Book 5 in the Galactic Centre Saga continues the journey of the Family Bishop, now allied with the alien Myriapodia, as they pilot their way to the True Centre of the galaxy. Here they encounter a strange and enigmatic structure called the Esty (ST), the last safe refuge of Humanity.
Benford changes tack here, focusing on Tobey, Killeen's son, rather than Killeen himself, and succeeds magnificently. Benford tells a coming of age story that is true to life; Tobey's understanding of and realtionship with his father questioned as all sons and fathers must. In addition to the pressures of a son becoming a man, Tobey must also grapple with the consequences of carrying the personality of Killeen's dead lover, who herself is exerting increasing control over Tobey's own sense of self. This very personal story is told against the background of increasing complexity and wonderous sights that Tobey only begins to comprehend.
Escaping from the bizarre and heavy-handed actions of his father, Tobey becomes lost within the strange structure of the Esty where compressed space and time mimics matter and can be shaped into uncounted pocket universes. Here he discovers his new emerging identity as he desparately flees a new intrusion of the Mechs, who, surprisingly, seem to be searching for Tobey himself.
Benford once again deftly doles out servings of mystery and answers. The plot deepens as we follow Tobey's adventures and the reader is given new clues as to the ultimate nature of the Bishop Family, Tobey, Killeen and the future of mankind.
What sets this particular installment above the proceeding volumes is the believable telling of Tobey's transition into adulthood. Any son will recognize the particular issues of this period of life and the inherent conflicts it causes in their relationship with their fathers. Benford's prose is evocative and heartfelt, and realistic. This is storytelling of the highest calibre.
Benford's weird construct, the Esty, which cicles the massive black hole at the galaxy's centre, is one of the most intriguing in all of S/F. Here time, space and matter are interchangable, leading to bizarre vistas and tiny universes where mankind seeks refuge from the Mechanical Civilization bent on their extinction. Time itself becomes so compressed that it becomes matter, Time Stone, which can be manipulated into all manner of physical phenomena. It is strange and wonderful.
Furious Gulf is, so far, the highlight of the series. It almost makes up for the hefty reading that should be done beforehand, and it would be a better novel if it could stand alone. Sadly, it cannot. The conflicts detailed in it cannot be separated from the characters and their history. More than any of the other books, this one requires that the whole series be read previously.
It remains, however, one of the best S/F novels of its era. If you have already slogged through the rest of the series, do not miss this installment. Furious Gulf is a touching and rousing adventure of a young man becoming an adult set in a future of incomparable strangeness.
[author's note: Since Good Reads doesn't allow half ratings I have given this one a 4. Really, it is a 4.5 out of 5.]