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Julian May
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The Golden Torc Paperback – February 12, 1985

by Julian May (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,023 ratings
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By A.D. 2110 nearly 100,000 humans had fled the civilized strictures of the Galactic Milieu for the freedom they thought existed at the end of the one-way time tunnel to Earth, six million B.C.
But all of them had fallen into the hands of the Tanu, a humanoid race who'd fled their own galaxy to avoid punishment for their barbarous ways.
And now the humans had made the Tanu stronger than the Firvulag, their degenerate brethren and ritual antagonists. Soon the Tanu would reign supreme. Or so they thought . . . .
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Previous page
  1. Book 2 of 4
    The Saga of Pliocene Exile
  2. Print length
    416 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Del Rey
  5. Publication date
    February 12, 1985
  6. Dimensions
    4.5 x 1.25 x 7 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0345324196
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0345324191
  9. See all details
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nearly 100,000 humans had fled the civilized strictures of the Galactic Milieu for the freedom they thought existed at the end of the one-way time tunnel to Earth, six million B.C.
But all of them had fallen into the hands of the Tanu, a humanoid race who'd fled their own galaxy to avoid punishment for their barbarous ways.
And now the humans had made the Tanu stronger than the Firvulag, their degenerate brethren and ritual antagonists. Soon the Tanu would reign supreme. Or so they thought . . . .

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Del Rey; Standard Edition (February 12, 1985)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0345324196
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345324191
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.5 x 1.25 x 7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,023 ratings

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Julian May

Julian May

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
1,023 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Larry T
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic sci-fi series
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2023
Verified Purchase
Another of Julian May’s Pliocene Exiles series. Follows the Many Colored Land. Just as exciting and strange as its predecessor.
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Simon
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read - OCR quality not as bad as some would state
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2013
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This is a fabulous book, inventive and original with well developed characters, well written prose, and something of a genre blur between sci-fi, fantasy and historically inspired fiction. The second in the series and a clear quickening of the pace. I first read these books as a teenager and now coming back to them find them still engrossing if in a different way: nuances that were not apparent in the first reading and a more "adult" appreciation perhaps that I'm bringing to them and the joy is that the books support both.
I was worried by other reviewers prior to purchasing that the quality of rendering into the digital format would greatly detract from the reading experience, but whether it has subsequently been resolved or they are simply more sensitive to it I found that, while there were errors - a couple of instances of numerals used instead of 'L's for instance - it was not too intrusive. That's not to say that it wouldn't be preferable to have the publisher remediate the issues further but that it shouldn't stop you buying a book that lamentably is now otherwise out of print.
Get it buy it enjoy it!
3 people found this helpful
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MikeG52
4.0 out of 5 stars Good sequel
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2021
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Hey, if you read The Many Colored Land (by Julian May) then you gotta read this ! It's the sequel (2nd in the series) of this fascinating tale about the past, the future and mind=reading aliens !!! The fate of Felicity, Aiken and Elizabeth is in your hands, read on travelers !!!
One person found this helpful
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shadow
5.0 out of 5 stars Best sci-fi/fantasy series ever!
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2016
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This is my favorite sci-fi/fantasy series of all time.
Julian May has a unique ability to build hyperbole that continues to point towards a climax then surprises the reader's expectations by discovering yet another peak beyond that one. She appears to have used a thesaurus heavily to throw in words which the reader will not be familiar with. That delights some people and turns other away. At some times this seems forced but mostly it flows.
She's taken several of the basal desires and fantasies that we have and put a face on them complete with many distinctive characters and an astonishing number of in depth scientific references which make you wonder just who was she that she was able to pull so many fields in to one epic series.
Truly an internally consistent self contained universe you'd want to visit....were it not so dangerous!
Five stars all around.
3 people found this helpful
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jamcc32
5.0 out of 5 stars Book 2 of the Pliocene Exile series
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2017
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This is a sequel to "The Many Colored Land' That I read years ago. I searched for the next book in the series but didn't find it until I looked on Amazon. Lo and behold the entire 4 part series was available! Now I can find out what happened to my favorite characters. Will the humans exiles prevail over their alien oppressors? I sure they will and with great style!
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Donna L. Campbell
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book and great series
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2014
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This is one of my favorite older series. I haven't read these books for a long time. I thought that I would read again. The books that I have now are dogeared and falling apart. I thought that I should get a new set. I was afraid that I couldn't find them, of course, Amazon had them. I just wish that Amazon had the Audiobooks. It has the first book on Audible, but for some reason the other books are not on Audible. That was quite a disappointment
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me
4.0 out of 5 stars A favorite Julian May book
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2018
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I got this book & the following books of the "Pliocene Exile" series on Kindle "text to voice" because Audible only has the first book (The Many-colored Land) in Audiobook. The Kindle voice works fine & I don't have to keep being frustrated when Audible only puts out the first book in a favorite series.
3 people found this helpful
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Metals Girl
5.0 out of 5 stars Layered characters
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2015
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May always delivers developed characters. Some may at first be presented with surface gloss, but you know there are layers yet to be revealed. You may think you know where someone's heart is, and then no, that isn't the case. The reader does like a little predetermination to work out (oh, I'm smart?), but on the whole, it is good to have twists that are like life, not totally predictable. Fate turns on a butterflies wing flap...
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Top reviews from other countries

