Magnificat [Hardcover]

Having said that, Magnificat is a wonderful conclusion to a great series of books. The only unfortunate part is the ending which is foreshortened because the real ending for many of the characters in this book is actually what happens in the Saga of The Pliocene Exile. Despite this I can't help agreeing with the other reviewer that we could have benefited from a more detailed denouement involving Rogi, the Remillard family and the returned Pliocene Exiles. Some more details to wind us down after the momentous events at the end of the book would have been welcome.

As it is this book gives us the final disposition of humanities position within the Galactic Milieu, the fate of Marc Remillard, Mental Man and the Metapsychic Rebellion, as well as Jack The Bodiless and Diamond Mask. In addition it resolves the Fury and Hydra plotline. All in all there is a lot happening in this book and it is easy to see why people might be dissatisfied with the conclusion of all these plots in one book. Many writers would have had this book be twice the size, but Julian May manages to not jam too many details into the mix here, maybe to the detriment of the story, but in the end the pacing remains quick and focused. For those who have read the Saga of The Pliocene Exile those books give a more satisfying conclusion to the events begun in this series even though Saga actually circles back around and is actually the beginning. All the more reason to read the other series before this one to gain a full understanding of why things end the way they do and why and how the Family Ghost came back to have Rogi write these memoirs.

I can't agree with those giving this book a 1 star review as this book is very consistent with the themes and plots of the previous books and closes the circle of the three series in an above average fashion. The only gripe keeping this from being a five star book would be the aforementioned lack of detail at the finale.

Not in Jack the Bodiless, which picks up almost seamlessly where Intervention ends and has brilliant moments, excellently profiled characters and truly frightening adversaries; Diamond Mask isn't as good, but I wouldn't put it below average either within the complete cycle. Magnificat I wish I hadn't read.

Simply put, all the Metapsychic Rebellion events hinted at in the Pliocene books together with their godlike protagonists turn out to be a dud. Jack and Dorothea, while amiable, do not strike one as particularly worthy of their later saintly status - not because they're not good enough as people, but because they're not good enough as characters. Even marginal Rebels seem to have more spirit and depth. The Fury/Hydra subplot dissolves too hastily, but it is still complex compared to the Rebellion itself. What started and intrigued in the earlier books ends in a lukewarm and grossly disappointing "finale". Nothing is explained concerning the Carbuncle and its role in fighting the Rebellion fleet. The horrible tragedy that forever burdens Marc's soul happens in a paragraph or two and one has to employ all of one's imagination to give the event the grandeur May intended. It just doesn't deliver. The Mental Man project is likewise imagined, carried through and destroyed too quickly. I cannot help but think of countless Stephen King novels where all the build-up crashes like a house of cards through some deux-ex-machina which in this case is a frankly silly sudden Unification of humanity through all-pervading love.

I do not know if May wanted to give some boost to Pierre Teilhard's ideas by bringing them to a galactic scope, but it not only fails to impress, it annoys. The only plus in the book are the characters of Rogi Remillard and the Atoning Unifex, in which issues of ethics and morality are dealt with less pathos and much more skill.

The Saga of the Exiles was much better than the Milieu Trilogy. The latter seems like the result of a rush job compared to the former. A bit disappointing, knowing what Ms. May was capable of.

Also as someone mentioned, there are many inconsistencies between the two. For one, in the Pliocene Saga the metapsychics were hurling mind bolts spinning illusions fairly easily. Whereas in the Milieu Trilogy, Marc (Mr Powerful himself) in his youth and most of the rest seem to be much weaker (except for farspeech).