Stephen Reeder Donaldson (born May 13, 1947) is an American fantasy, science fiction and mystery novelist, most famous for The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, his ten-novel fantasy series. His work is characterized by psychological complexity, conceptual abstractness, moral bleakness, and the use of an arcane vocabulary, and has attracted critical praise for its "imagination, vivid characterizations, and fast pace.
He is also the author of The Gap Cycle - in my view, one of the greatest sci-fi epics ever written.
A science fiction epic set in a future where humans have pushed far out into space in the attempt to replace depleted resources, The Gap Cycle follows two concurrent story arcs. The first concerns an ensign in the United Mining Companies Police (UMCP), Morn Hyland, who is attempting simply to stay alive after being captured by a marauder named Angus Thermopyle. The second follows the Byzantine political maneuvering of the head of the UMCP, Warden Dios, as he attempts to thwart the machinations of his boss, Holt Fasner, who is the CEO of United Mining Companies (UMC) and the most powerful man in human space.
Each of the epics takes place against the backdrop of a threat to human survival itself from an alien species called the Amnion who use genetic mutation as a way to assimilate and overcome. Trade in raw materials (mostly ores) is carried out with the Amnion in exchange for technology, by both the UMC and illegals. Some illegals trade in Amnion territorial space, referred to as "forbidden space", out of bounds to the UMCP by treaty.
Donaldson wrote the series in part to be a reworking of Wagner's Ring Cycle. The "Gap" of the title refers to the faster-than-light drives used by the space vessels in order to cross great distances, an instantaneous occurrence similar to the notion of "folding" space.
The characters Angus Thermopyle, Milos Taverner, and Holt Fasner are some of the best character representations I have read in ANY novel. And Donaldson's characterizations of the Amnion are original and superbly thought-out.
The Gap series:
The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story (1991)
The Gap into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge (1991)
The Gap into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises (1992)
The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order (1994)
The Gap into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die (1996)
The 2008 reprinting of the series combines The Real Story and Forbidden Knowledge into a single volume. According to Donaldson's website, this was done at his request.
If you love sci-fi you MUST read this work.
My attempt at sci-fi, THE RESONANCE GAP, pales into insignificance compared to this masterwork.