The Many-Coloured Land

Julian May (author)

Pan Books, UK: 1982; 411pp

ISBN: 033026656X

Genres: science fiction

Issues: cultural differences, sexuality

advanced concepts

The first in the Saga of the Exiles series, The Many-Coloured Land is the beginning of a narrative that bridges two periods in time and two very different cultures. What had been an archeological curiosity during a scientist's lifetime – a machine that brought to the 22nd century lifeforms of the Pliocene Epoch – becomes, after his death, an escape for every kind of misfit.

The doorway through time allows those who long for a quieter, less technologically oriented lifestyle to escape to an agrarian society previously only possible in their dreams. The mavericks, the outcasts and minor criminals find that the Golden Age of the Pliocene better  suits their personalities and idiosyncrasies.

But on the other side of the door they find that their imagined world is not all they were led to believe – after all, none of them had expected to find that an alien race had also chosen Earth of this era for their escape. The novel is strongly narrated and provocative in its protagonists. The extra-terrestrial race is disturbingly human so that their alien ethics and philosophies catch the reader off guard at times. Although a trifle over-written (mauve, rather than purple prose), the Saga of the Exiles will be enjoyed by most dedicated science fiction readers.

Series: The Golden Torc; The Nonborn King; The Adversary; Intervention

NB: explicit sex scenes and strong sexual references