Donaldson, Stephen R.
THIS DAY ALL GODS DIE
The Gap Into Ruin #5
Stephen R. Donaldson
Bantam Spectra 1996
PB 688 pages
ISBN #0-533-57328-4
This Day All Gods Die is only for readers of Donaldson's Gap Cycle, since it is fifth and last in the series. The book is loaded with action: all plot lines spin down to one very explosive crisis point in the sky above Earth. Even the alien Amnion feel acquiring the prize they seek is worth the increasing risk of interstellar war.
Their own ship sabotaged, the embattled Morn and Davies Hyland use cyborg Angus Thermopyle to capture UMCP cruiser Punisher so they can warn Earth of ALL of the troubles headed their way. Some of those matters are: -1- There's an antidote for the Amnion mutagen that no one on Earth knows about--the UMCP (United Mining Companies) knows but they've kept it secret to use as a weapon and the Amnion want to destroy all knowledge of it before it can be used against them. -2- The UMCP is crooked--Morn doesn't know that Earth Counsil is suspecting just such a thing and are in urgent consultation of the matter. They do need Morn's testimony though, in the worst way ... if she can only get it to them. -3- The Amnion have other weapons and technology that Morn has found out about--and this might be the most dangerous information she has.
Meanwhile Warden, the Director of the UMCP, is walking a fine line between where the corruption really rests--with UMC CEO Holt Fasner--and the Earth Counsil that will require proof before justice can be done. Holt is not sitting still through all of this: the power of the Dragon is very strong indeed. Warden's people need to work fast to get all their proof to the Earth Counsil before legislation is made that will strip the police of their jobs, before Holt can order their deaths, before that Amnion ship up there that has just arrived in Earth's space gets trigger-happy. Things get so bad that the dedicated and resourceful captain of Punisher says, "If my dear, departed mother had known I was going to end up in a mess like this, she would have drowned me at birth. It's a good thing she couldn't see the future. One look at the entrails of a chicken would have sent her off her head. Then they probably would have had to tie her down to keep her from killing my father, too."
The last three hundred pages move fast--lots of high-stakes action, well
written. If you read for poetic justice, you'll be happy. If you read for
relationship reconciliation--go buy a romance novel. Do ALL the Gods die?
Personally I don't think so, but I'll leave it up to you to decide.
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