A Dark and Hungry God Arises: The Gap into Power

The Gap Cycle, Book 3

By: Stephen R. Donaldson

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 20 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

A master storyteller, Stephen R. Donaldson established a worldwide reputation with his unforgettable, critically acclaimed fantasy series The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant. Then, with The Real Story and Forbidden Knowledge, he launched a thrilling new science fiction series. Now the galactic epic continues as humanity struggles against the forces of ultimate evil - and its own dark nature.

The stage is set for confrontation at Billingate - illegal shipyard, haven for pirates and brigands, where every vice flourishes and every appetite can be sated. Gateway to the alien realm of the Amnion, the shipyard is a clearinghouse for all they require to fulfill their mutagenic plans against humanity. It is here that the fate of Morn Hyland is to be decided amid a kaleidoscopic whirl of plot and counterplot, treachery and betrayal. As schemes unravel to reveal yet deeper designs, Morn, Nick, and Angus' lives may all be forfeit as pawns in the titanic game played our between Warden Dios, dedicated director of the UMC Police, and the Dragon, greed-driven ruler of the UMC.

Here, the future of humankind hangs on the uncertain fortune of Morn Hyland in a daring novel of epic power and suspense, relentlessly gripping from first page to last.

©1992 Stephen R. Donaldson (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Desperate times for everyone

Never forget that when Stephen R. Donaldson is the man doing the writing that there is no end to the misery that the universe will dump onto the main characters. It is no surprise when fate (aka Donaldson) conspires to back all three of his protagonists into a corner at the same location in Forbidden Space, a little outpost known as Billingate.  This illegal outpost, where human pirates and Amnion conduct dark dealings, becomes the backdrop for the convergence of Angus, Nick, and Morn and all the vitriol they carry for each other. It is not mere coincidence that this happens because two of the most powerful men in existence, Holt Fasner, head of the United Mining Company, and Warden Dios, head of the UMCP, are plotting against each other and using Morn, Angus, and Nick as unwilling pawns in their struggle. 

After Nick Succorso discovered that Davies was not his child, and that Morn's passion for him had been fake all along, he decided to get back at her by trading her son to the Amnion. The Amnion eagerly agreed to the trade because of their desire to conduct mutagenic experiments on Davies. Morn, still a prisoner aboard Nick's ship, manages to divert Davies' pod at the last instant away from the Amnion ship and toward Billingate where he winds up a prisoner. Of course this makes Nick Succorso furious because he is now in a position of total weakness as his ship arrives at Billingate with little to bargain for the return of Davies and no other way to make good on his promise to the Amnion. Meanwhile, Angus, who is now a fully 'welded' cyborg, is also sent to Billingate on a secret mission by Warden Dios and thus the reunion is complete.

The story remains interesting and the slow reveal of the bigger picture raises the stakes; however, there is no end to the creative and sinister use of technology to make the lives of the main characters miserable. Since it is hard to feel sorry for any of them, except Morn, one needs to just sit back and ponder how things are going to get worse for everyone in the next chapter. Scott Brick remains his steady self as the narrator of the series so if you found the first two books compelling there is no reason that you shouldn't continue with this one.

Even better then the last book

This series has hooked me unlike any other in a long time..It's dark,no mercy,intelligent & I can't wait to start the next

amazing

makes star wars look like Disney. best sci fi saga ever. Angus is one of the most interesting characters ever. loved it.

Outstanding

Would you consider the audio edition of A Dark and Hungry God Arises: The Gap into Power to be better than the print version?

I read these books when they were published in the 1990's and had to wait about 18-24 months for the next one to come out, and they were all great. I gave them to a friend of mine and he said it might be the best story he had ever read.

This audio is as good as the book.
Highly recommend this series.

Digging deeper and getting darker

Guys the brutality, grittiness and dark foreboding just keeps on a-truckin'. I make light of my reviews but one real thing I want to convey is that our boy Donaldson is a master at character depth. He just keeps introducing more and more of 'em and not an ounce of effort is spared at making them part of the story and some one you'll care about. Anyway you'll get some pretty sick twists and turns out of this one, the whole time noticing that the already stacked odds are just getting higher and higher for both the good, bad, and ugly. If you haven't noticed it by now you gotta tip your hats to our man Scott Brick. Ole Donlandson can make you love or dislike the human characters with his excellent writing, but DAMN Scott makes you HATE the Amnion characters with his top notch narration. I can guarantee, with 100% certainty that whether it is affection or loathing these will be the character you have the most feeling for in scifi.

-UD

A great read!

This book picks up speed in this series. It makes you demand to read book four.

Skip it

If you want a 20 hr recap of the previous events with half an hour of purple prose soliloquies thrown in, then sure listen to this book.

Too tedious

What would have made A Dark and Hungry God Arises: The Gap into Power better?

lighten up and let the story flow.

What was most disappointing about Stephen R. Donaldson’s story?

Every sentence is a drawn out, painful attempt to elicit some massive feeling from the reader. Nothing is left to just flow. Each scene must be more profound than the last.

I can't finish the book, and that's rare.

Would you be willing to try another one of Scott Brick’s performances?

Maybe

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Agony

Great book can just be frustrating to listen to

Bad guys and bad guys and more bad guys winning constantly. If your ok with that then it’s a book for you. Great book!!!!! Great story!!!!! But sometimes hard to listen to.