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A review by mormor_haxa
The Many-Coloured Land by Julian May
3.0
This was a re-read of an old favorite and - wow - have some bits not aged well at all. Specifically, the handling and treatment of race is problematic (and that’s being generous). There’s some other weird gender-essentialist and patriarchal nonsense at play, specifically around the men’s attitudes about women, sex, etc. It strikes me as really strange that May couldn’t imagine a world where society hadn’t straightened that out, especially given the rise of psychic healing, alien contact, etc.
But then, reading this during the Trump era, it got a little too close to home. Perhaps it’s just these particular men - men who would opt to flee to the Pliocene rather than stay in an enlightened culture - but I find the lack of textual commentary off-putting.
That being said, the world building is excellent. It’s folkloric roots are well researched, and I’m a sucker for alien/elvish parallels.
So I still intend to re-read the entire series, but with breaks to read something that - hopefully - won’t be inducing so much cringe every few pages.
But then, reading this during the Trump era, it got a little too close to home. Perhaps it’s just these particular men - men who would opt to flee to the Pliocene rather than stay in an enlightened culture - but I find the lack of textual commentary off-putting.
That being said, the world building is excellent. It’s folkloric roots are well researched, and I’m a sucker for alien/elvish parallels.
So I still intend to re-read the entire series, but with breaks to read something that - hopefully - won’t be inducing so much cringe every few pages.