The Many-Colored Land

Volume 1 of the Saga of Pliocene Exile

By: Julian May

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

This is a spellbinding tale woven of equal parts epic and myth - with a liberal dash of hard science fiction.

When a one-way time tunnel to Earth’s distant past, specifically six million B.C., was discovered by folks on the Galactic Milieu, every misfit for light-years around hurried to pass through it. Each sought his own brand of happiness. But none could have guessed what awaited them. Not even in a million years.

In the early 22nd century, many humans are being born with psychic powers and are linked in a single galactic mind. Those without these psychic powers - the misfits, undesirables, criminals, and radicals - have a choice: mental reprogramming or exile. Exile, voluntary or otherwise, takes them back six million years, to a time between the extinction of dinosaurs and the rise of Homo sapiens, and to a time of exotic surprises and unknown dangers.

Julian May lives in Washington state and has been writing science fiction and fantasy for more than 30 years.

©1981 Julian May (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“ The Many-Colored Land…takes readers on an amazing journey from the distant future to the distant past, using unexpected routes all along the way…A tremendously original premise; fast-paced storytelling that defies predictability; and a sympathetic and well-rendered cast of characters.” (SFReviews.net)

“The Many-Colored Land is the first volume of one of the most impressive science fiction series I have read.” (Reviewers-choice.com)

Where is book 2? Where is the Galactic Milieu?

My review of this audiobook: I couldn't be more pleased.

This was a wonderful Sci-Fantasy series with great characters and deep world building. I tore through this audiobook only to find there aren't any more?? Are you kidding me? This is one of the great SciFi series, and audiobooks are more and more the format of choice for busy people. I don't have time to sit down and read a book with two jobs, full custody of my child, and caring for my mother, but I can listen to audiobooks for hours at a time during the day.

After some Googling it seems the reason we don't have any more audiobooks of Julian May's works is because she apparently had a dislike for the audiobook format. It's sad that the authors grudge against this format will lead to more obscurity for her works, which are already underappreciated. The heirs may feel they are honoring the authors wishes, but they are really just perpetuating a misplaced stigma against audiobooks, and the end result will be less people enjoying these amazing stories.

I couldn't be more dissappointed.

Love this series.

This first book is filled with plenty of exposition, but only because it's the setup for an incredible universe. An extremely diverse cast of characters who are uniquely their own tell the tale of humanity in an ancient world, already inhabited.

Characters

No sequel is available to continue the series. Why do only one book in the series.

MORE!

I love this series, and the narrator did a great job with the book. WHERE'S THE REST?

great story and characters

I have read these books so many times my paperbacks have fallen apart. The story is full of many varied characters and its great to follow their paths through the book. There is also a detailed background in the history of the future earth that is revealed in snippets. Overall a wonderful series and hope the sequels and prequels are released soon on audible.

My Tolkien

What made the experience of listening to The Many-Colored Land the most enjoyable?

I re-read these books every few years and they keep getting better.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Many-Colored Land?

The shock of the characters being taken captive by exotic,super-sexy aliens.

Finally! I have been waiting for this

I read this series as a kid and loved every single page, I went on to read the Galactic Milieu Series, and was just amazed how everything is intertwined.

The only bad part was that I did not own it, so I spent the next couple of years digging through old bookshops and 2nd hand books, looking for these treasures as they were out of print. Having collected them all, I set about reading them all again, and... Wow! It was even better the 2nd time round.

I recently thought to myself that it was time to read this great story again, and so I located my copies, blew the dust off, cracked open the yellowing pages and realized I need reading glasses to read the small print.

So, I searched audible.com and was very pleased to see that the first book was available! I immediately downloaded it and set about listening to it.

Bernadette Dunne does a marvelous job with the narration, initially I found it all happening a bit to fast, so I slowed the narration speed down a notch, and that did the trick. I gave my mind just enough to to make sense of all the names, and all the events that lead up to the main story.

The story was still as good as I remember it, and now I am just waiting for the rest of the books to come to audible.com. (otherwise I might just have to get a pair of reading glasses, but I am to young for that, surely?)

Love the Saga of the Exiles.........

....but this audiobook, not so much. Mispronunciations, some strange characterizations. The woman narrator sounded good on women's voices, not so great on the men's. So far, this seems to be the only volume that has been made into an audiobook. I wonder why audiobooks can't be produced w/ the appropriate sex voicing the characters, and how about accents? I know many of the characters in The Many-Colored Land had English, French, Australian accents.

Brilliant

Please record the other books the story is brilliant, and captivating, the universe and world building background is fantastic and at the same level as Tolkien

The start of a well-realized universe

I first read all of Julian May's Pliocene Exile series and related Galactic Milieu series decades ago. Periodically I've checked to see if any were turned into audiobooks and finally, the first has been! It's always dicey to listen to a well-loved book -- will the narrator do it justice? Will you hear something new in the narrator's interpretation? I must say, I'm delighted with Bernadette's reading/interpretation of the story. Yes, there are a lot of characters and it may be a tad challenging to follow the first time. Stick with it - the story just gets richer and richer, and the characters evolve in unexpected ways. The worst thing will be waiting for the rest of the series....Blackstone Audio, don't keep us waiting too long!