Otherland 1: City of Golden Shadow Otherland 2: River of Blue Fire

Otherland

From the writer of the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn four book trilogy comes this grand new series. Containing elements of science fiction, fantasy, and cyberpunk blended together just perfectly, Tad williams has created a future world that is frighteningly possible. The net and VR have become a part of every day life, yet there are dangers lurking in almost every corner. When Irene Sulwayo's brother Steven, after visiting an online bar known as Mister J's, goes into a coma, she begins to search out what could have happened to him. She and !Xabbu, her bushman student/friend, link into Mister J's and almost don't get out alive; and things start to spiral down after that as the two unearth more and more information about the mythical Otherland. Meanwhile, in another part of the world totally, Orlando, aka Tharagor the hero of Middle World, has stumbled onto his own problems. When he sees a vision of a golden city in the middle of a game, one that is much too real to exist in VR, he becomes obsessed with finding what this is. Dragging his friend Fredericks, aka Pithlit in the Middle World, around with him he seeks to discover just what this vision he saw was, Orlando becomes caught up in a conspiracy by the Grail Brotherhood, a small group of billionaires and trillionaires who have built this online world for their own ends, and who will stop at nothing to keep it's location a secret.

Rating: While the first book started out slow in the beginning (because we had to learn about the world), it picked up quickly and became a book I could not put down. I was lucky that I didn't get this book until the second had come out; many had to wait a year to see what came after the cliffhanger ending (a necessary evil, although one many didn't like; ask Tad if you'd like his reason).

How I rate
PlotCharactersMovement of ActionOverall WritingTOTAL
25 + 25 + 22 + 25 = 97

Out of a possible 100, this series rated a 97. For those who like science fiction, fantasy, or cyberpunk this series is Recommended.

Other works by Tad Williams:

Tailchaser's Song
The Dragonbone Chair
The Stone of Farewell
To Green Angel Tower
Caliban's Hour
Mirrorworld

For more information on this series, visit:

Tad William's Web Page
Tad's books at Amazon.com
Tad William's Books at Barnesandnoble.com

Back to Tad William's Reviews
Back to Reviews homepage