The Golden Torc
core novel 1982 Saga of Pliocene Exile
Record
| First published | 1982 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.13 (6,308 ratings, collected 2026-09-02) |
| Page count | 256 |
| First-edition ISBN | 0395312612 |
| Internal chronology | 2 |
Synopsis
The Golden Torc is the second book of Julian May's Saga of Pliocene Exile, continuing the human time-travelers' conflicts amid the warring exotic Tanu and Firvulag factions in prehistoric Europe. The story overlaps chronologically with the events of the first novel before moving beyond them, following characters such as the psychically gifted Elizabeth Orme and the manipulative Aiken Drum as they try to find footing, and leverage, within Tanu society. Humans who wear the golden torcs given by the Tanu gain enhanced mental powers, but at the cost of dependence on their alien rulers, and the growing presence of free lowlife bands complicates the uneasy balance between the human newcomers and the two alien peoples. Beneath the political maneuvering, a looming geological threat to the entire Mediterranean basin begins to take shape, adding urgency to the rivalries already dividing the exiles.
Where it sits
- Universe: Saga of Pliocene Exile
- Series: Saga of Pliocene Exile core; position 2 of 4 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Julian May
Notes
- From the series record (Saga of Pliocene Exile): The core tetralogy: one continuous story of the Pliocene exiles.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Saga of Pliocene Exile: position 2 of 4: previous The Many-Colored Land (1981) · next The Nonborn King (1983)
- Internal chronology, within Saga of Pliocene Exile: position 3 of 7: previous Jack the Bodiless (1991) · next Diamond Mask (1994)
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Many-Colored_Land
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_May
- https://nebulas.sfwa.org/award-year/1981/
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Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.