Search - The Many-Colored Land (Pliocene Exiles Bk. 1)

The Pliocene Exiles series, beginning with the Many Colored Land, is a favorite of mine. I first read it back in the 80s and still think of it quite often. It seems like this series is so often overlooked by people. I remember when I first read it, the beginning chapters turned me off a bit, so possibly people give up on the book too soon.

*Warning--spoilers ahead*

The Many Colored Land is a blend of sci-fi and fantasy--more sci-fi at the beginning, then more fantasy later. In the 21st-22nd century, mankind has advanced so that people live in peace with other advanced species and have colonized many planets. Some humans have developed psychic abilities (clairvoyance, telepathy, telekinesis, etc). People who have these powers are known as operants and their abilities allow humans to commune and coexist peacefully with alien species. Everyone basically lives in ordered peace and harmony. But then there are some misfits who, for various reasons, don't fit into the perfect ordered society. They are too violent, anti-social, mischief-loving, or damaged for them to be happy. These human outcasts find a solution-- a time machine that will allow them to escape society and travel back in time to the Pliocene Earth, 6 million BC, where each person can live as they please. People are sent through the time machine in groups, along with their gear, but no one knows what happens to them since there is no communication from the other side. The first part of Many Colored Land introduces you to the eight members of one Exile group who are the main characters of the series.

The author creates very strong, memorable characters that were really the highlight of this series for me. There is Elizabeth, who lost both her husband and her operant powers in an accident; Felice, a beautiful but anti-social girl who loves violence and has hidden operant powers; Aiken Drum, super-intelligent, mischievous, a joker who doesn't fit in (I actually had a crush on him throughout the series); Richard, a space pilot and loner; Steyn, a gung-ho viking type; Amerie, a nun having a crisis of faith; Claude an old, recently-widowed palentologist who just wants to live out his last days; and Bryan, who is following a girl he fell instantly in love with and lost when she went through the gate before him.

The second part of the book follows this group after they pass through the portal. There are a few big surprises. Pliocene earth is inhabited by two human-like alien races, the Tanu and Firvulag. Tanu are a tall, physically beautiful race who are operant by means of a golden torc they wear. Firvulag are short, swarthy, and battle-loving with weak operant powers. The two races are kind of like elves and dwarves and they are constantly at war with each other.

The Tanu capture all humans as soon as they step through the portal and test them to see if any have latent powers that could be made operant by means of the torc. Those humans with latent powers are given a torc and made 2nd class Tanu citizens while those without powers become slaves. Some members of the original group find they have tremendous powers while others do not and the group is split. From here on out, the story becomes an epic "space opera" with the constant struggle of the Exiles to free themselves from the alien society or overcome them.

The Saga of the Pliocene Exiles was an awesome story and the testament to that is that, after all the hundreds of books I've read over the past 20 years, I still remember this series so well. My hope is that other people will discover this excellent series so the books will come back into print. There are also two sequel/prequel series, the Intervention and Galactic Milieu series, which I also enjoyed but were not quite as strong as this one. The Intervention is the story of how mankind went from being as we are today to becoming operant and making first contact with alien society. At this point, the books might seem a little dated, but I still feel they are worthwhile. The Galactic Milieu series takes place in the 21st-22nd century and revolves around a few highly operant families who are at the forefront of the human operant revolution. This series was more hard sci-fi and a little difficult to read, but I really enjoyed Jack the Bodiless, probably the best of that series.