Book #236 of 2021:
The Gap Into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge by Stephen R. Donaldson (The Gap Cycle #2)
This sequel is a major improvement over its predecessor, deepening the worldbuilding of the space opera setting and populating it beyond a simple archetypal trio. We also switch our focal protagonist from the rapist lowlife Angus Thermopyle to his recovering victim Morn Hyland, who proves to offer far more engaging a perspective. Although there’s still a fair bit of rape and other brutality, we are at least no longer seeing it through the eyes of the perpetrator, which is a welcome change. I don’t recommend the previous volume to everyone, but I will say that any readers who can bring themselves to finish it should check this one out to watch how the story gets better from there.
Morn herself is a capable heroine, in the tradition of author Stephen R. Donaldson’s earlier Linden Avery and Terisa Morgan (of the Thomas Covenant and Mordant’s Need series, respectively). Like those women aboard Starfare’s Gem or within the walls of Orison, she spends a lot of time bouncing around a contained environment, learning how to leverage the insights of her despair in conversation with one figure after another. Here, that’s the spaceship of the pirate who rescued her from Angus, and who gradually reveals himself to be just as cruel and vindictive a captor. Nick Succorso is the true villain of this piece, and his steady transition into that role is a skillful exhibit of writing and plotting.
The richer texture of the narrative adds an interesting transhumanist element as well. Morn’s neural implant was initially employed to keep her docile for Angus’s regular assaults, but now that the controls are in her own hands, she’s able to wield it to both manage her Gap sickness and push her mind and body way past their natural limits. She’s reclaiming her power following significant trauma, especially when she uses the device to secretly increase her arousal for marathon lovemaking sessions with Nick, whose touch we’re told she would otherwise loathe. This sci-fi sex work isn’t always comfortable to observe, but as a way of playing the captain’s egotistical expectations against him, it’s a great weapon in her arsenal.
Honestly, the cadet’s personal arc in this novel is fantastic, and I’m tempted to give the title my highest five-star rating on her basis alone. Two items temper my praise somewhat, however. First, the background thread of galactic politics and Angus’s transformation into the cyborg ‘Joshua’ doesn’t really go anywhere, teeing up certain important details for the rest of the saga but not exactly contributing to the immediate adventure quite yet. And second, too little attention is given to Morn’s “son,” the child grown from a fetus to a teenager in minutes and imprinted with an exact copy of her memories. (Thank the local aliens, whom I haven’t had room for in this review but who are creepy and incomprehensible in the best way.) This could be a valuable transgender storyline — Davies clearly experiences some dysphoria at not having Morn’s expected form upon waking — but the text and characters all use he/him pronouns for the kid, without exception or challenge. While I’m trying not to impose my 2021 understanding of gender on fiction from three decades ago or insist on a tidy exploration of an inherently messy subject, something feels off about all this. I think my issue is not that this treatment of the teen is automatically transphobic, but rather that Donaldson keeps such a fascinating development on the periphery of the tale, depriving us of the information necessary to grapple with it effectively at all.
It’s been so long since my last reread that I can’t remember how these aspects continue to play out, but they’re substantial enough to impact my enjoyment and merit a ‘very good’ four stars instead of an ‘excellent’ five for the current book. Overall, though, this is a strong effort that’s far darker than the usual products of its genre, and a big step forward from the original launch.
[Content warning for addiction, domestic abuse, torture, self-harm, suicide, and racism.]
★★★★☆
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