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Cover for The Saga of Pliocene Exile

The Saga of Pliocene Exile

by Julian May

Narrated by Bernadette Dunne

books
4
pages
2.1k
audio
16h
complete
1981–84

Epic/High Fantasy, Isekai/Portal Fantasy

Ranked #30 in Complete Isekai

Is it for you?

Seeking escape from a rigid twenty-second-century Earth, a band of misfits volunteers to step through a one-way portal into deep prehistory. Instead of an untouched paradise, they discover Pliocene Europe is already ruled by warring psychic aliens who immediately enslave them.

You'll like it if you enjoy

  • A cunning, Machiavellian trickster
  • Sci-fi blended with ancient myth
  • Psychic powers and telepathic battles
  • A sprawling, multi-perspective ensemble cast

Good to know

  • Ebook editions contain frequent OCR scanning errors
  • A slow, exposition-heavy start in book one
  • Occasional scenes of graphic violence

How it ends: Readers find the finale brings the story full circle, weaving the major narrative threads together neatly.

Tags

  • Ensemble Cast
  • Strong Female Lead
  • No Harem
  • Mixed Tone
  • Slow Burn
  • Heavy Worldbuilding
  • Portal Fantasy
  • Unique Magic System
  • Gore

Reading order

  1. Cover for The Many-Colored Land: A Time-Travel Fantasy Adventure in Pliocene Europe with Warring Alien Races (The Saga of Pliocene Exile Book 1)

    Book 1: The Many-Colored Land

    520 pages16h audio1981

    Seeking an escape from twenty-second-century perfection, an eclectic group of misfits steps through a one-way time warp into Earth's primeval past. Expecting a pristine Eden six million years ago, they instead arrive in a dangerous Europe dominated by two warring alien races—the aristocratic Tanu and the subterranean Firvulag. Forced into servitude or flight, the human newcomers must leverage their own latent talents and survive in The Many-Colored Land, where mythic folklore meets science fiction in a battle for freedom.

  2. Cover for The Golden Torc (The Saga of Pliocene Exile Book 2)

    Book 2: The Golden Torc

    529 pages1982

    As human time-travelers adjust to primeval Earth, two factions spark chaos across the continent. In The Golden Torc, former Grand Master Metapsychic Elizabeth Orme fights to recover her latent abilities while held captive in the Tanu capital. Meanwhile, rebel humans form a volatile clandestine alliance with the dwarfish Firvulag to strike at the heart of Tanu power. Everything converges at the legendary Grand Combat tournament, threatening to shatter the delicate balance of Pliocene Europe forever.

  3. Cover for The Nonborn King (The Saga of Pliocene Exile Book 3)

    Book 3: The Nonborn King

    545 pages1983

    With the Tanu capital destroyed, the ambitious trickster Aiken Drum seizes the usurped throne, striving to maintain control over a fragile coalition of humans and aliens. In The Nonborn King, Aiken faces relentless pressure from scheming Tanu factions and a revitalized Firvulag army. To make matters worse, a faction of formidable psychic rogues from North America emerges to exploit the chaos and claim the time-portal, pushing the continent to the brink of total civil war.

  4. Cover for The Adversary (The Saga of Pliocene Exile)

    Book 4: The Adversary

    490 pages1984

    In The Adversary, the fate of primeval Earth hangs in the balance as King Aiken Drum's reign faces destruction from all sides. The dwarfish Firvulag prepare an apocalyptic assault to wipe out both humans and Tanu, while the arch-rebel Marc Remillard seeks to conquer the realm. As a new two-way time-gate threatens to reconnect the Pliocene Epoch with the twenty-second century, rival psychics and alien armies clash in an ultimate showdown that will reshape history.

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