Otherland: River of Blue Fire 43
| Otherland: River of Blue Fire | |
| author | Tad Williams |
| pages | 675 |
| publisher | Daw, 09/1999 |
| rating | 9/10 |
| reviewer | chromatic |
| summary | |
| ISBN | 0886778441 |
| summary | Tad Williams explores global conspiracies surrounding a perfectly realized virtual world in the continuation of his Otherland saga. |
At the end of Otherland: City of Golden Shadow, Tad Williams had dumped most of his protagonists into the convincing virtual reality known as the Otherland. In this playground for the rich, the reclusive, and the powerful, the small band was shocked to learn that it was trapped. It would be only a matter of time before the shadowy Grail Brotherhood, masters of Otherland, could discover the intrusion and act to protect their secrets.
Frightened and confused, the party's only chance for survival is to follow the quasi-metaphorical river that flows through each simulation, connecting the private domains of each member of the Brotherhood. It's a quest that will take them through a land of giant insects, Venice, Ancient Egypt, a twisted Kansas under invasion from decaying Oz, and other exotic, imaginary locations.
The real world is packed with intrigue too, as the forces opposing the Brotherhood (both knowingly and unknowingly) plan and plot and move their pieces into position. Reality and Otherland start to feed off of each other as dark secrets come to light and the Grail project enters its final stages.
As fits the second book in this series of four, some mysteries are solved and many more are discovered. Plotwise, the motivations of and divisions within the Grail Brotherhood are explored, and partial explanations of sleeping sickness are given. True to Williams' plot-twisting style, these bring up new questions. On the whole, there is less action than in the previous book, but more plot.
While there's still a lot of action, it's divided between five major groups of characters and settings (the latter given a very loose interpretation) and at least five other, minor threads. Consequently, even in a book of nearly 700 pages, four chapters may separate sequential events. This can be frustrating, as the most intriguing character receives the least attention. (In the introduction, Williams promises his fans that he will try to avoid the sort of cliffhanger ending that the first book had. To his credit, a plot diagram of River of Blue Fire would fit the traditional form much more closely than one of City of Golden Shadow.)
Williams fans may notice themes also present his "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" series, which itself expanded on ideas present in his debut work Tailchaser's Song. You'll find ancient conspiracies, shady deals with unknown forces, enlightened groups of scholars working in the background, and the question of responsibility. It's refreshing to see him choose a less-than-superhuman antagonist (though the Heliopolis simulation and the Other may turn out to be more important -- and less "human" -- in the end).
Philosophical and literary analysis aside, is it entertaining? Quite so! The mixture of enigma and revelation, imagination and technical whiz-bang makes a very satisfying texture. For a thoughtful, less-dystopian-than-cyberpunk but still epic take on virtual reality, identity, and conspiracy, check out the Otherland.
Purchase this book at fatbrain.
Grrreat! (Score:1)
Otherland (Score:2)
Re:This is incredibly old as well as wrong... (Score:1)
No Conspiracy Here :) (Score:3)
The story blurb is wrong where it says "latest book", but there's a good reason about why this was posted. At least, I think it's good.
I grabbed the book right after Christmas. Since Hemos is always looking for more reviews, I offered to write one up, as no one had done it yet. (For what it's worth, the review of City of Golden Shadow got posted about the same time as this book came out in hardcover. So we're maintaining an odd sense of timing.) I'm sure he'd be glad to post a review of Mountain of Black Glass.
Now if Tad Williams wants to send me copies of his newer books as they come out.... :)
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Yeah, but it's not awful (Score:2)
But, mind you, it's not a bad book. I did read the whole thing. And if you want to third one to make sense, it's a good idea to get through the second. And yes, the third one is much better :-).
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Tad Williams rocks (Score:1)
I don't think many authors are capable of writing fantastic tolkienish(in scale) fantasy and then jumping to near-future realish/VR adventures.
I can't wait to see what is next.
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Remember (Score:1)
Eeeww....
