The IBIC Guide to Books By Julian May

(under construction)

Welcome to the IBIC Guide to Books By Julian May. This Guide contains the following types of information: More about the IBIC Guides

Sponsorship information

Remarks from the IBIC Editor's Journal

April 1994

Julian May's works are a recurring topic of conversation for the estimated 84,000 people worldwide who read the Internet newsgroup rec.arts.sf.written. In fact, there is so much interest in her work that a separate Internet mailing list, MILIEU, was formed specifically to discuss her works. A subscriber to the list can expect to receive 3-4 e-mail messages a day from fellow enthusiasts.

So it is fitting that this review of her latest book, DIAMOND MASK, should be the first one posted to the Internet Book Information Center's WWW server.

DIAMOND MASK is the second book in Julian May's "Galactic Milieu" trilogy which began with JACK THE BODILESS and will culminate with MAGNIFICAT. The "Galactic Milieu" trilogy is itself a sequel to two previous series, "The Saga of Pliocene Exile" and "Intervention." All three series share a common setting and many of the same characters. This book focuses on the early life of Dorothea Macdonald, who became Dirigent of Caledonia and wife of St. Jack the Bodiless.

I mean it as a high compliment to say that the Milieu metatrilogy is a more sophisticated successor to E.E. "Doc" Smith's much-loved galaxy-spanning space opera, the LENSMAN series (incredibly, out of print). Both series feature noble, repressed supertelepathic supermen (Smith's Kimball Kinnison and May's Marc Remillard) playing out a destiny of galactic unity heavily influenced by human genealogy.

May fashions characters and stories that will bear frequent, almost obsessive rereading. I have read all of her previous novels several times, and love them all. (Like most people, I think "The Saga of Pliocene Exile" is a cut above the "Intervention" series.)

But I was worried about DIAMOND MASK. I had been disappointed in A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0345362470/{ENDSTUFF}">JACK THE BODILESS and felt that there had been a perceptible drop-off in quality from the previous series. I thought a lackluster effort in this second book would doom the trilogy.

I need not have worried. The same evening I finished reading DIAMOND MASK, I went back and began rereading A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0345362470/{ENDSTUFF}">JACK THE BODILESS. With the additional context, I liked A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0345362470/{ENDSTUFF}">JACK a lot better. That touchstone makes it clear to me that DIAMOND MASK is a highly successful second book in the "Galactic Milieu" trilogy. I am now confident that the projected final volume in the series, MAGNIFICAT, will provide a profoundly satisfactory resolution not just to the Galactic Milieu trilogy, but to the entire Milieu metatrilogy which is so well loved by so many. I await MAGNIFICAT with tremendous anticipation.

[P.S.--For those of you who have been waiting to find out the identity of the mysterious, evil telepathic entity called Fury, I will only say that you will find DIAMOND MASK well worth reading.]


Comments from IBIC Readers

Comments from IBIC readers are welcome. Please send a letter to the editor, subject line "Guides [Author/Genre]." Be sure to mention the URL of the page about which you are making a comment.


Editor's Recommendations, Summer 1996

In this inaugural edition of IBIC's Featured Books, I'd like to draw your attention to several titles which have helped to shape my life and thinking.

  • When I was around fifteen, I came across Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's science fiction novel, INFERNO. This '70s remake of Dante's classic describes science fiction writer Allen Carpentier's descent into Hell. It's still a very fresh, accessible take on the classic. What a great movie it would make!
  • The Niven/Pournelle INFERNO immediately inspired me to read the original Divine Comedy. I've read a number of translations over the years, but my favorite is the one by Dorothy Sayers (INFERNO; PURGATORY; PARADISE). The notes are excellent, and Sayers had such a knowledgeable and witty mind that reading her prose is a pleasure in itself. (For those interested in a more contemporary translation, I should mention that Robert Pinsky received excellent notices for his 1995 THE INFERNO OF DANTE : A NEW VERSE TRANSLATION; it's a very handsome book.)
  • I also want to tell you about the late Henry Fairlie's THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS TODAY, which probably did more than any other single book to galvanize me into a lifetime interest in Christianity that led me, eventually, to faith. Ironic, because Fairlie was a self-proclaimed agnostic socialist! But reading between the lines of this insightful and deeply feeling book, one realizes that the love of God cannot have been far from Fairlie's heart.
  • Finally, I should draw to your attention a more recent acquisition, the very handsome NIV STUDY BIBLE (10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) from Zondervan, indexed and bonded in leather in IBIC's theme color, burgundy (black and brown are also available). The notes to this Bible are amazing. They appear to provide you with a very substantial portion of what you need to know to have an intelligent layman's appreciation of the linguistic and historical issues involved in understanding Scripture.

IBIC now provides seamless links to the on-line ordering system at Amazon.com Books. To order a book, just click on an underlined title. As a default, we link to paperback rather than hardcover editions of a particular title (although we may modify this rule if a hardcover edition looks to be a particularly good deal). Our editorial philosophy is to put your interests first.

Comprehensive Table of Contents | Help

Copyright © 1996 Internet Book Information Center, Inc.

Send a Letter to the Editor