Many people have difficulty getting through the first book in the series--the prelude--because of the violence and sadism contained within that short volume. Out of darkness comes light, but the series is gritty and a reader will be lost in darkness for a while before they get a glimpse of light.This series is one of the finest pieces of fiction I've ever had the joy of reading and comes highly recommended, but it is not for the weak of heart or stomach.

Forbidden Knowledge, the second of five books in the Gap series, is where things really get started. The previous book, The Real Story, doesn't really serve much purpose but to set up the characters for the rest of the story. In Forbidden Knowledge it starts to come to fruition.One of the things I like alot more about Forbidden Knowledge than the Real Story is the characters. The main character, who we spend most of the story with in third person subjective, gets alot of development. For the first time we see the effects of what happened in the Real Story and get some good development through relationships with other characters, introspection and some natural, well-delivered information on her past.There's another character who we spend a bit of time with in third person subjective, and whilst there are some very significant changes and a little more information about their past, the character doesn't get much screen-time. This is more in relation to the plot than anything else.The rest of the characters cast are also enjoyable. They're realistic and well-drawn, and there are a few that I like. Some of the others, in particular another important main character who we see mostly through the eyes of the main perspective, get some development and depth. They're not quite totally compelling yet, but at this point i'm interested enough in them that they add tension to the story. However, despite this, I still found a few of the psychological aspects less-than-realistic. They were enough to make me pause, and it tested my suspension of disbelief, but overall they're mostly minor ticks.The plot. Well, this book is more of a space opera. There are two plots, one that runs throughout the story and one that is part of the larger story arc. The main perspective is told throughout the story, the other is part of the frame. There's a fair bit of plot advancement here, the game is changed multiple times with twists and turns. The frame story hints at plot subtleties yet to be uncovered. The main plot is relatively straight-forward.Despite this, it takes until about halfway through to book for the plot to really get kick-started. There's plenty of tension for the remainder, and the stuff that was covered is all quite arguably necessary, but if you get turned apoplectic by having to read a book and a half to get here it may infuriate you. Personally I found it rewarding, it pays dividends. Funnily enough it took until this kick to get the characters more interesting.However, the main plot doesn't really have a definitive ending. It's more of a "to be continued" sort of ending, and necessarily the frame story moves forward just enough to set up for the next book. It makes the next book more appealing, to have these plot-lines continued and ended, but I find some readers prefer self-contained books in a series.The themes begin to develop. They mostly circle around issues of morality, set in a dark background. They're not so well defined at this point, though, so it's hard to pin anything down with certainty. I expect that the rest of the series will continue with them.One thing that annoyed me was that certain short chapters, titled "Ancillary Documentation", served only as info-dumps. This is annoying because 1) they're arguably unnecessary and 2) there are better ways to cover relevant information than with entire chapters for exposition. They're mostly only several pages long, and while containing some interesting information they don't really do anything that isn't already implied or could be implied or examined in other ways.Regardless, Forbidden Knowledge is a solid entry in the series. I was initially going to rate it a 3, but the second half of this book does just enough to save it.4/5

I enjoyed the prequel to this a lot and was not disappointed by this, the second book of the series. It is better than book1 and surpassed my (already quite high) exxpectations. Once again Donaldson delivers breath taking pace and excellent story development. Action, combined with in depth psychology and a fascinating future tech world make for a compelling read! I could not put it down.

This story line is so intense, you can totally lose yourself within it. I'm now starting the third in the series and all else may as well be in the gap.

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