Though better known for his ongoing epic fantasy
series, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant,
Stephen Donaldson has also taken a foray into science fiction. The
Gap Into Conflict: The Real Story is
the first in The Gap Cycle and a very
difficult read if it is not understood that the book is mere stage setting for
the four books which follow. Essentially
the exploits of a sadistic psychopath and his victim, the novel will
(rightfully) not win sympathy from many readers, but must instead be approached
with a view to the larger framework of character development Donaldson imagines
the series to be. Criminal and victim
may be the assigned roles now, but what of the future?
Gap
Into Conflict: The Real Story is unique in science
fiction for a handful of reasons.
Another example of Donaldson’s proclivity for anti-heroes, the three
main roles are filled by characters not particularly nice, to say the
least. One is Angus Thermopyle, a space
pirate with a malicious, vindictive temperament the likes sci-fi rarely
sees. Space opera generally the story of
heroes, Thermopyle’s evil upon evil (and also his victim’s concernedly passive
acceptance of his abuse), defies everything the sub-genre is famous for. Much like Thomas Covenant in Lord Foul’s Bane, readers should not
expect a warm and fuzzy champion in Thermopyle, rather a raping madman filled
with anxiety.