Another Secret About Scores (Score:2)
I hate giving books scores. The ones in the reviews seem to appear out of nowhere, hmm. The series overall is quite good, but this book really had the sort of Second Book Syndrome that's common in trilogies.
Authors must get to a point where they say, "Gosh, I had to ramp up the excitement in the first book to get people hooked, but I want to throw more plot into the mix and get into the characters without pushing too far toward the cliffhanger at the end." Williams could have got by with two less plot threads, if he'd added a little more action. He wanted to be subtle about what was going on (as he is a great fan of foreshadowing) while capturing the frustration of the travellers (in that they knew they weren't making any progress). That's my analysis.
I'll try to be better about giving scores, I promise.
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Can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this... (Score:1)
For those of you who haven't read any of the Otherland books yet, GET TO A BOOKSTORE OR LIBRARY NOW! Tad Williams is a great author that just about every sci-fi fan will enjoy.
Re:Can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this... (Score:2)
Bad troll! (Score:1)
Note: not a normal series. (Score:2)
(Good though -- I've eagerly read every book as soon as I could get my hands on it)
Review a bit late (Score:3)
Tad Williams' web site is located at http://www.tadwilliams.com/tadwilliams/ [tadwilliams.com] .
Re:a book? (Score:1)
No. Amazon.com says books are cool.
Re:Review a bit late (Score:1)
<a href=http://www.halcyon.com/eneuman/cgi-pvt/wwwbo
knug
Third book... (Score:1)
Re:Yeah, but it's not awful (Score:1)
Aww yeah, more visionary fiction! (Score:3)
Regardless, the "trapped in a realistic virtual world" plot still hasn't run out of steam yet. I was just reading Amber again, which (of course) has to do with some pretty realistic "virtual worlds" (shadows), and everybody loves The Matrix, even if it isn't Neuromancer.
I think that for the futuristic perspective novels, I like Tad Williams almost as much as I like David Brin (for Earth, which was awesome, and still pretty possible--amazing in that genre!).
But really I like Tad's vivid depictions of reality. His books are very long, but they seem more real than many other books I've read just because of his attention to detail. Reading one of his books as opposed to a 300-page book is like reading the 300-page book instead of seeing the movie. The Memory, Sorrow, Thorn series is a great example of this.
And yeah, it's really funny to read the notice at the front of the last book in paperback, that says basically "due to publishing constraints, we had to split this into two books for paperback". They're still both greater than 800 pages long. (!) Again, this is like Amber, since they just published all of those books into one volume recently. At least it isn't that long, but almos every book ends like a cliffhanger, because it's part of a larger storyline. Tad Williams has to do this too, which is somewhat frightening.
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pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate [152.7.41.11].
Not 'Dragonbone Chair' (Score:1)
The final book of that series, "To Green Angel Tower" was actually itself split into two parts in the paperback edition...1000+ pages are too much for anything but hardcover!
Otherland hardcover $6.99 (Score:1)
BTW I thought I would inject the notion that for a series like this, it is well worth it to get the sturdier hardcover edition. They last decades longer than paperbacks.
Capsule response (Score:1)
The second book was good, but somewhat of a letdown from the experience of the first novel. Part of the reason for this was, I believe, the fact that more of the storyline was revealed. Much of the wonder of Otherland is in discovering how the rich and textured world behaves. As noted, the book tends to drag a bit in terms of developing the arc, although it is by no means boring.
The third installment seems to recover somewhat from the problems of the second; although not as good as the first, it is definitely an improvement. I doubt that it would have been possible to make any of the books, with the possible exception of the climax, as good as the first, simply because "Otherland" was our first view into this mysterious and interesting world...staying excited about it puts an additional burden on the author.
It is definitely worthwhile to read all three existing novels; if you have trouble with the second, just hang in there--you'll want to have an intimate knowledge of what occurs in that installment so that you can appreciate the other books.
And Garpenlov: when you have time, go back and give it another shot...maybe after rereading the first novel. You might be surprised!