Logos
5.0 out of 5 stars Read The Others First
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2018
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The Golden Torc is part of a series dealing with the rise of mental abilities in humanity such as levitation, telepathy, creation etc. I have read and re-read the series for many years, but sadly, my copy of this book went astray ( lent out, I suspect), hence the purchase and the review.

The early parts of the series deal with the gradual spreading in humanity of these powers, and the problems faced by those so 'blessed'. Some turn into saints, some devils. Behind the scenes we are aware of a Galactic Confederation of species already long used to these powers, and joined in a benevolent fraternity of minds. Indeed, the whole thrust of the early books is their desperate hope that humanity will join them. Humanity is not so keen, and reacts in a typically belligerent way.

In the Saga of the Exiles, those unhappy with the world they live in can escape via a one-way time portal to a world six million years younger. They cannot be mentally endowed, however, and this partially explains their desire to escape. The characters are all well drawn, and eminently credible.
Sadly, the world they escape to is not the wilderness they expect but has already been colonised by fugitive aliens who see this human influx as a way of improving their own lot.

Put so baldly, the story sounds less than inviting. But in fact it grips from page one and never lets you go. Do read the books in order, though...
One person found this helpful
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S
5.0 out of 5 stars A never aging story
Reviewed in Australia on September 12, 2022
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I read this book many years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Now eyesight problems prompted me to purchase the “many coloured land “on Audible, but no other books have been recorded. I purchased the “Golden Torc” as an ebook and read it on almost maximum enlargement. It’s as good as I remembered, except for typographical errors. Now for book three !
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M
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but expensive
Reviewed in Spain on October 4, 2016
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A kindle edition with all the usuals that doesn't explain its high price. The author is really good but the book itself it's not even that long of a book (400 pages or so) and it's not translated. I really hope all the money goes to her...
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David Corbett
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in Germany on April 27, 2014
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One of the best fantasy series ever written. Fantastic idea and fantastic characters, especially Felice Landry and Aiken Drum. The follow up series, which is actually a prequel is also a fantastic series in its own right.
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A Brief Elaboration of a Tube
5.0 out of 5 stars At last.....
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 3, 2013
Verified Purchase
The Saga of the Exiles on e-reader! Excellent!

First read Julian May's brilliant Saga years and years ago and still have the paperbacks. Went on from the Pliocene exiles to Jack the Bodiless and Diamond Mask and all the rest of the Milieu stories. Fabulous stories of telepathically and psychokinetically operant humans and how they got there. Yes, it's nonsense by any normal, everyday standards but the story is a huge sweep of imagination with cleverness and wit woven right the way through it - Aiken Drum, the trickster and arch-manipulator being the spitting image of Machiavelli, for instance.

If you're an SF buff I highly recommend this series. Funnily enough, I was looking idly for it as e-books just a few months ago and there was nothing available from "official" channels - an unofficial copy I found and downloaded had no formatting. You'd be amazed how flat and boring a story becomes with no paragraphs! Then they appeared as "trade copies" - not quite sure what that means, but perhaps it's associated with one gripe I do have about the e-versions - that scanner misreads haven't been sub-edited out. For example, one of the Firvulag Great Heroes is called Sharn-Mes; usually abbreviated to Sharn. In the e-version it appears about 70% of the time as "Sham" which grates badly every time. There are other examples.

Nonetheless, I'm ploughing my way through the whole lot all over again and loving it. Give yourself a treat. Get at least the four "Saga" books and read them!
2 people found this helpful
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