The Gap Cycle is a series of science fiction novels by Stephen R. Donaldson, more usually known for his works of epic fantasy.
It is an epic work set in a future where humans have pushed far out into space in the name of commerce.
The first concerns an ensign in the United Mining Companies Police (UMCP), Morn Hyland, who is attempting to stay alive after being captured by a marauder named Angus Thermopylae.
The second follows the fate of three people who are affected by the Byzantine political maneuvering of the head of the UMCP, Warden Dios, as he attempts to thwart the machinations of his boss, the CEO of United Mining Companies (UMC) itself, Holt Fasner.
[citation needed] According to the author's afterword in The Gap Into Conflict: The Real Story (1990), the series was originally envisioned as a novella in which characters representing villain, victim, and rescuer would switch places during the course of the narrative.