Thanks (Score:1)
Crush.
More Tad (Score:2)
http://www.halcyon.com/eneuman/tad/
Re:Yeah, but it's not awful (Score:1)
I for one, prefer the otherland series to his dragonbone one.
Snooty Lit Posturing (Score:2)
Fuck off. Your attitude is bullshit. You're not the only person who can read, you know. I like a thoughtful book as much as the next guy, and I don't think I implied that I was reading for "mindless gratification." But Tad Williams writes sci-fi. He's interesting, but frankly, not particularly deep. Everything he said about human nature and the world around us in River, he could have easily said in half the pages.
It's an enjoyable book. But if you're taking Tad Williams as your guide to the deep mysteries of human existence, boy are you shallow.
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Tad Williams, writing Little Red Riding Hood (Score:2)
Tad introduces the protagonist and through her we explore daily life of the village and see how she reacts to the different personalities around her. Hints dropped by mother that something Very Important is in her future. 200 pages
Interlude - A mysterious point of view watchs the little girl and village from the woods. 30 pages
In second half of the book we learn the special destiny of the girl, which is to deliver a basket of goodies to her grandmother. Several minor subplots involing all the sundry items which eventually will be packed. Book ends with her leaving the village behind. 200 pages
Book Two:
Three stories, that of little red riding hood, the wolf, and the woodsman - all of who wander through the woods. Very visual descriptions. Big mystery as to who was watching the little girl in book one, the wolf or the woodsman. We learn wolf is actually a Magical Animal of (Mysterious) Prophesy, who can speak and may be Evil. Nothing really happens though. 700 pages, with brief interlude showing granny at home.
Book Three (split into 2 books for paperback release):
The dramatic confrontation between wolf and grandmother. 300 pages.
Interlude : Woodsman flashes back to his tree cutting days and questionable relationship with family. 200 pages
The dramatic confrontation between grandmother-wolf and little red riding hood. Ends in cliff hanger. 300 pages
Book Three, part two:
(not yet released. HOW will little red fulfill her destiny as the bringer of food to grandmother? DID grandmother really get eaten by the wolf? IS the wolf really Evil - and if the woodsman arrives in time, is he a greater threat to the girl than the wolf? expect another 800 pages of dialogue in grandmother's little one room house)
- Coty
Re:Tad Williams, writing Little Red Riding Hood (Score:1)
"But Tad Williams writes sci-fi?!?" (Score:1)
What the hell kind of comment is THAT?
Just because Sci-fi isn't traditional literature, doesn't mean it can't be deep, or meaningful, or thought provoking, or interesting. I haven't read any of Tad's works other than Tailchaser's Song, but as somebody who reads a lot of Sci-Fi, as well as general philosophy and classical literature, I find your attitude demeaning and insulting.
It's opinions like yours that have caused such a slow acceptance of "Sci-Fi" into our general society. Remember that in it's time, "Frankenstein" and "The Island of Dr. Moreau" were the period's equivalent of Sci-Fi, and were pretty widely derided as "not being worth literature." Yet today, the "crap of yesteryear" are considered the classics of today. Who are you to judge a book down because it is "Sci-fi?"
Now, if Tad Williams isn't a deep author (and I cannot say whether or not he is admittedly) then blame it on the author, not the damn genre. And take your silly prejudices back to that half-assed English 101 class that you slept through.
Sheesh.
(Now, I'm going to go sentence myself to read "King, Warrior, Magician, Lover" ten times for blowing my top like that.)
Dream Park series (Score:1)
> D&D-style virtual gaming worlds, yeah!
Did you ever read the Dream Park series of books? They are essentially D&D-style virtual gaming world books.
They are by Larry Niven and Steve Barnes
Dream Park
The Barsoon Project
The California Voodoo Game
The first is my favorite, although I quite enjoyed all of them.
Yup. (Score:1)
I'm not one to extend a flamewar, so I'll take your olive branch, and hand one back of my own. Have a nice day!